Finish Well

I read of a journalist who was in charge of the obituaries. One day when he didn’t have any deaths to record, he put a sheet of blank paper in his typewriter and wrote his own name at the top. He then found himself writing his own obituary: “I have been a good husband and a fine father. I have contributed to a number of worthy causes. I have left a reputation of absolute integrity. My friends are many.” By the time he had finished the page, he had already, unknowingly and unintentionally, committed himself to the task of living up to his own obituary.

Starting well is relatively easy. Finishing well is a different matter! Starting that new diet or exercise program is kind of fun, but hanging in over the long haul is the real test. Getting married is exciting and relatively easy. Staying married through the struggles, adjustments, and trials is not always an easy matter.

The same is true of the Christian life. Becoming a Christian is relatively easy: acknowledge to God that you are a sinner and receive by faith the free gift of eternal life that Christ provided by His shed blood. You cannot work for salvation nor do anything to qualify for it. God gives it freely to all that recognize their need and trust in Christ alone.

The Christian life is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash. Since finishing a marathon well is not easy, when you see a man who sprints across the finish line, you ought to try to find out his secret. The apostle Paul was such a man. It’s as if he has crossed the finish line with energy to spare. He jogs back to where Timothy seems to be losing steam and exhorts him to keep running well. It is clear that Paul is looking death in the face. His words must have caused Timothy to burst into tears when he first read them. And, these words must have sobered Timothy with the reality that Paul had handed off the baton to him. Now, he had to finish well.

Perhaps your circumstances seem pretty dismal today. Maybe you’re considering dropping out of the Christian race. From his dungeon, the aged apostle calls out to you:

§  “Don’t quit! Keep going! You can finish well!

§  “Keep in focus my view of the present: You can reproduce yourself in others to carry the torch after you. View your life as a sacrifice to God. Your death will be a departure to be with Christ.

§  “Keep in focus my view of the past, so that one day it will be your past. You will be able to look back and say that you engaged in the struggle for the cause of Christ. You didn’t drop out of the race! You guarded the truth of the gospel.

§  “Keep in focus my view of the future. Soon you will stand before the Lord, the righteous Judge, vindicated by His grace. Live in view of that day!” If you live with Paul’s focus, you will finish well!

Ask yourself these questions and give yourself a sincere answer:

o   With whom are you currently trying to reproduce yourself? If the answer is “no one,” ask God to direct you to someone.

o   Does the idea of departing to be with Christ cause you more fear or peace? If fear, how can you change this?

o   When do you most feel like dropping out of the race? What encourages you to keep going at those times?

o   Should believers be motivated by the thought of heavenly rewards? How can we keep that motivation pure?

Rescue Mission

Imagine the creator of this vast universe who has all knowledge, all power coming to the ones he created to make himself known to them. Well that’s exactly what took place over 2,000 years ago. To communicate with us in the best way possible, God “became flesh,” He became one of the creatures he made, man.

Why did God do this? Because our greatest need is an eternal one. It’s not about what we can gain in this life, in profits or pleasure or making a lasting imprint on this earth. None of these will satisfy our soul. Ours is a spiritual need, one that we were created for, to have fellowship with God and do His will.

Jesus came to earth because he loves us; He came to deliver truth in a world of false beliefs. But the main reason He came to earth was to be the final sacrifice for our sins. The simple reason is because we are not good, some may think they are, but none are as good as they think when compared to God’s standard--Jesus Christ.

His love prompted him to become man to accomplish what only He could, to rescue mankind.  Because we are sinful, in a spiritually wrecked condition we are in need of redemption but could not redeem ourselves. Nothing short than the eternal creator could accomplish this; no man with sin could qualify to redeem us with his life. God would come to earth as man to cleanse the affect of the disease of sin inherited to all humanity. That is what is so amazing about the Bibles story of Jesus. The creator came to earth; God who is perfect, righteous and holy lived among his creatures that are unholy, unrighteous, even those who were enemies of him.

Jesus came to earth because of God's love for all of us; no matter what religion, country or culture we were born into He wants fellowship with us. He wants us to experience the mercy and forgiveness that is needed to make us whole.

