what really matters to you?...

if all you do is forget the past, you may just have amnesia. it helps to get rid of that emotional baggage from your past but people who make a difference focus on the future.

philippians 3.13-14, (niv), but this one thing i do ... straining toward what is ahead i press on toward the goal. successful people are goal oriented. paul has a single priority: in greek this is the word "one" with an exclamation point -- "one!" he's talking about concentration.

the most common disease today is trying to do 100 different things at the same time. jack of all trades; master of none. most people are spread out too thin.

paul says, find out what counts. he's talking about the power of concentration. if a river spills over its banks you have a marsh, a swamp. but if that river is confined between certain banks, dam it up, channel it and it is a tremendous source of power. light diffused is powerless, weak. if you take power and light and concentrate it you have a laser. it is powerful. that is the power of concentration. life focusing on one thing.

if you want to be really good at something, there is a secret. just concentrate on one thing, specialize. you can't know everything, be everything, do everything.

paul says "i face my faults, forget the former and focus on the future and that is the one thing i do. i have my goal clearly in mind."

less than 5% of the people in america ever write down a life goal. it is not by accident that the 5% that do are the top leaders in their field. write it down and focus on specific goals.

1 corinthians 9.24-25 (ms), you've all...seen the athletes race. everyone runs; one wins. run to win. all good athletes train hard. they do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. you're after one that's gold eternally. they keep their eye on the goal.

what was paul's goal? 2 corinthians 5.9 (ms), pleasing GOD is the main thing. there is no more rewarding goal in life than to please GOD. paul wanted to be able to stand at the end of his life and hear JESUS say, well done thou good and faithful servant. you were faithful in a few things. come into my joy.

the question we ask ourselves is, what am i living for? what is my goal in life? what's most important? if you don't know where you're going, nobody else does. focus on the future.

just a thought from the front porch...