This past Sunday, I continued our sermon series “Life: On Target” with our week two focus on our relationship with the Lord. I’ll take a few minutes to summarize yesterday’s message here – and will be doing a couple of blogs over the next couple of days to talk a little bit further about some of the stuff that I shared on Sunday. There are a few great questions and comments that have come from some of you that I’d like to discuss further.

When we talk about living our lives on-target, we are recognizing the simple fact that six months from now, one year from now, five years from now, all of us are going to be somewhere in our lives. But what would it take to not just be somewhere but be somewhere on purpose? In order to see that happen, we have to begin to with a much greater level of intentionality and give careful thought to how we are living and the simple choices that we make, day-in and day-out, decisions that will determine what our future is going to look like. This past Sunday, we focused in on a particular couple of Scriptures – Philippians 3:12-17 and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. In Philippians 3, Paul had a vision that was before his life – a vision that caused him to continue to press forward in his life, forgetting what was behind him, so that he might win the prize that was before him. His goal in life was to know Jesus – not just information about him. His goal was not to be religious or to be moral. His goal was “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” That vision caused him to continue to press forward, recognizing that he had not yet arrived or taken hold of this goal in his life. In 1 Corinthians 9, he talks about the level of intentionality and discipline that governed his life and the choices that he made. He did not live randomly or by default – but he lived with incredible precision and purpose in the choices that he made because he had this goal and this prize continually before him. He lived his life “on-target.”

Six months, one year from now, we are all going to be somewhere in our relationship with God. But it is the choices that we make today that is going to determine whether we will be “somewhere” or whether we will be “somewhere on purpose” in our spiritual walk. Some of these same principles need to govern our lives as well if we want to grow in our relationship with the Lord. What would it take for us to experience growth in this area of our lives? We need to embrace three simple but powerful principles:

1. Live With Clear Vision. The Scripture tell us that “without vision, the people cast off restraint.” Paul lived with clear vision before him, and it enabled him to live and to choose differently – to embrace a level of restraint in his life. We need to have clear vision of what we want to see in our relationship with God. This means that we need to be willing to slow down and consider honestly where we are at in our relationship with the Lord – to take some inventory in that area of our lives. Where are we at now? Where would we like to be?

2. Make a Plan in our Lives. With that vision clearly before us, we have to begin to consider what it will take to move us from here (where we are at currently) to there (where we would like to be.) In other words, in my relationship with the Lord, what hinders my pursuit of the Lord – what are the distractions that get in the way? What are the things that spoil my hunger for the Lord? Just as Paul disciplined himself to win the prize before him, we have to seek to eliminate those things that hinder our pursuit of the Lord – “throw off those things that hinder and the sin that so easily entangles us” as Hebrews 12 talks about. But we also need to think about the things that are going to help us in our pursuit to “know Him” better. What causes my hunger for the Lord and my relationship with Him to grow. I need to embrace those things and make them a priority in my life. Spending time in the Word. Committing to a life of prayer. Being in relationship with other people who are also passionately pursuing the Lord. Journaling. Fasting. Serving. What makes my heart come alive for him – I need to commit myself to prioritize those things in my life.

3. Schedule My Time. It may not sound terribly spiritual – but with the vision clear in our minds and understanding what it will take to accomplish that vision, we simply have to make the choice to give ourselves to the lifestyle that will move us from here to there, to help us to be somewhere “on purpose.” We begin to live with intentionality. What that simply means is that we need to take control of what we give ourselves to and determine that we are going to live our lives by design – choosing how we are going to spend our time at the beginning of a week, at the beginning of a day – and ensure that we are giving ourselves to those things that are going to help us grow in our pursuit of the Lord. For me personally, it means that I have to take out my calendar, identify those times of my week when I have time available to me, and determine with this vision clearly before me how I am going to use my time – and prioritize those things that are going to cause me to grow in my relationship with the Lord. Those free two hours on Tuesday night – instead of waiting until then to decide “what I feel like doing,” I am not going to be one who runs aimlessly as Paul talks about. I am going to choose and commit that my free evening will be spent in the Word or in worship or listen to a podcast sermon or with a couple of other believers talking about the Lord, etc. If I am going to commit to spend twenty minutes with the Lord at the beginning of the day, I am going to commit in my schedule to go to bed at a reasonable time so that I have the ability to wake up when the alarm goes off the next morning. Those simple choices make all of the difference in determining whether we end up somewhere or end up somewhere “on purpose.”

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll be doing a couple of other blog posts this week to develop this theme a little further – and even answer some of the questions that a few of you have already asked. Until then… gotta get to bed so that I can wake up early and start my day “on target.”