Only in Christ can we have faith, hope and love. We have Faith to live in a fallen world where things do not often go the way we would like. Yet we can trust God who is watching over us and personally cares for our life. We have Hope for our life today no matter what may happen and hope for our future. Hope that the life to come is going to be more fulfilling and than anything we experienced on earth. We can Love God who gave the ultimate sacrifice in laying down the life of his human body to save us from the penalty of our sins. Now we are able to love Him who we once hated. Because of this new life, love is indwelled in us that we are also able to love people in a greater manner, even those we may not know.

Your Legacy

Legacy is an interesting word. It means an inheritance of property or money, but it also speaks to the value system you live by and the memories you will leave behind.

How do you leave a legacy that is a gift? And if you had inherited a legacy that was a burden, as so many of us do, in some form or other, how do you avoid passing that burden on to your children?

There is a Jewish saying that the most vulnerable people are those who are dead. The dead no longer have any power except the power those they leave behind give them.  Legacy is, in many ways, an attempt to have and keep making impact after death.

As Paul pondered the end of his life, he made three very simple statements about his legacy. He had “fought the good fight”—standing firm as a spiritual warrior, clothed in the armour of God, faithfully defending the truth of the gospel. He had “finished the race”—ensuring in the process that he was neither disqualified nor disheartened in the marathon of life and ministry. Most importantly, he had “kept the faith”—remaining true, committed, and loyal to the One who rescued him from sin and darkness.

Notice that Paul’s brief statements here say nothing about the education he had received, the places he had travelled, the letters he had written, the people he had preached to, or the churches he had planted. He flat out wanted his legacy to be labelled as “faithful.” I love that! It’s what I want to aspire to as a follower of Jesus.

So, I have to ask myself, “If that’s the kind of legacy I want to leave, how would I pursue it today?” Well, it means that my choices need to be more about “fighting the good fight.” I need to put on the spiritual armour each morning, as Paul told the Ephesians to do, and live to be victorious in all that comes my way. I need to be running the race to win, putting off all that hinders and the sins that entangle (Hebrews 12:1). And, it means that in every situation I want my attitudes, my words, and my actions to be loyal and true to Jesus.

As Paul told the Philippians, “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” (Hebrews 3:13-14). There’s no better time than the start of this New Year to set our sights on new goals that will, over time, develop a legacy worth leaving.

Building a legacy worth leaving behind begins today and is made one decision at a time. Live your life such that Jesus will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Being Concerned

Healthy caring relationships in the body of Christ may be defined as fellowship that experiences goodness on one hand and the absence of evil on the other. A commitment to caring and loving relationships requires a proactive, mutual, unconditional, gracious, and merciful thrust that is intended to connect one another beyond our differences. Living in the here and now poses a challenge to this premise because divisive factors present impediments to such harmony.

The first two characteristics of the early church were that "they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship" (Acts 2:42). Many of our churches today are strong on teaching but weak on fellowship. Good teaching is not a substitute for fellowship.

In Galatians 5:16-26 Paul contrasts those qualities of character that result in bad relationships with those that form good relationships. "The acts of the sinful nature" include "hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy", whereas "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." As Stephen Covey says in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People with regard to running a business, or marriage, or family:

“No amount of technical administrative skill in labouring for the masses can make up for lack of nobility of personal character in developing relationships.”

What the New Testament means by the Church is not an institution which owns property, performs rites and organises meetings, or even one that plans strategies to evangelise unreached people. Rather, it is a group of ordinary people who, because they are experiencing the immense grace of a compassionate God, are learning how to overcome hostility between people, forgive and trust one another, share what they have and encourage one another in wholesome and joyous relationships.

Being part of a family is wonderful. And it has its share of challenges and problems. So we all need to do our part to make the family become better. Treat each other with respect and being gentle and considerate go a long way in building a strong family. We need to do our best to provide for our own families and also to assist who are in need.

What is needed, then, is for organised Christianity to be seen as a cause. Only a cause that is obviously unselfish, outgoing, compassionate, flexible and travelling light in terms of structures, can be a credible source for the message that God is, God loves, God came and God forgives.

