FOCUSED TO THE END

 

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy,  and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 

Acts 20:24 NKJV

Those words were spoken by the Apostle Paul as he was traveling to Jerusalem. He had been warned that trouble and suffering was waiting for him there, and many of his friends begged him not to go because of the danger. A prophet had even warned him that if he went, he would be bound and arrested. 

But Paul was a man of focus and he knew the Lord was sending him there, and for Paul, the most important thing in his life was doing what the Lord had called him to do. Nothing else mattered, not even his own life. 

That kind of focus is powerful and makes a difference! In my opinion, next to Jesus, no one else in history has done more for the kingdom of God than Paul. And God was able to use Paul in such a great way because he focused on the Lord and His call on his life. 

A famous quote that is often attributed to D.L. Moody "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him." This quote was actually spoken by Henry Varley to Moody. Moody then famously responded, "By God's help, I aim to be that man.” God certainly did great things through Moody, but he was following the example of the Apostle Paul who stayed focused on the task of preaching the Gospel of grace, to the end of his life. 

The above verse and Paul’s example of focus have been causing me to reevaluate my life and ministry. I know God has called me to “preach the gospel”; those were the words I heard, but I often allow myself to get distracted by other things, including “ministry” things. 

If you’ve read this far, I ask you to say I pray for me, that I may have the kind of focus to finish my calling of preaching the gospel for the rest of my days in this life. I want to be focused all the way to the end.