Goals

I recently went fishing with an old buddy of mine. At one time we were best of friends and then he moved away and we lost touch for some twenty years. We were catching up on old times and he remarked that I had achieved quite an amount of success since we parted. I shared with him that one thing that had helped me to become successful through the years was my method of setting and then working hard to achieve goals. Long ago I made a list of 100 “significant” things that I want to accomplish before I die. Although I have at times strayed off course, I always came back to my list and I feel this has helped me enormously through the years.

I urged my buddy to give it a try and I urge you to do likewise.
Although it sounds easy enough, it is not easy to come up with 100 significant things that you wish to accomplish during this short life.
Most of the people with whom I have shared this strategy that actually tried it, could only come up with about thirty or so at the initial sitting. It actually takes some rather deep thought.

God wants us to achieve significant things for Him. In fact we were created exclusively for that purpose. He has a role for us to play and we should try very hard to find it and then accomplish it. I have renewed my determination to achieve the spiritual goals on my list of 100 things. The spiritual goals should have been on the top of the list throughout my life; however, like so many of us, I have drifted towards less worthy goals all too often. One goal that I do not mind sharing with you because it is at the top of my list is to help introduce and lead a minimum of 1000 people to the Lord. Just think how much fun it will be to have a family reunion with all of us present with Jesus when we get to heaven. I’m not a preacher and am too weak too ever consider it, so my goal will have to be obtained the hard way, one conversation at a time. I intend to work hard to achieve it; I hope the Lord will let me live long enough for this one!

Worried about saying the right thing? Just remember and always keep in mind that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! If you are willing to take the first step of being willing to give it a try, the Lord will take care of that small problem for you. He will be with you if you take some heat because of God’s message too. They might attack His message through the messenger and maybe you will be accused of being a hypocrite, or a religious nut, or whatever. Shake the dust off your feet and keep on smiling is what I say. I haven’t experienced much of that and certainly the benefits of helping others to find God outweigh any small discomfort that I ever encountered from someone who did not want to hear about Jesus. One person who rose from the blackness of sin to the occasion and eventually, in my mind, became the greatest preacher of all time was Paul. Listen to his explanation in his letter to Timothy of how God helped him achieve his goals and withstand the problems created by his mission.

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2 Timothy 4:17
But the Lord stood with me and
strengthened me, so that the
message might be preached fully
through me, and that all the Gentiles
might hear. Also I was delivered
out of the mouth of the lion.



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