Each of us need to practice the truth we have been entrusted with. Information must lead to application that produces transformation. Not only will this result in godly living, it will help others to be receptive to the gospel as they see us practice what we preach.

Decision/consequences

I visited my place of birth some weeks back and stumbled upon some of my old pictures. As I flipped through forgotten photos from my early days. I could see how innocent and unperturbed I was (maybe I still am). I was even cute! And yet, I would spend so much time obsessing about what was wrong with me. How often do I wake up and go through the day, missing what is in front of me? During these years, I made several decisions most of which I wish I didn’t. But now I realise those decisions are what made me who I am today. As Viktor Frankl said, “Live as if you were living already for the second time, and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” This doesn’t just apply to big moral choices you must make. This may just be the choice to be happy and appreciate your breath.

If you could go back to a younger age, knowing what you know today, how would you have done things differently to be further ahead than you are now? Hindsight always is clearer than foresight. Many of us can think of things we wish we had done differently in order to be better off today. Every decision or action has a reward or recompense.

When the Lord comes, He comes with a reward for us. Rewards by simple definition are good things. We tend to think of rewards in materialistic terms. However, we know that God is bringing something far better than materialistic things. The Lord is also bringing something else with Him: recompense. And this recompense is to precede the reward part.

Our lives and how we live them are open advertisements of the beauty of following Jesus. How we live now matters for all eternity. We are building our lives on our faith in Christ, lives that will continue to serve His purposes in His eternal kingdom. This short earthly life is a training ground for our eternal assignment. After placing our trust in Christ, the next important thing in a believer’s life is discovering his or her place of serving others.

If you have not discovered how you are gifted to serve others in the name of the Lord, begin that journey toady. Speak to a mature Christian or pastor and share your heart’s desires. Explore different opportunities to serve. Be willing to learn and grow. Remember you are building a life that will last forever.

At the end…

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, accepting Him as the only way to God the Father and eternity in heaven, then you have no reason to fear the Day of Judgment. As a Christian, you are assured that your eternal future in glory has already been secured. Far from dreading the Second Coming, you can joyfully anticipate Christ's return.

While the exact day and hour is unknown, Jesus gave signs to watch for to anticipate His return. Wars, famines and earthquakes will be some of the birth pains, alerting us to the nearness of the Second Coming (see Matthew 24). Christ told us these things not only so we would be prepared for His return, but so that we would not be deceived by false messiahs. Christ's return will not be a quiet, rumoured incident. We will not learn about it on the evening news. The next time this world sees Christ, it will be such a spectacular event that no one will miss it.

When Jesus first came into Jerusalem, He came humbly on a donkey and with tears. During Jesus' last evening with his disciples, He told them not to let their hearts be troubled because He was going away to prepare a place for them and promised that He was going to come again. When Christ returns it will not be in tears but as a triumphant warrior in charge of the armies of God to bring about the purposes of God. At the end time, He will gather together God's people, and he will bring final judgment on those who don't belong to Him. Christians believe history is working relentlessly and inexorably toward the consummation of God's eternal purposes and these purposes will be brought to pass at the glorious triumphant return of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jesus - the Word of God also became the Lamb of God. The one who will come to judge has earned the right to judge because He accepted the wrath of God for the sins of the whole world, went down into death, and was raised again triumphant. The end times will see Jesus ruling the nations in truth and righteousness as King of kings and Lord of lords. 

The question to consider is my name in the Book of Life because I have repented of my sin, humbled myself before God, and received the gift of eternal life through Him? What if Christ returned tomorrow? Would that change how you spend the rest of today? Would you continue to keep silent about His love and judgment, or would you boldly and lovingly share about His return? Commit yourself to living a lifestyle that eagerly anticipates the appearance of King Jesus.

Serious Matter

The reality is that sin is very serious to God. In fact it’s so serious that he sent Jesus to take the penalty for our sin, that we might be forgiven. He sent his son to die to save us from the penalty of sin (and from the power of sin). That shows how seriously God takes sin. And it shows us how much he loves us. To us, sin doesn’t seem such a big deal sometimes. We wonder why God doesn’t just wipe it out. But God sees sin as it really is, a violent, destructive, evil force, which seeks to deny him his place as Lord over his creation. It must be dealt with, and dealt with permanently. Even if we don’t see it now, the reality of hell shows us how serious sin is.

