“KEEPING FOCUS”

Are you a person who can stay focused on something no matter what is going on around you, or can you be easily distracted? I honestly believe that we all are a little bit of each. Most avid readers can read an engrossing novel or biography and never be bothered by such distractions as the television or other outside noises. For some, though, any little noise can distract them, especially if it is not pleasure reading.

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Staying focused is based on how important whatever it is you are focused on is to you. That is not to say if we get distracted whatever it is, is not important. Depending on the importance to us will determine how quickly we become refocused. I went to college with a guy who told me that when it came to studying for exams, he would have to turn the television to face the wall so he would not be tempted to turn it on and be distracted by it and losing focus on what he was traying to accomplish.

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Focus is important in our spiritual walk. There are so many distractions and so much vying for our attention, that we must make deliberate efforts each day to stay focused on our eternal home. Paul instructs us in Colossians 3:1, 2-??????????????? Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. That is easier said than done. We live in the world; therefore, the influence of earthly things is all round us. They are important to us, otherwise we would not spend time and money accumulating them!

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While it is not a sin to have earthly things and to have wealth, they certainly can become a distraction in our spiritual walk if we are always focused on them by either hoarding or trying to accumulate more, or both. When we focus on things above, we understand that all that we have is a blessing from God, and we know that our blessings are not to be hidden, but to be used to bless others.

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Satan has many tricks to try to divert our attention. It’s not always material things. Social media can be a big distraction for some people. They can get lost for hours scrolling through different posts and be influenced by what they read there. Think about this a minute, how sharp would our focus be if we took the time we spent on social media and spent that time in God’s word?

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Since the influence of earthly things is so strong, we need to make every effort and take every opportunity to sharpen our focus on things above. It is in our control.

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Read Philippians 4:4-9

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