Day 12: Adjusting your Focus #21 Day Purity Challenge

Acts 1: 6-11

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

As each year passes by, we are either advancing or staying stagnant in our life, career, ministry, or purpose. In order to measure this progress, we have to have a blueprint or vision of where we want to be or what we want to look like. As Christ is the author and finisher of our faith, we should consult the Holy Spirit to ask Him how we are doing and what should we be doing to maximize His investment.

It's easy to do what we know how to do or are familiar with. It takes courage to do something different or new. When you refocus, you turn your efforts and attention in a different or new direction, or you adjust your vision to be more excellent and relevant to those you serve. The foundation of Christ is already laid, but what you build on that foundation is up to you.

The disciples were familiar with their training period, use to being with Jesus, and when Jesus said it was about that time for Him to go, they were totally oblivious, asking Him where He was going, forgetting what Jesus was trying to convey to them the whole time. Jesus was preparing them to take their place in the Kingdom and to receive the Holy Spirit to help them as He was leaving the scene.

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

John 13: 36-38

When Jesus died on the cross, resurrected, and transitioned to the right hand of the Father, the disciples had to shift their focus from being a trainee of the gospel to being a minister of the gospel. They had to think different and hear God on a different level than they ever had experienced before. They had to depend on what God told them and Jesus even visited them when He resurrected to test them.

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32

What has you gazing and not focused on the task in front of you? God is waiting on you to move out on what He has trained you all these years to do. There will be tests and temptation that will try to paralyze you, but you should allow what God said to move you into the action part of faith. There will always be more to study, more information to take in, more preparation, but there comes a point where we put what we know into practice to gain experience.

Journal Prompt: What is paralyzing you from making decisions? How can you narrow down your focus and maximize your potential as you are stepping into the new year?