A
STRONG FINISH
BREAD
6 For I
am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my
departure. 7 I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me
the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to
me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his
appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV)
22 “And
now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will
happen to me there. 23 I only
know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are
facing me. 24 However,
I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and
complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the
gospel of God's grace.” Acts 20:22-24
(NIV)
1 The
Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow
deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV)
18 Timothy,
my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made
about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good
conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NIV)
11 Now
finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your
completion of it, according to your means. 2 Corinthians 8:11 (NIV)
30 When
he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 (NIV)
1 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run
with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured
the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God. 3 Consider
him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow
weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3
(NIV)
BUTTER
“This life therefore is not righteousness,
but growth in righteousness; not health, but healing; not being but becoming;
not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing
toward it. The process is not yet finished, but it is going on. This is not the
end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being
purified.” Martin Luther
“The
Lord Jesus received is holiness begun, the Lord Jesus cherished is holiness
advancing, the Lord Jesus counted upon as never absent would be holiness
complete….He is most holy who has most of Christ within, and joys most fully in
the finished work. It is defective faith
which clogs the feet and causes many a fall.”
Hudson Taylor
“I became a
Christian once for all upon the basis of the finished work of Christ through
faith; that is justification. The
Christian life, sanctification, operates on the same basis, but moment by
moment. There is the same base
(Christ’s work) and the same instrument (faith); the only difference is that one is once for all and
the other is moment by moment…If we try to live the Christian life in our own
strength we will have sorrow, but if we live in this way, we will not only
serve the Lord, but in place of sorrow, He will be our song. That is the difference. The ‘how’ of the Christian life is the power
of the crucified and risen Lord, through the agency of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, by faith moment by moment.” Francis Schaeffer
“My hope is not in a cure today. My hope is not the
absence of suffering and comfort returned. My hope is in the presence of the
One who promises never to leave or forsake, the One who declares nothing “will
be able to separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:39). Nothing. Your
story is a good story. In the grief, pain and hard, the Author has a plan. It
may feel like a desperate breaking of your very heart, but suffering is not the
absence of God or good.” Kara
Tippetts
“Kara Tippetts finished
well because she lived well. She joins that great cloud of Faithful witnesses
that encourages us to run our own race well; to fix our eyes on Jesus; to throw
off anything that hinders or the sin which so easily entangles, and to
finish faithfully. Kara's question ‘What will you do in these days of
mundane faithfulness?’ is one we all must answer. May each of us respond as
those faithful who have gone before us.” Donna Evans
HEART SAVOR
·
God desires
for me to finish well in my life of faith.
·
The faith
walk to the end can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling
within.
·
Jesus completed
the work on earth His Father sent Him forth to do – I am to do likewise. He is the example and perfecter of my faith.
