The Daily Word:the finish line

2 Timothy 4 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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

Peter was a man of great faith, he went everywhere to share the gospel. Further down in that passage he tells us that people rejected him, people left him on various journeys but yet he kept the faith, he got to the finish line.

I want to explore two passages in the bible where people have fallen short of the finish line.

It's a very painful thing to fall short of the finish line, I don't think anyone could come back from that. In football terms, this could be missing out on promotion, losing a play-off final or in athletics, it could be falling at the last hurdle or dropping the baton halfway. Building something and it falls down, starting a journey but you don't get to the end. We all have sometime in our life stopped short. How did it make you feel?

Genesis 35:16-19
Jacob and Rachel were on their way to Ephrath. Now Rachel was the love of his life, the type of love that will keep them together. They were some distance away from their destination when Rachel went into labour. Rachel gave birth but she encountered some difficulty, she gave birth to another son. Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (Bethlehem).
For Jacob, not only did it effect it him physically, I want to propose to you that it effected him psychologically. The fact that he didn't get to the finish line, it must have troubled him for some time. They were almost at the finish line, nearly there. So close but yet so far. Jacob didn't have much but he did his best with what he had, in between the people the around him and getting to the finish line.
How many times have we given up on something and buried it? How many times have we experienced failure and dug a hole for ourselves?
Do you feel like Jacob sometimes?

In society, there are many Jacobs out there who are under pressure to help their family and get them to the finish line.
Have you ever felt like you have fallen short of the finishing line? Have you ever felt like you didn't quite meet the set standards? You are not alone, many people have stopped short of the finishing line.

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

The next passage I want to look at is the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 35 is where we are zooming in on.
Moses was given a brief to rescue the children of Israel and lead them into the promise land. Along the line Moses stumbled, he failed his task and due to his unbelief and disobedience he was not allowed to go into the promise land. Moses too, fell short, he fell short of the finish line.

The finish line may represent many things to you, it may be completing university, it may be completing coursework or even reaching a destination. Have you ever felt like you have failed? Have you ever felt like you wasn't worth it? It's commonly known that when people fail, they lose hope, they lose faith and so they don't try anything again. They never get out of the starting blocks because they fear they won't make it. The voices of those people who tell them you won't make it, go back.

There's many instances as to why people don't reach the finish line. It could be because your vision has become blurred, it could be because your perspective has changed.

I want to now turn this around, I want to tell that you can push on and reach the finish line.

We all know the birth of Jesus but I want to look at Joseph and Mary. Joseph is the son of Jacob, now we know that Jacob didn't make it to Bethlehem. Joseph is now on the road to Bethlehem with Mary, who is heavily pregnant. Joseph knew that he had to reach a safe place for Mary to give birth. They were travelling by donkey, it was a long journey. The place where Jacob fell short, Joseph persevered and reached Bethlehem where Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. Where Jacob fell short, Joseph carried on. Where Jacob fell short of the finish line, Joseph crossed the finish line.

When you have a great destiny ahead of you, you will reach the finish line despite of what is facing you. I want to tell you that when you are marked for greatness, you can reach the finish line. The fact that Mary was carrying greatness, it drove them to the finish line.

In Joshua 1, Joshua is told by God to be strong and very courageous. God will always be there with him and that he will never forsake him.

Don't give up, don't stop, don't quit, you can make it. You can make it to the promise land, you can make it to the finish line. Let's be like Joseph, let's reach the finish line. There is untold pressure to reach the finish line, untold pressure to finish, to be successful but what do you do when all what you have done falls short.

Cast all your burdens onto Jesus for he cares for you. Jesus can get you to the finish line. When Peter fell short, when he couldn't catch any more fish, Jesus stepped in and got him across the line with more than he had. Whenever you are about to give up, don't give up, Jesus will get you there.

2 Timothy 4 - I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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

You can do it!!!!!!!!!! You can make it to the finish line!!!!!!!!

Lord help us to reach the finish line, give us grace and strength to finish the race.

The Daily Word - Seek God

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord .
Proverbs 18:22 NIV
http://bible.com/111/pro.18.22.NIV

 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 NIV
http://bible.com/111/mat.6.33.NIV

 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:3‭-‬4 NIV
http://bible.com/111/col.3.3-4.NIV

Many of us desire a relationship, the vision God has is for families to be restored, for man and woman to be one. It's evidenced all over Genesis.

