Focus

Scripture Verse that Caught My Attention Today: 2 Timothy 2:8-9 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.

Observation: It a hectic world it’s helpful to keep focus on the essentials—that which really matters.

Application: This morning I downloaded the cliff-notes version of a book entitled: “What to do when there’s too much to do.” The book’s content was spawned when an audience member once told the author before a speech: “I don’t want to hear a productivity consultant telling me to do more with less. I want to do less and achieve more.”

That’s pretty much the way Paul lived. I’m sure he had much more to do than he could do. But he remained focused on the heart of his belief, the heart of the Gospel—the kind of thing that ultimately frees a person because it is a freeing message. The prison could hold Paul’s body, but it couldn’t confine his spirit because, in his words, “the word of God is not chained.”

It’s hard to focus sometimes—okay, most of the time! We live in a splintered world and we are often splintered people. Nothing particularly neat and tidy in most of our lives.

As a case-in-point, I started this article yesterday, got called away for something at church, and just now realized that I had never finished it!

Prayer: Lord, thanks for never losing your focus on us even if though we often lose our focus on you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Readings included: Jonah 1-4, 2 Timothy 2