The Three F's

Phi 3:13,14

Have you ever found yourself with a million things to do and no time to do them?  I know I have and I imagine most people can relate.  As I looked at the agenda for today I thought to myself I must form an attack plan if I want to get this stuff done.  As I did this, I thought of how the letter "F" kept appearing in my mind.  I was thinking how will I FIND the time for this.  My FAITH must come FIRST.  So I began my morning study.  My mind was just all over the place so I prayed for the LORD to protect me from Satan who will not let me FOCUS.  I know if I am to have a productive day it must start and FINISH with the Lord.  That is where this post has come from.  A productive day must have the three F's!

First, we must have our Faith.  We must have faith that God will do what He has promised he will do.  This faith in God was present in Job.  I believe Job makes one of the best faith statements in Job 19:25,26   We must start today knowing that if today is our last day, we will see God!  This faith comes from a simple math equation.  Trust in the Lord + Not leaning on our own understanding + Always acknowledging God = A faith with a straight path. Pr 3:5,6  This faith is all about what is ahead not what is behind.  Forget the past and move forward.  Ps 131:3 The psalmist never mentions the past.  Lot's wife looked back and we know what happened to her.  Our faith needs to be in the present and future, not in the past.

Second, we must focus.  The above faith does not come without focus.  The apostle Paul had that focus.  He knew he wasn't where he needed to be, but he was focused on getting there.  He had the faith to do it.  He said "forgetting what lies behind."  That word forgetting is special to me.  It means to forget, lose out of the mind ; or neglect.  The reason it is special to me is because in the Greek it is in the present passive/middle participle.  Let me break this down.  Present participle basically means a continuous or repeated action.  The passive voice means the subject is receiving the action of the verb.  The middle voice means the subject is acting upon himself.  So when the apostle says he is "forgetting what lies behind" he says he is continually making himself receive the action of forgetting the past.  How can a person forget the past if they are continually making themselves do it?  It makes no sense.  The explanation is that Satan is always reminding us of our past!  He says, "I know what you did" and he tries to drag us down with our past that was already forgiven us by God through Jesus.  Like the apsotle Paul, we know we are not where we need to be, but we must focus on the present and future like psalmist said and strive to get there.  Also, we must continually forget the past when Satan throws it in our face like the apostle Paul tells us.   

Finally, we must finish.  We must "press on toward the goal."  The goal of every Christian is to receive our inheritance, which is the resurrection that is reserved for us in heaven. 1Pe 1:3,4  We must finish this focused faith with endurance.  Heb 12:1 

Today, let us start approaching our Christian walk with endurance knowing we are not yet where the Lord wants us to be, but we are striving daily to be more like Him.  We can accomplish this daily task if we approach each day with the attitude starting the day with a focused faith and finishing the same way!  

 WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

Hear The Word-  Rom 10:17; Acts 4:4

We Must Believe or Have Faith-  Heb 11:6; Acts 16:31

We Must Repent-  Lk 13:3; Acts 17:30

We Must Confess Christ Before Others-  Mt 10:32; Acts 8:37

We Must Be Immersed Into Christ (Baptized)-  1Pe 3:21; Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38  

We Must Remain Faithful-  Rev 2:10; Acts 14:22