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2 Tim. 2:4 - No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. NASU
As we can see the Apostle Paul uses a military soldier as an example. When he says, "No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life." In other words, the soldier will not become distracted. He will not lose his focus. His focus is on being a good soldier and pleasing the person who enlisted him. Therefore, daily distractions will not disqualify this soldier.
Some soldiers have been known to go AWOL (absent without leave) because of love. They left home to join the military and in so doing the one they were in love with was left behind. While serving they believed they had to see this special person and left their post. This never ends well. Illnesses likewise can cause a person to become distracted from the task in front of them. Some job offers will come your way and at first appear to be the answer to all your problems. We probably have all heard of battle fatigue. This happens when a person has been in the fight way too long without getting some rest and relaxation. Everyone needs time to recharge their batteries.
Neh. 6:1-4 - Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, "Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono." But they were planning to harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" Nehemiah gives the perfect answer in my opinion: "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?" Basically, he is saying I am not going to be distracted by you guys. I am doing a great work and I am not going to finish my work by entering into a meeting with all of you. Don't let anything or one distract you from your goal and you will find out success comes to those who refuse to quit. Think About These: We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt. Some fellows dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them. You can't make a place for yourself under the sun if you keep sitting in the shade of the family tree. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Matt. 5:41 - "And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two." NASB
I was speaking to a well known college wrestling coach a few years back about one of his National Champions. I asked him this question, "What is the difference between him and your other wrestlers? He said without hesitation, "Oh that is an easy question to answer. He does more than he is asked." "How so?" I inquired. He said, "If I tell the team to do 100 pushups he will do 110. If I tell the team I want 20 laps he runs 25. If I tell them 25 pull ups he will do 30. Everything I ask the team to do he will always add more to it." Jesus taught what this wrestler was doing 2,000 years before he was born. He was going the second mile.
So what is happening in your life right now where you need to make a commitment to go the second mile?
Another wrestler said he visualized his opponents in bed sleeping and he was up training getting the edge over his opponents. I am not sure which type of motivation will work for you, but my recommendation is find the one that works and allow it to catapult you to the next level. Think About These: The world might be improved with less television and more vision. The largest room in the world is the room for improvement. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Nehemiah 4:17 – “…for the people had a mind to work.” NASU
It is one thing to lay out your plan and a totally different thing to execute it. The Israelites under the leadership of Nehemiah worked together and they were totally focused to accomplish Nehemiah’s plan. You know your team is going to be successful when they are focused, not allowing anything to distract them. They had “a mind to work” is the comment recorded in the book of Nehemiah about the Israelites. What a great compliment! Can you imagine how you would feel if the Bible were being written today and in its pages were the words “the people had a mind to work” and you were the people that being referred to?
One of my roles at Fairway is the Mission’s Minister. New Life and Fairway joined together this past week and on Friday (1st) and Saturday (2nd) to pack 90,000 packets of food for IDES (International Disaster Emergency Services). As I served with over 200 Christians in packing these packets this scripture in Nehemiah came to my mind “for the people had a mind to work”. We packed 90,000 packets. What we thought was going to take us 8 hours of time took us 6 hours and 50 minutes. How was that possible? The Christians had a mind to work. In Nehemiah's day they rebuilt the wall in 52 days because they had a mind to work (Neh. 6:15).
One other thing you need to know about the Israelites while they were rebuilding the wall, they were being harassed the whole time by Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem. Three men who flat out lied about Nehemiah and the Israelite’s intention for rebuilding the wall. Nehemiah would not allow these distractions to take him away from his purpose. If you have a purpose don’t allow distractions to deter you. Have a mind to work and “getter done”. Read Nehemiah and you will see a man who was interested in pleasing God and that was all that mattered to him. I say let’s be like Nehemiah, and the way to do that is to stay focused and have a mind to work in the LORD’s vineyard. This About These: Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. – Newt Gingrich Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength. - Theodore Roosevelt Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God’s Word Luke 4:43-44 - “But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose." So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” NASB
Some people have set goals for themselves and anything they do has to help them accomplish their goals or they won't waste their time being involved with something that will not help them achieve this. When you look at athletes who set their goals on becoming the best at whatever sport they are involved with it is easy to see why they say, "No, to drugs and alcohol." They understand drugs and alcohol are not going to help them achieve their goals. So they stay away from them. I was very close to spending a lot of years in prison over drug charges back in the 1970's. In the first trial, which ended in a hung jury, 10 people said, "Guilty" and 2 people said, "Not Guilty." Wow! Not having a purpose in my life was almost a very expensive mistake. Two people kept me from going to prison for a very long time.
In fact, His purpose would ultimately lead to people killing Him. He preached about the Kingdom of God and certain people didn't want to hear what He was saying. They hated His message so much they killed Him to try and quiet Him, but we know this didn't quiet Him, except for three days. Then He resurrected and empowered His disciples to preach and preach they did. On the day of Pentecost, they baptized 3,000 people (Acts 2). Hopefully, you have been baptized or immersed into Christ. If not please let me know and I will help you. So, do you want to stay out of trouble? Set a Goal or another way of saying it is "Have a Purpose."
In fact, one of my nightly exercises in bed is to say to myself "Okay, what do you want to accomplish tomorrow?" Then I go to sleep happy because I know there is something that awaits me the next day. Think About These: Some people dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them. A genius shoots at something no one else sees and hits it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Prov. 24:16 - For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. NASU
Prov. 24:16 No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don't stay down long; Soon they're up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
I have included this verse from The Message translation also. I really love how he translated this verse. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don't stay down long; Soon they're up on their feet,… I am sure we all have been knocked down by life, but the difference between us and others is we get back up and continue grinding it out until the victory is ours.
This is you. You are a God-loyal person and sure you are down now but you are not down for long because he goes on to say soon you're up on your feet. Identify what it is that has knocked you down in life. Is it a health issue, or a financial issue or a work issue? Know this, whatever it is that has knocked you down the fight isn't over. You will get back up on your feet and win this battle. How do I know? This scripture tells us this is what God-loyal or the righteous people do.
Whatever the reason there is only one thing for you to do, get back up, dust yourself off and continue in the fight until you secure the victory. You can do this because God's Word says you can. Think About This: “Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength.” ― Theodore Roosevelt Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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