Forever Starts Now How to Focus Your Life to Impact Eternity
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Forever Starts Now How to Focus Your Life to Impact Eternity Tyler Cook Forever Starts Now How to Focus Your Life to Impact Eternity Copyright © 2020 by Tyler Cook All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ DEDICATION I dedicate this book to my beautiful bride. Thank you sweetheart for sticking with me through thick and thin. Your grace, mercy, love, and compassion direct my heart to Jesus. I promise to love you all of my days. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ~Theodore Roosevelt TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 1. Finding Success in God’s Eyes 9 2. Pursuing Eternal Rewards for God’s Glory 29 3. Discerning Your Life Vision 45 4. Why a Biblical Approach to Time Management? 61 5. First Things First 71 6. Cultivating a Consistent Devotional Life 91 7. Where Do You Stand? 107 8. Priorities for the Season 121 9. Developing a Maintainable Schedule 145 10. The Power of Focus 165 11. Humility: Unlocking Your Spiritual Potential 179 12. Eternity in Our Midst 201 NOTES 217 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To have a book solely credited to the author’s effort is a false presumption. I never would have been able to sit down and write this work had it not been for a number of people who have greatly impacted my life. Starting first and foremost with Jesus, I thank my Savior who has redeemed my soul and has given me the joy and desire to undertake an endeavor such as this. He is the ultimate source of every word written and any wisdom given in this text originated with Him. The greatest human acknowledgment I owe is to my wife and family. Through sacrificing time with me so I could write and through their great encouragement and inspiration, I have been able complete this pursuit. Along with my family’s inspiration, I am indebted to many of the teachers and mentors who have helped steer my life to a deeper pursuit of God. Among them would be Mike Bickle, John Piper, Patrick Hill, John Sowash, Bill Johnson, and a plethora of others who have contributed to my overall understanding on the matters of faith. I also am appreciative for my editor, Abigail Knutson, who has painstakingly journeyed with me sentence by sentence to see that this work is of the highest standard. To all these people and many more not mentioned here, I am forever grateful. INTRODUCTION If you’re anything like me, you probably spend quite a bit of time wondering, “What should I be doing right now?” This question may infer that I do not have a clear direction for my life or that I am a bit unorganized. But that’s not me. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you that I am a very driven and structured individual. I thrive off being able to dream, plan, and execute. I am one of those nerdy types with productivity software and books about creating good habits, being productive, and managing my time. I am your typical type A, first child, with an insatiable hunger to accomplish whatever God puts on my heart. Maybe you’re not like me. You struggle with time- management, executing plans (or even making them in the first place), and are not obsessed with productivity. If you fall into this group, I have some good news for you. First off, you are amazing! No really, you are a remarkable and irreplaceable member of God’s family. Don’t think for one moment that those with a type A personality are more valuable than you. The Father has uniquely designed each of us with characteristics necessary to fulfill a specific purpose in this world. Second, if you are feeling guilty for not being able to focus your life, stop now! “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). To stew on 1 Forever Starts Now your shortcomings is to play right into the devil’s hand. He wants you discouraged, disheartened, and hopeless that things can ever be different. Conviction is from the Holy Spirit and always brings with it anticipation for positive change. Condemnation is from the enemy and exists to keep you stuck in the failures of your past. Third, there is hope for real, lasting, impactful change in this area of your life. The process involves taking some simple, practical steps, but most of your transformation comes through aligning with God’s perspective of a fruitful life. Both aspects are necessary for focusing your life to produce the most significant eternal impact. Showing you how to accomplish this is the primary mission of this book. Now, back to the question we all ask ourselves regardless of personality type, “What should I be doing right now?” This question has plagued humanity since the fall of Adam. Most of us have plenty of things to do (or that we think we should do), but which task is most valuable for me to focus my attention on now? As you will read in upcoming chapters, I am unwaveringly certain that developing an intimate relationship with God is the most important thing you can do with your life. But just because it is most important does not mean that you should be focused on reading my Bible all day. God has blessed each of us with many different assignments, and it is our responsibility to fulfill all that the Father has called us to. At one moment, you may be called to intercede for your community, prepare a bible study, or counsel a friend who is 2 Introduction struggling with depression. During another part of your day, time would be better spent playing with your children, doing the dishes, or taking a nap. How do you choose what to do from one moment to the next? This is the root question that this book seeks to address. In short, what I am supposed to do from one moment to the next can only be answered by submitting myself exclusively to the leadership of the Holy Spirit throughout every moment of my day! This may seem like a daunting task, but before you begin to feel overwhelmed, let me assure you that this is not stressful. Walking in the Spirit is not about frantically asking for His will to be revealed every second of the day. Walking in the Spirit is about an intimate union with God. Through this connection, His will slowly but surely becomes our will. We begin to see the world as He sees it, and this dramatically affects how we live. We soon realize that it is only through our abiding in Christ that we can accomplish anything of lasting value. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5) As we abide in Christ, we see that He has blessed each of us with an opportunity to change the world. This opportunity, though exciting, is also a major responsibility. What we do for Christ matters! He has put us on this earth for a reason and 3 Forever Starts Now it is critical that we make each moment count. CT Studd relates this point in a powerful way: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” If you believe this statement, then you are well on your way to truly understanding how precious every moment is in relation to the eternal destiny of humanity. Many have read the Scripture, “You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). It is one thing to merely read over these words in a casual manner, and it is quite another to let this truth sink deep into your being.