your purpose

Your Life And What Comes After (51): Set Your Face And Focus

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Jesus knew His purpose and He knew how to live according to God’s great purpose. He also understood that one of the most important skills to practice in life is focus.

Luke 9:51
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem…

Jesus’ mission was to be the obedient servant God needed for His grand plan of saving the world to work. Jesus needed to get to Jerusalem, which was a very important part of the plan, so He “steadfastly set his face” to reaching His destination and His goal.

That’s what it takes to accomplish anything worthwhile in life – focus. There will always be a thousand distractions trying to pull you away from your purpose, but the people who are able to ignore those time-thieves are the ones who do great things.

Three Week Focus Challenge

Here’s a plan that I’ve found to be very helpful in steadfastly setting my face to get something useful done – I call it my Three-Week-Focus Challenge.

Step One
Take a look at the six things you wrote down earlier: three things you like to do and three important life skills you want to get better at.

Step Two
Pick the one that really stands out as something you are excited about getting to right away. Let’s say you choose learning to cook.

Step Three
Be specific about what you want to learn or do by coming up with a “learning‑to‑cook” project. Example: I will learn the best ingredients and how to cook Eggs Benedict for breakfasts, Reuben sandwiches for lunches, and Beef Wellington for dinners. (Yum, sounds good.)

Step Four
Define and write down how your project will add value to the world around you. Example: Learning to cook these delicious dishes will bless my family and friends when they eat them, and also give me the beginnings of a valuable new skill for a possible part‑time job or full‑time career in the future.

Step Five
Steadfastly set your face to work hard on your project for three weeks, six days a week, in every spare hour of each day. Make it deep work, where you have no distractions—no phone, no social media, no TV, etc. You focus on completing your project until it’s done. You think about it, you dream about it, you make it your everything for three weeks, six days a week.

It Works If You Work It

When you work on your three week project, you have to have a quiet, private place to work with no distractions for 1-3 hours. When you’re in your work space set a timer for 30-50 minutes and focus completely on the tasks that will get you to completion of your three week project. After the 30-50 minutes of complete focus, take a 10 minute break, then do another 30-50 minute session. If you do 3-5 sessions like this, six days a week, you will be astonished at how much you will get done.

Depending on how involved your project is, you may complete it before the three weeks is over, or you may have to take a couple of days off, and start a new three week period on that project and work it until it’s done.

This doesn’t mean you ignore your other necessary tasks and responsibilities. It means you really set you mind to finishing a project in an area of your life that you have set as important and meaningful.

I hope you find this focus method useful, I came up with it and use it in my own life because I was having trouble really focusing on one thing at a time and this has helped me a lot. You should try it and make any changes you want in order to fit with your own life and goals.

Your Life And What Comes After (50): Pirate Or Explorer?

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Captain Elias set out across the open sea with a heart full of purpose. Ever since he was young, he dreamed of exploring uncharted waters, mapping hidden islands, and discovering new wonders that could help sailors travel safely. His ship, The Northwind, carried tools, journals, and a crew who believed in the mission. Every sunrise felt like a fresh invitation from the ocean itself. Elias wasn’t chasing treasure—he was chasing understanding. And with every mile, he felt more certain that his journey mattered, not just for himself but for everyone who would follow the maps he created.

Not far behind him sailed a very different kind of captain—a pirate named Brack. Brack didn’t care about discovery or helping anyone. He wanted gold, power, and fear. His ship, The Black Fang, cut through the waves like a hungry shark, always searching for someone weaker to take from. While Elias studied the stars and currents, Brack studied opportunities to grab whatever he could.

Set Sail

When sailing the seas of your life, it’s important to have goals—but what’s more important is to combine your values with your goals. Being a successful thieving pirate is as much a goal as being a successful explorer—but there’s a difference, isn’t there?

What you do isn’t as important as who you are while you’re doing it. So definitely set some long‑range and short‑term goals for your life, but keep in mind that those goals may change over time.

The kind of person you choose to be should remain at the center of all of your goals and achievements in life. Don’t be Pirate Brack; be Explorer Elias.

Have A Guiding Mission

Write out a short mission statement for yourself and refer to it often, every day is best. Your mission statement will be your compass as you sail the sea of life. It will keep you focused on the kind of person you work to become.

