December 30 - Finish Well.

Acts 20:24
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
 
The Apostle Paul recognized that his race was ending soon. He had served the Lord humbly since that day he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. There were many tears and temptations that he had to deal with along the way. He had enemies, yet he gave all that he had toward the work of the ministry. He taught the multitudes, both publicly and privately, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He did not know what lied ahead for him, but he was willing to endure whatever the Lord had in store. He made the choice to finish well.
 
Philippians 3:13-14
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
 
We do not know what the ending of this year or the New Year ahead has in store, but the Lord does. There may be tears or temptations. We may even encounter some enemies, but we have a choice to make. Paul not only chose to finish his race, but he desired to finish it with joy while testifying of the Gospel of the grace of God.
 
What will we allow to hinder us from being a Light for Christ? Paul did not let the hindrances he found along the way deter him from his God-given purpose, and neither should we. There will be discouragements, disappointments, and distractions; yet we can choose to follow Paul’s example and say, “But none of these things move me”.
 
1 Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”
 
Make the choice today to strive to finish well.
 
 
Bible Reading:
Zechariah 11-14  |  1 John 4