I agree that sometimes it seems unfair that God would send people to hell, but I wonder if that’s coming at it from the wrong direction. What we all deserve, you and me included, is to be punished. If anything’s unfair, it’s that God allows anyone to be completely forgiven when we sin, through Jesus death on the cross. That means we don’t get what we deserve; it means we get forgiveness and eternal life, rather than judgment for our sins. That is unfair, don’t you think so, but in a good way! And the gift of forgiveness is available to anyone who will put their trust in Jesus and follow him. The gospel is the power of salvation, and the revelation of God’s righteousness is the solution for the sin. God has acted to rescue people, to save them, to restore them to righteousness.

As Christians, we are saved because our sins are forgiven. Rather than spiritual death, we have eternal life. Instead of God's wrath and the second death, we will have deliverance and reward before Christ, "...Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matthew 25.21 KJV bible). In Christ, we are saved from all types of spiritual condemnation, being resurrected from death, and delivered from wrath, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5.24 KJV bible). So we understand the manifold riches and grace that is being given to us as servants of Christ, who continue to walk by faith, and not worldly sight.

The Antichrist

One of the appealing factors of many sporting contests is that the winner of a game is not decided until the very last play of the game as time runs out. The tension and anticipation are part of what makes such contests exciting to watch. There is a war being waged between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. But unlike sporting events, the winner is already known.

We believe that the Antichrist will be revealed after the rapture of the Church, when Christ will come to take His followers to heaven. As Christians, we are reminded of our need to be faithful to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. And we are reminded we are to take a stand against the spirit of antichrist that is already in this world by witnessing for Christ. We can warn others that those who follow the antichrist in rebelling against God will suffer eternally and invite them to share in the triumph of Christ’s kingdom.

One day antichrist will be revealed. While we believe this will not occur until after the rapture of the Church, the spirit of the antichrist is at work in the world even today. So we must set our hearts on being faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our perseverance will be tested. We should remember several principles when we are tempted to turn our attention from Christ.

Be alert, always seeking God for spiritual discernment. Satan is constantly on the prowl to derail us, often in subtle ways.

Be faithful in studying and applying God’s Word in preparation for present and future spiritual battles.

Keep an eternal perspective, remembering that the trails of today are temporary while glories of heaven lasts forever.

Call on God, who stands ready to help and empower when we call on His name.

The power of evil will test our faith in coming days. We must prepare to respond with determination, reaffirming our commitment to Christ.

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour… Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life... His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

Where exactly am I heading?

Let’s face it: sometimes going “all the way” with Jesus is a challenge, and we find ourselves lagging behind where we feel like we should be. In times like these, it might make sense to tell ourselves to work a little harder, to devote ourselves more fully to God. But the gospel diagnoses things differently. Ironically, the gospel tells us that when following Jesus gets difficult, the answer is not to “work harder” but to “rest better.” Only by learning to rest in Jesus will we have the strength we need to thrive.

I cannot imagine a more relevant concept for our culture. We have a culture that chronically overworks. We know it’s bad for us, but we feel compelled to keep up the frenetic pace. After all, work is how we put food on the table. More than that, however, work provides many of us with a source of identity. And since work is our source of identity, we are constantly striving to prove ourselves. We determine our worth by our work—but the striving never ends.

The good news is that the gospel offers a rest from all of this. One proof that we have found the gospel, according to Hebrews 4, is that our lives are characterized by a profound rest. Only Christ can provide that inner rest. Without Christ, we will work even while we are resting; with Christ, we will rest even while we are working.

We spend our lives trying to justify ourselves, to diminish our faults and to exaggerate our virtues. We feel guilty. We feel unimportant. We feel naked and exposed, so we cover ourselves with titles, personas, and accomplishments. We can never rest if we find our identity in our work. Too many of us do, which is why we are always fighting to prove our value. One of the hardest lessons to learn is that we cannot control everything, that we cannot provide for every contingency—in short, that we are not God. We are tremendously stressed because we carry around a burden of security that God never intended for us to carry.

