"And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest." (Hebrews 3:1 NLT)

Paul tells believers to "think carefully" in the NLT; to "consider" in the KJV and to "Take a good hard look" in other translations. The Greek word used here is "κατανοέω" (katanoeō) which means to fix one’s eyes on something. In other words, believers are called to focus.

In science, focus is the point toward which light rays come together.

When we collect our thoughts and pay attention, we are focusing.

When we do it with other people in an organized way, we're in a focus group.

The Navy has a missile named Focus, and Ford has a car by the same name.

In sports, lack of focus is often the reason given for defeat; and players in a slump try to regain their focus.

When we take a blurred picture, it's because we didn't focus the camera on the right object.

In life, we find that Christ becomes blurred in our vision when we focus on our problems.

Do you know what’s wrong with many of us?

Many of us try to find ways to stay out of trouble rather than get into seeking what is righteous. We are so focused on our guilt which we all have that we forget that Jesus died for everyone’s sin, past, present, and future.

We often easily forget our sin debt is paid in full once at the cross and for all.

The Apostle Paul said that we have all received God’s grace and salvation, so should we continue to sin? NO! Our goal is to seek a life of righteousness and obedience to a gracious and merciful God. Our life needs to show our salvation and our life should be one that seeks to honor and glorify God.

Wouldn’t it great to grab hold of that thought and let that thought direct our life? Wouldn’t it be great to experience the abundant life that Jesus talks about? We can!

Jesus came to give us the eternal life. He came to give us the abundant life. We need to do like the old song says, "Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative."

Therefore, my friends, when the writer of Hebrews calls us to "think carefully," "consider," or to "take a good hard look," it is clear that our focus is Jesus Christ. Let’s keep our focus on Jesus Christ.

Don’t try to tell the world what is wrong with the world. Go and tell the world that Jesus Christ is the ONLY right answer for the world.

Warren Wiersbe said, "Focus on His perfections, not your own imperfections."