“Between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.”
~Adolph Monod

“Trust only movement.  Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.”
~Alfred Adler

“Never mistake motion for action.”
~Ernest Hemingway

“An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.”
~Arnold Glasow

“People will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold – but so does a hard-boiled egg.”
~Author Unknown

So now that it is 12:30 and I have successfully procrastinated the writing of part 2 of this series on procrastination, I’ve decided it’s time to get to writing.

That is, after I spent another 12 minutes making an after-midnight snack and looking up more quotes to put on this post.

Wow, isn’t it amazing how easy it can be for our focus to be broken if we aren’t really dedicated to focusing?

Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about how life in the Kingdom of God would have been different when Jesus walked the earth…when the disciples nearly constantly had Him there keeping them focused.  And yet even then, there are many recorded instances (and I’m sure many more that were not recorded) where Jesus seemed more than a tad bit exasperated with the way people can so quickly lose their focus and their way.

One of the things that seems to elude so many of us is the fact that intentions, no matter how good they are, don’t amount to anything unless they are followed up with action.  Jesus and the writers of the New Testament spoke on this subject very, very clearly many different times.

In fact, almost everything that Jesus spoke to His followers about demanded that a choice be made and an action taken…to heed and obey or to harden one’s heart and ignore.  The first statement Jesus gave to many of His disciples, “Come, follow Me” in itself speaks volumes of the necessity and foundational principles of this Gospel that demands action to be taken.  There is a lot of talk and a lot of intention flying around that leads to nothing but empty promises and wounded relationships.

Below is a listing of several passages of Scripture that deal directly with the importance of action as opposed to simply words and intention:
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“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
-Matthew 7:15-27

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”
- 1 John 3:17, 18

“If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works is dead, being alone.”
- James 2:15-17

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom”
- James 3:13

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One of the most sobering things about the first passage out of Matthew 7 is that Jesus speaks a warning about false prophets and then goes right into talking about those who hear His word and do not put it into practice.  A prophet is simply one who speaks on behalf of another.  Those who speak their intentions and do not follow it up, according to this passage, could be equated to being false prophets.  That certainly is not something I want to be guilty of–although I know there have been many times I have been.

The goal behind setting goals is obviously to achieve those goals and have something to aim at when one is pursuing a certain something.  We must remain thankful for the goodness of God being evident in our lives, but ever persisting to see more of His Kingdom established in and around us on earth as it is in Heaven.

By setting these goals and focusing on what we need to do in order to achieve our goals, we exercise self-control and will quickly find that much of what we have been doing has simply been killing time.

All you have to do is take a quick look at your newsfeed on facebook to see how much time-wasting takes place in the lives of many of your friends (and potentially your own life) every day.  All of the meaningless applications…iHearts, FarmVille, FishVillle, Mafia Wars, iHugs, blah blah blah…there are literally thousands of things screeching for our attention every moment of every day and there simply is One Thing that matters…there is only One that really is worthwhile:

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”
- Psalm 27:4

All things are ours in Christ.  If we will set our face to seek Him…if we will lay aside all of the worthless things of this world that so many have bowed their knee and conformed to…we will see the glory of God and real CHANGE grip so many across this planet that it will look like Heaven on earth.  He waits and eagerly searches throughout the world to find those in whom He can show Himself strong (2 Chronicles 16:9)…

Will you lay aside your ambitions and time wasting endeavors and aggressively pursue the destiny and adventure that is waiting for you?