“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:12-14). God wants us to live focused lives. If we will remember these four things, it will help us to do just that.

            THE PLAN -- We need to remember that God has a plan for every Christian’s life.  Paul says, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  You matter and you should remind yourself of this constantly.  Jesus Christ has chosen you for a reason and that means that you are important in His plan (Romans 8:28-29)

            THE PERSISTENCE -- We also need to remember that we have not arrived yet.  “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”  We have a constant war with self going on (Gal. 5:17).  At no point in our lives are we perfect (Jas. 3:2).  We must continue to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). 

            THE PRESENT -- We need to remember to live in the present.  “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead”  The Christian life is to be one of continual growth and change (Heb. 6:1ff.; 2 Pet. 3:18).  We can’t change the past—but we can do something about the present and our future. 

            THE PURSUIT -- We need to remember to be active in our pursuit of Jesus.  Paul tells us that he “presses on”.   Jesus endured the cross because He had His focus on “the joy set before Him.”  We too should keep our eyes focused on heaven and the joys that are set before us (cf. Col. 3:1-2)