It's commonly known that if you want to treasure, you have to dig deep for it. It's also commonly known that even when you find it, you need to open it to access what's inside.

So, with that in mind I want to get us thinking on this.
Brothers - How earnestly are you seeking God?
Sisters - How hidden in Christ are you? How accessible are you?

Seek first the kingdom and all things shall be added unto you. It's very clear what we have to. If we are not seeking God, how do we expect to find favour?

The Daily Word - Can you Love whilst Hurting

'Despite going through pain and torture, he went to the cross to show how much he loves me and you'

Some time ago, God asked a question - Do you still love people even though they hurt you? . I had to think a long time about that, it was something that had me stuck for a while until I finally realised why.

There's this mentality that some people have which is this - If someone hurts or lets me down, there is no way I can trust someone else or even love someone else. Looking from the outside that could be totally acceptable but let's take a step back and really consider whether it's the correct idea.
Let's look it at from the perspective of Jesus.

On the third day when he rose again, you would imagine that he had some scores to settle. His first port of call was to appear before Peter and have a heart to heart. That was a poignant moment, even though Jesus was hurt by Peter he still showed love by commissioning Peter and then he appeared to the rest of the disciples.

In a modern day context, you would describe a person who did that as quite mindless but ask yourself this - How many time has God forgiven you? How many times has God shown his love to you.
Even though we hurt God on a daily basis, he still shows us his love.

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. - Matthew 11:28-30

Wow, so what Jesus basically said is to give him all our troubles and exchange them for his yoke so we will find rest for our soul. What a huge statement, a statement of sincere love for me and you. We sinned against him, got him tortured but yet he is willing to take away our sins and forget them no more.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "HE HIMSELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES - Matthew 8:17

Holding on to the past, holding on to those memories of the people that hurt you and let you down, the memories of being abused and neglected, the memories of being cheated on, all of this will weigh you down and keep you down. Give it to Jesus, he is willing to take your burden and wants to give you his yoke so you can be free and be able to move on. 

So, let me ask this question again - 'Do you still love people even though they hurt you? How will you respond...................................

The Daily Word - Power of Love

John 3:16 - For God so Loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life

When thinking of ways of describing the power that love brings, I can only cast my mind back to that moment Jesus died on the cross. That moment was a powerful act of love, one that everyone is synonymous with. You could drop that and let people think on that but I want to describe a relationship where love defeated hate.

In Acts 15 we see the relationship between Paul and Barnabas reach a critical point. They had been everywhere preaching the word. They now want to go back and see how everyone is doing but somewhere along we have an added element, John Mark. He abandoned Paul at Pamphylia and went on his way, up until now we still don't know why that happened but sure you can imagine what was going through Paul's mind.

At Antioch is where things came to a head, Paul told Barnabas that it would be wise for John Mark to not accompany them on this mission. Barnabas and Paul parted due to that disagreement, Silas then joined Paul instead.

Forward onto 2 Timothy, Paul is now in the last moments of his life on earth, he tells Timothy something which I believe is very powerful.
'Only Luke is with me, Bring Mark with you when you come, for he will be helpful for me in my ministry'
Wow, what a significant moment, the love that Paul has for John Mark can now overlook what happened in Pamphylia and now bring him forth into the ministry.

In the world, most people wouldn't give a second chance to someone who had abandoned them but when you have love for someone, what they did is consigned to the history books and remembered no more. It could have been easy for Paul to disregard John Mark but he didn't, he deemed him valuable for the ministry.

Can you think of a time when someone showed you a powerful act of love?

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs

1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins

Romans 5:7-8 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 5:2
and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Romans 8:39

neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Love, Love is an action. Love is very powerful. Romans 8:39 is a excellent way to describe that. Nothing in this world could separate us from God's love. Before Jesus died, the disciples couldn't be one with God because of the sinful nature that had plagued the generations but when Jesus died, that veil which has covered people's eyes was torn in two. Love was restored, Love defeated hate, Love defeated death. 

Just after Jesus rose again, he appeared to Peter. Now Peter had abandoned Jesus so probably Peter wanted to get away and live a quiet life away from all the commotion but Jesus had other ideas. When they were reunited, Jesus asked Peter whether he loved him three times, the third time Jesus then told Peter 'If you love me, then feed my sheep' 

The love Jesus had for Peter never diminished, it just had to be reinforced. So the love Peter has for Jesus now has to be translated to the people. 

