Stay Focused ( 1 )...Philippians 3:15 TM 'Let's keep focused…those of us who want everything God has for us.' Philippians 3:15 TM

You become effective by being selective. It's human nature to get distracted. We're like gyroscopes, spinning around at a frantic pace but not getting anywhere. Without a clear purpose you keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, etc., hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness in your heart. You think, 'This time it will be different,' but it doesn't solve your real problem; lack of focus. The power of focusing can be seen in light. With a magnifying glass the rays of the sun can set paper on fire. But when light is focused even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel. Nothing is as potent as a focused life. The men and women who make the greatest difference in life are the most focused. For instance, the Apostle Paul said, 'I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing' (Philippians 3:13 TLB). Paul's obsession was to make Christ known. So if you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Turn away from even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. Poet William Matthews wrote, 'One well-cultivated talent, deepened and enlarged, is worth a hundred shallow faculties. The first law of success in this day when so many things are clamouring for attention is concentration – to bend our energies to one point, and to go directly to that point, looking neither to the right nor to the left.' Does focus come easily or naturally? No, it's a discipline that must be practiced every day