FOCUSED ON THE ONE TASK

Life is tough enough as it is. It’s even tougher when we’re headed in the wrong direction.

One of the incredible abilities of Jesus was to stay on target. His life never got off track. He had no money, no computers, no jets, no administrative assistants or staff, yet Jesus did what many of us fail to do. He kept His life on course.

As Jesus looked across the horizon of His future, He could see many targets. Many flags were flapping in the wind, each of which He could have pursued. He could have been a political revolutionary. He could have been a national leader. But in the end He chose to be a Savior and save souls.

Anyone near Christ for any length of time heard it from Jesus Himself. “The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.” (Luke 19:10)  “The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many people.” (Mark 10:45)

The heart of Christ was relentlessly focused on one task. The day He left the carpentry shop of Nazareth He had one ultimate aim -- the cross of Calvary. He was so focused that His final words were, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)

How could Jesus say He was finished? There were still the hungry to feed, the sick to heal, the untaught to instruct, and the unloved to love. How could He say He was finished? Simple. He had completed His designated task. His commission was fulfilled. The painter could set aside his brush, the sculptor lay down his chisel, the writer put down his pen. The job was done.

Wouldn’t you love to be able to say the same? Wouldn’t you love to look back on your life and know you had done what you were called to do?   

-- Max Lucado in “Just Like Jesus”

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SETTING THE THERMOSTAT

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2)

John Milton wrote in his epic poem “Paradise Lost” that “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

Setting your mind is like setting a thermostat.  It is creating a target for the climate.  Once you set a thermostat, the heating and air-conditioning will have to adjust in relation to the weather.  It is a constant process, but the goal is for the system to create a life-giving climate.  So too it is with our minds.  Many people try to tell themselves to stop thinking negative thoughts -- which immediately brings to mind the very thoughts they are supposed to stop thinking.

“Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” (Romans 8:5)

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.”  (Philippians 4:8)

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want To Be” 

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PRODUCING FRUIT

Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful… Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:1-5 NIV)

Two ways of staying connected to Christ involve (1) removing what is unnecessary in our lives, and (2) staying focused on the vine.

On one side we have the vine, our life source. On the other side we have fruit. Our effectiveness is determined by which one we focus on, and in our world it’s hard not to focus on the fruit. So much of our worth is measured by what we produce. …

We also measure ourselves by comparing our fruit to what others produce. We can feel fine until we look around. Focusing on the success, achievements, and appearance of others can undo us.

We can obsess over fruit. We start to believe that the fruit is up to us. But Jesus says that it’s not. … Our job is to be a branch and let God’s power flow through us. … We begin to think we are the vine and are our own source of strength. We have to ask ourselves, “Do I receive my identity from the things I produce or from the One who produces through me?” 

-- Rob Fuquay in “The God We Can Know: Exploring the ‘I Am’ Sayings of Jesus”

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HOW TO FINISH WELL – Part 2 of 6

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...”  (Hebrews 12:2 BSB)

How do we finish well?... First, those who finish well have a Christ-centered life…

Second, those who finish well have a focused life. They are focused first on Christ, but second on the task that He has given to us. Call this the “focus factor”! They not only know the purpose of life (to know, love, serve, and glorify the Lord), but they also know the purpose of their lives. They have an accurate understanding of the gifts He has given them, the call He has given them, and often even the specific assignments He has for them.

They have a focused life and not a scattered life. Most people live scattered lives. They do not know the purpose of life, or the purpose of their lives. By contrast, those who finish well have a clarity of purpose and a constancy of purpose…

The phrase from Paul “this one thing I do” (Philippians 3:13 KJV) is very important in my life. It became my motto. Paul said, ‘this one thing I do,” not “these fifty tings I dabble in.” That’s because he had a focused life rather than a scattered one. It’s characteristic of those who finish well.

-- Adapted from Donald W. Sweeting and George Sweeting in “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half”

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THE HEART OF JESUS – Part 2 of 3

Jesus refused to be guided by anything other than His high call. His heart was purposeful. Most lives aim at nothing in particular and achieve it. Jesus aimed at one goal – to save humanity from its sin. He could summarize His life with one sentence: "The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10 RSV). Jesus was so focused on His task that He knew when to say "My time has not yet come" (John 2:4) and when to say, "It is finished" (John 19:30). But He was not so focused on His goal that He was unpleasant.

Quite the contrary. How pleasant were His thoughts! Children couldn't resist Jesus. He could find beauty in lilies, joy in worship, and possibilities in problems. He would spend days with multitudes of sick people and still feel sorry for them. He spent over three decades wading through the muck and mire of our sin, yet still saw enough beauty in us to die for our mistakes. 

-- Max Lucado in “A Heart Like Jesus”

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