Finish Strong

“That is why we never give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles. So we think about what we cannot see, not what we see. What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭ERV‬‬

This is one of my favorite set of verses. I have prayed this many times before when life seemed unbearable. So many truths are contained.

First, we must never give up! God wants us to have the perseverance in every area of our life to stay in the race! There will be many reasons to quit. There will be distractions along the roadside that look better than the race we are on. The enemy wants us to quit and will do anything to get us to quit. But for the joy set before us, it is worth staying in the race for one more step and then another and then another.

Exercise plans, finish strong. Diet plans, finish strong. Parents, finish strong in loving and giving grace to your kids. Spouses, finish strong in really loving your spouse until you meet the Lord and hear him say, "Well done." Singles, finish strong in waiting on the Lord to provide a godly helpmate. I used to tell my students all the time, "Summer will be here in a few weeks whether you finish strong or finish like a loser." I really did tell them that:):):). Same thing applies to life. You will die one day and you can finish strong like my dad or finish with so many regrets. 

Another truth that I see is that even though our physical bodies are growing older, our spiritual bodies can actually be gaining vitality and strength. That is an exciting promise to me as I am getting older. I can surely tell that my physical body is getting weaker and wearing out. But if I continue following the Lord, I can feel stronger in my spiritual walk. That is an incredible thought! However, just as we have to decide how we will take care of our physical body with good choices, we have to draw a line in the sand and commit to maintaining our spiritual growth.

I need to be reminded of the next truth on a daily basis. We will have troubles. But the troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. A simple way to look at this is to compare this to our physical body. Last night at Body Pump, there was a difficult set of exercises and I just did not think I could raise the weights above my head one more time. I had to keep thinking "for the joy set before me, I will endure the pain." In the scheme of life, who cares if I lifted that weight to be made physically stronger but it helps me to remember that a trial and trouble can make me stronger in the spiritual world. I want to praise Him for the trial and trouble because He has an eternal plan in mind.

The main reason I prayed this verse so many times is the part about praying for the unseen. If my prayers are full of my ideas and my plans and my wisdom, than I am leaving God out of the equation. That means I am praying to myself and not the almighty, all powerful God. If my prayers are depending on my strength, why bother? I want to pray for the impossible. I want my prayers to be for eternal things that I maybe I will not see until the other side of heaven.

What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.”

Eternal Glory is So Much Better Than Small Troubles

“That is why we never give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. We have small troubles for a while now, but these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles. So we think about what we cannot see, not what we see. What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Since I last wrote a blog a couple of things have happened. Our sweet Uncle “Nuni” died two weeks ago. We traveled back to Mississippi to celebrate his memorial. Then the day after we drove back home we got a call from the hospital that Mark’s mom is declining. We got back in the car and went back to Mississippi. The Cleveland hospital has a wing for long term care, and by God’s grace they had an opening. Within one day, we had her moved to long term care.

I cannot express the emotions that I feel when I think about the last four months. Three out of the four of the “elderly”people in my life have either gone to be with the Lord or are near to that point. This point of this blog is not about grief. Grief is just grief. Am I grieving? Yes. But they are with the Lord and that is a feeling of celebration.

Mark and I are overwhelmed with the thoughts of how to finish strong on this side of heaven. What do I want my kids to think when they see me take my last breath? Will it be one of thankfulness for the life I lived? Was I easy to follow to Christ or was I a hinderance? Will they remember me as a prayer warrior? Will they remember me as a lover of God’s Word? Will they remember me as one who had a heart of gratitude and not complaining?

Will they remember me as one who was radically generous and not materialistic? Did they see humility and not pride? Did they see me as one who served others and not myself? Were my words kind and encouraging? Did I tell them enough how much I loved them and how proud of was of them? I must say that I fall so short.

I cannot wait until it is near the end(whenever the end is) and regret the life I lived. My actions have to be eternally driven now. My money decisions have to be eternally driven now. My first hour of each day has to be eternally driven by reading the word and praying now and not start when I feel like it. The day that you “ feel like it” never arrives. It’s hard to see the unknown, instead of the temporary. But that is my goal. Witnessing the past 4 months of the deaths of loved ones, has cleared my thinking. Thank you, Lord.

P. S. Mark's mom died a week after i wrote this blog, February, 2018

Are You a Pretender?

““Great blessings belong to those who have washed their robes. They will have the right to eat the food from the tree of life. They can go through the gates into the city. Outside the city are all those who live like dogs—those who do evil magic, those who sin sexually, those who murder, those who worship idols, and those who love to lie and pretend to be good.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22:14-15‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Because I read through the Bible every year, this is what I always read on December 31...every single year. It occurred to me that I should share this truth to all who will listen.

There will be a time when our lives will be judged. There will be a time when all the pretending will be over. These verses state that outside the city will be the pretenders. Those that worship idols. There are a lot of idol worshippers in America. A lot of people worship the material things that the world offers. Can I lay these down and be satisfied with what God provides? Can I be happy with the 90% that I need to live on? Tenth percent is His, rest is ours.

A lot of people living in America are living in sexual sin and pretend that it is okay. More pretending. Some say that they can be in love with the Lord and they are awaiting His return but they do not try obey what is in His word. We are either in love with Him and want to run after Him or we are not. There will be a day when all the pretending will be over. Let today be the day when you get sick of living the lie.