Here’s mine. Yours will be yours alone, so this is just an example:

To live in the presence of God, to bear His image to the world around me, and to add value to His creation.

To do my best to follow the example of Jesus Christ in character and action, to look every day for His return and the resurrection of the dead, the rescue of creation, and our glorious eternal life together with Him and His people.

To never stop learning, exploring, and developing myself in skill and wisdom.

To do hard things.

To question and challenge the comfortable status quo, starting with myself.

To wage war against darkness, hopelessness, and nihilism.

To help others in my family, faith, and community to have great hope, be well taken care of, secure, inspired, and challenged.

Get On Board And Find Your Seat

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The more I look at life and the world all around us, the more crystal clear it becomes to me that none of this is by chance. God’s fingerprints are all over His creation—visible to all who choose to open their eyes.

This world isn’t a confusing mix of random, scattered coincidences. There’s a grand purpose, and we’re moving toward a definite conclusion.

Like a bus moving down the road, get on board, find the seat with your name on it, and play your part in the journey.

Your Life And What Comes After (48): Mind Your Business

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Luke chapter 2 recounts when Jesus was twelve years old and traveled with His family to Jerusalem for Passover—something they did every year. But this time was different. When the group started heading home, Mary and Joseph assumed Jesus was with relatives. After a full day of traveling, they realized He was missing.

They rushed back to Jerusalem and searched for Him everywhere. Finally, they found Him in the Temple, calmly sitting with the teachers, asking questions, answering theirs, and amazing everyone with His understanding. When His parents asked why He had stayed behind, Jesus said something both simple and huge: “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”

About Your Father’s Business

Jesus started at twelve years old by learning the Scriptures, by being curious, by putting God first, and by daring to push the limits in order to understand the deeper things of God and life.

Make your heavenly Father’s business your business, and follow the example of Jesus. Jesus showed us what God’s business is.

2 Corinthians 5:19a
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself…

God’s business plan is to bring His creation and His people all the way back to Him, and Jesus kept busy doing exactly that. Wherever He went He taught people about God’s love and purposes. He healed the sick, forgave sinners, fed the hungry, shined light in darkness, and brought hope to the poor and needy.

Grow, Learn, Develop

Even though Jesus knew His Father’s business early in His life, He didn’t stay in the Temple forever, He went back home with Mary and Joseph and obeyed them, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” That means Jesus grew mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.

He learned and developed character and wisdom. If you want to know what you are supposed to be doing in your own life, remember these two things;

  1. Your calling and purpose in life are not about what you do; they’re about what kind of person you choose to be.
  2. As you continue to learn, grow, and develop in the knowledge of God and the world around you amazing paths will open up for you.

Next, we’ll talk more about rumbling through the world.

Your Life And What Comes After (47): Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

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Callum had been saving his allowance for weeks, tucking away each crumpled dollar with the quiet excitement of a kid who finally felt old enough to make his own choices. He’d planned to split it in half—keep some, give some—maybe to one of those charities for people in faraway countries he saw on TV. But when the first big March snowstorm hit and he saw Mrs. Halvorson’s walkway buried under a heavy drift, the idea came to him as naturally as breathing. She was nearly eighty, lived alone, and always waved to him from her window. Helping her felt like the right place for his “give‑away” half to go.

So Callum marched into the hardware store, allowance clutched in his mittened hand, and bought a brand‑new snow shovel—bright red, sturdy, and just his size. That afternoon he trudged across the street and started clearing Mrs. Halvorson’s walk, pushing the snow aside in long, determined sweeps. When she opened the door to thank him, Callum just grinned and said he was putting his savings to good use.

The second part of the Great Commandment, after loving God completely, is to love your neighbor as yourself. What does that mean, and how do you do that?

Who is your neighbor? Well, your neighbors are those close to you—people you see every day, your family, and your community.

The Golden Rule

Matthew 7:12
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

It’s the same as saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Golden Rule.

Try some of these ideas in your daily life to practice loving and giving to others.

  • First thing in the morning, think of one nice thing you’re going to do for someone you see every day, and then do it.
  • Pray for a growing heart to love others, not a growing bank account. Pray for a shiny new heart, not a shiny new car.
  • Let someone else get in front of you in line if they need to.
  • Smile at folks, even if you don’t feel like it.
  • Listen more than you talk; that’s why God gave you two ears and only one mouth.
  • Tell your mom and dad, and your sister and brother how much you love and appreciate them.
  • Shovel snow off your elderly neighbor’s sidewalk.

