Verse of the day: Act 20:24 But
none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so
that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the
Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
What drives us, motivates us, and keeps us going each
day? What are our goals in life as born again believers? How many of our goals
have anything to do with serving the Lord and doing something that is of any
worth in the kingdom? Sadly, I hear a lot of complaining about the direction
our country and our world is going in, and though we know that things will get
worse as the time draws near for our Lord’s return (Mt 24:12; 2 Tim 3:1-5), the
same people who are complaining are doing nothing to further the Gospel or win
others to Christ. Too many of our goals are earthly goals that do nothing to
make us more godly, bring glory to God, or even spread the Gospel message. What
will be our testimony at the end of our life? We will all reach a time when we
will be faced with the fact that life is truly fragile and will come to an end;
a time when we will face our Lord and Savior. What will our life look like when
we think back and reflect on what we have accomplished for Christ? Will we look
back and see a life of sacrifice; a life that was lived with no fear of what we
might lose or what might happen to us because we were fully trusting God to
take care of us as He promised (Mt 6:32-34; 1 Pt 5:7; Phil 4:6-7)? Will we see
a life that was lived in such a way that it reflected great value for the things
of God and little value for earthly gain? Was it a life lived with joy and
service to the Lord? Will we be looking forward to the rewards that are reserved
for us for all the souls that were saved because we were faithful in sharing
Christ with others, in whatever way possible? The Apostle Paul could, without
hesitation, say that he was fearless in his service to our God. Although he was
had already suffered much and was now being led by the Spirit to Jerusalem,
where he was uncertain of what was to come, but was already aware that troubles
and tribulations awaited him, refused to change course and was not alarmed or deterred
from the mission ahead. He did not value his life in such a way as to preserve
it for himself, but looked to willingly give it for the sake of the Gospel.
Even though he had suffered much and knew that there was more suffering ahead,
he counted it all joy to give his life for his service to the Lord Jesus. His
goal or greatest purpose in life was to faithfully discharge his duty to
Christ, even if it meant physical pain, imprisonment or even death. For this
reason he could write to Timothy and say that he fought a good fight and had
finished his course; he had kept the faith (2 Tim 4:7). Based on how we are
living for the Lord, what will be our testimony? What will our earthly record
look like from Heaven’s perspective? Will we continue to put more weight on
what man thinks of our life, and continue to seek and set goals that will
impress people, or will we re-prioritize our life goals so that our greatest
rewards will be waiting for us once we have finished the race assigned to us by
the One who purchased us with His blood (1 Cor 6:20)?
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