It surprises me how rarely we stop to ask ourselves, “Where exactly am I heading?” Too often our lives lack a priority, a unifying purpose for our decisions. So we labour over every fork in the road, not sure how to weigh each choice, and never confident that we have made the right one.

If Christ is our priority, however, that gives us a compass for decisions. Not only that, but it provides rest. If we honour Him above everything, He promises to take care of the rest (cf. Matt 6:33). We no longer need to worry and obsess about money, about relationships, about work. We focus only on faithfulness. When Christ is the priority, when He is first, we get everything else we actually need. Put other things first, and not only will we lose Him; we will eventually lose them, too.

Christ offers us inner rest: He will be our righteousness, identity, security, and priority, if we simply believe in His gospel.

Good Shepherd

Two men were called on, in a large classroom, to recite the Twenty-third Psalm. One was a published orator trained in speech technique and drama. He repeated the psalm in a powerful way. When he finished, the audience cheered and even asked for an encore that they might hear his wonderful voice again. "Then the other man, who was much older, repeated the same words--'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want...' But when he finished, no sound came from the large class. Instead, people sat in a deep mood of devotion and prayer.

Then the first man, the orator, stood to his feet. ‘I have a confession to make,' he said. 'The difference between what you have just heard from my old friend, and what you heard from me is this: I know the Psalm, my friend knows the Shepherd.'

I want you to ask yourself this question, "Do I really know the Shepherd?”

Jesus said: “I’ll be explicit; I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. Jesus who is both the door and the good shepherd, is the means by which sheep find not only salvation but also safety and nurture. We not only have safety of the sheepfold, we also have an abundant life. Through Him, we are saved; following Him we have life more abundantly.

At different times in our lives, we feel the need for the shepherd in different ways. Sometimes our need for the safety of the sheepfold is acute. Other times, we are in dark and dangerous places, and need the Shepherd’s guidance. As you reflect on your life now, how is Jesus the Good Shepherd for you?

Will this be your prayer or song today?

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God

Bread of Life

Back in school, I had gone for night class alone. While there, I got thirsty, very thirsty, I looked around for water. I went out, walked around, every place one could buy drinking water had closed shop and gone home. I search for hours, walked to very far places in search of water. I was willing to pay any amount to just have a taste of water that night. I was even going to take from anywhere I see water, even if it meant that I will go to the owners by morning to explain to them. That was how thirsty I was that night. I ended up drinking water kept for something else. But the satisfaction for the water was only temporary.

Jesus promised us that “He is the bread of life: anyone that comes to Him shall never hunger; and he that believes on Him shall never thirst” Jesus is still The Bread Of Life. He is what the whole world needs, He satisfies all those who partake of Him, there isn't a person on the world who can't tolerate Him, and there isn't a person who won't enjoy Him when they meet Him. 

The people Jesus fed with the miraculous 5 loafs of bread and two fishes kept coming back for that physical bread whose satisfaction is only but temporary. Jesus had something better to offer, the bread that when you have it, you will never hunger and the water when you drink it you will never thirst again. Many of us are like that today; when we seek God, it is only for what He might do to fulfil our immediate physical want, meanwhile, our spiritual needs remain overlooked.

The only work God requires of us is to believe in Jesus, His Son, whom He sent to this word to be the sacrifice for sin. The natural bread we eat will not sustain us beyond today. But the spiritual bread Jesus offers us can give us spiritual life, not only in this life, but the one to come too.

Jesus is the only hope for the world. He is what the soul of man needs before it can experience eternal life. The question that comes to us at this point is this: What have you done with Jesus? Have you received Him into your heart and life? Are you secure in His salvation this morning? If something were to happen to you and you died, where would your soul spend eternity? You can only honestly say Heaven if you have eaten Heaven's Bread. What I mean is this: You are only saved if you have come to Jesus as a sinner, have confessed your sins and have placed your faith in Jesus alone for salvation. Do you know Jesus The Bread Of Life in a personal way? If not, you can if you will come to Him right now. Will you do as He calls you to do? Will you come to Jesus?