Kindness and Forgiveness

To love your neighbor as yourself can be hard sometimes, but it’s always simple. The Apostle Paul puts it clearly in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 4:31-32
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Love God completely and treat others as you would like them to treat you. This is the not-so-secret key to plugging into God’s forever plan right now.

Your Life And What Comes After (46): Heart, Soul, And Mind

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Thomas Cole – The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

So, how do you love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind? What does that mean?

Heart
Love God from the center of who you are, not just with emotions, but with your decisions and heartfelt goals.

Soul
Love God with what makes you you—with your whole life, not just one part of it on Sundays at church.

Mind
Love God with your thoughts, your attention, and the way you think deeply about the world around you.

Love Is Action

Here are some things to do daily to put love for God into action.

  • Pray. Start every day by talking to your Heavenly Father and listening as He talks to you.
  • Tell God the desires of your heart; you must speak your desires before God. You must speak them.
  • Read and study God’s Word. God has revealed Himself, His endless love, and His grand plan in the Bible. It also tells us how we are to obey His will for us so that we will live the awesome lives He desires for us.
  • Praying and reading the Word of God put you in His presence, and when you’re in His presence, your heart, soul, and mind will worship Him and praise His glorious works.
  • Be aware during the day that you live your life before God, not just other people.

Make these love actions habits in your daily life, and you will see how putting yourself into God’s heart will make your life a wondrous dream come true.

Now, how do we do the second part of the Great Commandment? That’s next.

Your Life And What Comes After (45): How To Live Today

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Taking everything we’ve learned so far in our journey into “Your Life And What Comes After: Plugging Into God’s Forever Plan Now,” let’s start zeroing in on what you can do today—and every day—to live a fantastic life that is pleasing to God and helps you find your perfect, special place in God’s grand plan.

The best recipe for tapping into God’s purposes and living our best lives the way we’re meant to is found in the Great Commandment in Matthew chapter 22.

Jesus Hits a Homerun

Right before Jesus gives the Great Commandment, the religious leaders are basically tag‑teaming to trip Him up. They try a trick question about paying taxes, and Jesus answers so cleanly that they back off. Then they jump in with a wild question about marriage in the resurrection, and Jesus shuts that down too. At this point, everyone who tried to trap Him has struck out in front of the crowd.

So they huddle up again and send in one of their “experts” to ask what they think is the perfect trap: “Which commandment is the greatest?” They’re hoping He’ll pick the wrong one. Instead, Jesus cuts through all their debates with a perfect, simple answer:

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

That’s the Great Commandment—love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

And that’s our North Star for plugging into God’s grand plan. It doesn’t mean you have to be churchy and religious all the time. But what does it mean, and how do we actually live it out?

That’s what we’ll look at next.

Your Life And What Comes After (44): Echoes And Crowns

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When he was a young clerk J.C. Penney worked in a small Colorado dry-goods store, he wasn’t given any special authority or status. But he consistently showed up early, treated every customer with unusual respect, and took personal responsibility for even the smallest tasks. His reliability stood out so much that the store’s owners trusted him with ordering inventory, managing accounts, and eventually running the entire operation whenever they were away. His steady character—not flash or ambition—proved he could be trusted with more.

That faithfulness paid off. The owners later invited Penney to become a partner in a new store, giving him far more responsibility than he had ever held before. He poured the same diligence into that opportunity, and it eventually grew into the nationwide J.C. Penney Company. His rise wasn’t sudden or glamorous—it was the natural reward for someone who quietly proved his worth day after day until greater responsibility became the obvious next step.

The Apostle Paul says something a little surprising in his second letter to the believers in Corinth: followers of Jesus will one day appear before His judgment seat.

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

This isn’t to judge whether or not the believer is saved. That judgment was already made when Jesus took our place on the cross, God raised Him from the dead, and we believed in that resurrection and confessed Christ as our Lord.

The judgment seat talked about here is the one where the faithful receive their assignments in the world to come based on the good works we did for Him in our lives.

