FAITHFUL
TO THE FINISH
BREAD
24 Do you
not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run
in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict
training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a
crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I
do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after
I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (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 But
you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the
eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and
of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good
confession, I charge you 14 to
keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ, 15 which
God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King
of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable
light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever.
Amen. 1 Timothy 6:11-16 (NIV)
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 20:24
(NIV)
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)
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
“We
should follow Christ in simplicity and faith, because the paths in which He
leads us all end in glory and immortality.
It is true they may not be smooth paths – they may be covered with sharp
flinty trials, but they lead to the ‘city with foundations, whose architect and
builder is God.’ ‘All the ways of the
Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His
covenant.’ Let’s put full trust in our
Leader, since we know that, come prosperity or adversity, sickness or health,
popularity or contempt, His purpose shall be worked out, and that purpose shall
be pure, unmingled good to every heir of mercy…..His dear love will make us far
more blessed than those who sit at home and warm their hands at the world’s
fire.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Never
dread any consequence resulting from absolute obedience to His command. Never fear the rough waters ahead, which
through their proud contempt impede your progress. God is greater than the roar of raging water
and the mighty waves of the sea. ‘The
Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever’
(Psalm 29:10). A storm is simply the hem
of His robe, the sign of His coming, and the evidence of His presence. Dare to trust Him! Dare to follow Him! Then discover that the forces that blocked
your progress and threatened your life become at His command the very materials
He uses to build your street of freedom.” F. B.
Meyer
“Our significance isn’t found in fame or fortune, but in knowing
that we have been links in God’s chain.
Our faithfulness to Him, even in obscurity, will yield results that can
only be calculated in eternity…..Our only duty in life is to be faithful to all
the work the Lord assigns.” Robert J.
Morgan
HEART SAVOR
·
I am to finish well both for my good and
God’s glory.
·
I want to be found faithful to the finish –
it’s way too easy to poop out in the process.
·
It is God Who empowers me to fight the good
fight of faith and finish the race.