Echoes In Eternity

Our words and actions now will follow us into God’s heaven-on-earth, and when each of us appears before Jesus Christ, He will decide who can be entrusted with which responsibilities as His rule reaches over the whole new and glorious world.

We will have jobs to do in that new world. What an amazing and wonderful eternity God has in store for us! No more death, sickness, pain, or evil.

Nothing done in our lives is meaningless; it all follows us into an endless eternity in an endless universe with the job of keeping God’s creation running and in good order, where we will once again be the full, shining bearers of God’s image.

Earning Some Crowns

The Bible also tells us about our coming rewards and responsibilities and describes them as crowns.

There is the crown of righteousness for those who love Christ’s appearing.

2 Timothy 4:8
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

A crown of life is promised to those who love the Lord and patiently endure the troubles of life.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

A crown of glory is given to faithful shepherds of God’s people.

1 Peter 5:3-4
Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

And an imperishable crown is promised to those who are disciplined and run the marathon of life in faith.

1 Corinthians 9:25
 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

See, God remembers every patient, faithful good work, every resisted temptation, and all of our obedient acts done in love. There is nothing that we do for Him that disappears or is forgotten.

Our rewards and new jobs in God’s heaven-on-earth are real and waiting for us to claim them by what we do in the here-and-now.

Your Life And What Comes After (43): You Are In Training

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Jesus often used stories, called parables, to teach His followers important lessons. One of those lessons is that if you’re faithful with small things now, God will trust you with bigger things later.

In the coming kingdom and the new heaven‑on‑earth, that means real responsibility—leadership, creativity, and purpose.

Luke 19:17
And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

Your character—the kind of person you decide to be—takes work. You have to practice to develop good qualities like courage, patience, honesty, love, and wisdom. And sometimes facing hard things and going through hard times can be God’s way of helping you shape that good character.

Those good qualities you develop aren’t for this life only, they don’t disappear; they continue into eternity.

What Will Follow You?

Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Your works are the things you do and the words you speak.

Good works are the ones you do out of love for God and His people. Those works add value to the world around you and they glorify our heavenly Father.

Not-so-good works are the ones that are selfish and dishonest – they don’t glorify God and they aren’t helpful to others around you. In fact, sometimes they can even be harmful.

That means the good works you do now don’t vanish. They show up again in the world to come. What kind of works do you want following you into God’s new heaven-on-earth?

Practicing For Your Future Job

In the future kingdom, we will serve and reign with Him.

Revelation 22:3–5
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

That means that the good character we build now prepares us to rule and serve forever in God’s restored creation.

This life is not a waiting room. It’s a training ground for the new life in the kingdom.

Your Life And What Comes After (42): Gold And Silver, Or Hay And Stubble

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Lucas dumped his big bin of Legos onto the carpet, but he pushed aside the faded, chewed‑up bricks without a second glance. Today he was building a castle, and not just any castle—his masterpiece. He wanted the bright, solid, perfectly‑shaped pieces, the ones that clicked together with that satisfying snap. He searched for the best towers, the cleanest walls, and the strongest foundation. Anything cracked, bent, or worn‑out got tossed into a little “not‑good‑enough” pile off to the side.

As the castle grew taller, Lucas stepped back and admired it. Using only the best pieces made the whole thing stronger, sturdier, and way more impressive. He realized something: if he wanted to build something that would last, he couldn’t use junk. He needed quality.

Now And Forever

The Bible teaches us that what we do now matters forever.

A lot of people think this life is just “practice” and the real stuff starts when God’s grand plan is realized and we are with Him and each other in God’s heaven‑on‑earth future. But the Bible actually teaches something even more awesome.

The old saying, “You can’t take it with you when you go,” isn’t entirely true. You will take something with you from this life into the world and age to come.

Not your smartphone or your Pokémon card collection—but your choices, your character, your love, your faithfulness. Those things last.

Choose The Best Legos

In the Bible, the Apostle Paul says our lives are like a building project. Some people build with gold—good choices, love, serving others, following Jesus. Others build with hay—selfish choices, laziness, ignoring God.

1 Corinthians 3:12
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

When Jesus returns, everything gets tested as if in a fire. The good stuff lasts. The junk burns away. This doesn’t mean you’re in danger of losing the gift of everlasting life with God—but what you build with matters.

Next, we’ll look closer at what all of this means.