What a responsibility, what a moment. At that point, Peter was forgiven and restored as the rock of the Church. One which Jesus built his church upon. 

All throughout the life of Jesus, he was moved with Love and Compassion

Let us be like that, filled with Love and Compassion so that we can overlook people's faults and carry on loving them. 

Love is Powerful

Love is Caring

Love is Kind

Love is Patient

The Power of Love is displayed through your everyday actions...........................The Power of your Love was displayed on the cross.............

The Power of Love

The Other Side - The Daily Word

John 21:3-7 

Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.

4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.

5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.

6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

The Background to this text is that Jesus had been crucified and now Peter is wondering what to do. He now decides to go fishing and the other disciples also accompany him. At this point it is quite dark and as a result they caught nothing. For Peter, this could be seen as a major block because he is a fisherman by trade and now for him to not catch any fish, it just doesn't make sense. 

Morning came, Jesus approached and asked if they had caught any meat, Peter said no. At that point, Jesus told him to cast his net on the other side, the right side. When Peter did as commanded, he brought in a multitude of fishes. Wow, look at that, a multitude of fish. It was more than he had expected. 

In life, there are going to be times that the things we are doing will stop working, it won't be productive. How will you respond. What do you do when the thing are used to doing doesn't work any more, what will you do when you catch nothing? For too long, we keep doing things our way instead of God's way. 

Our perspective of a situation will be different to God's perspective of our situation, he can see the whole situation and everything around us.  

'Cast your net on the other side' 

It may seem difficult but the answer really is that simple. Listen to God and cast your net on the other side, you will soon bring in multitudes of blessings. 

Peter was in the fishing business, Jesus then stepped in and then told that he will be a fisher of men. He transformed it into a kingdom business

Allow God to step in and use what you currently do and transform it and use it for the kingdom

'Cast you net on the other side'

Bless you all, Step out in Faith and Cast your Net

Look Where you are going - The Daily Word

Carrying on with our Perspective of Focus series, we want to zoom in on a phrase that is normally said at different times in our life

'Look where you are going'
This phrase is said when you either crash into someone or you are lost and need directions. There are times when we will be asked this and we will need to know where we are going. Not knowing where we are going can cause us to be led down a blind alley.
When there is no direction, there is no vision.

Let's look at someone who was in that situation

“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭14:28-31‬ ‭KJV‬‬
http://bible.com/1/mat.14.28-31.kjv

It's a story that we all know about but we want to have a look at Peter's focus and how it relates to us. When Peter knew that it was Jesus on the shore, Peter stepped out and his focus was on Jesus but as soon as he stopped looking where he was going, his focus became impaired and henceforth he became afraid of the storms that were around him, as a result of that he started to drown.
In life, we can be focused on Jesus, looking to him to guide us and direct us through different stages of journey but as soon as we take our eyes off Jesus you soon find that the things around will start to get in the way and you start to sink or begin to lose faith that you will get to the other side.

It's been well documented that when we focus on something for a while, everything that is surrounding it disappears but as soon as we refocus ourselves, everything becomes clearer.


“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:105‬ ‭KJV‬‬
http://bible.com/1/psa.119.105.kjv


“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭KJV‬‬
http://bible.com/1/heb.12.2.kjv

Many have started the journey, looking unto Jesus but have let the storms of life get in the way and as a result they lose their way but we want to encourage you to keep looking towards Jesus, focus on him and your whole situation shall become clearer.

God knows me and you, he planned our life even before we were introduced to the earth so where are now and what we are going through is no surprise to him but he wants us to acknowledge his presence and accept him as our personal saviour.

When you look where you are going, you will reach your destiny.

Be Blessed

Unshakable Faith - The Daily Word

Your response to adversity will show how strong your faith is

Earlier today, people's lives were turned upside down, destinies were cut short, people lives cut short, a nation shook to its very core. As we were pondering on this the spirit said that it's not time for us to run away from terror, it's time for us to stand firm in the midst of terror. The enemy wants you to run, to be scared, to be shaken but it's time to refuse his tactics and show him how strong you are.

Peter couldn't see Jesus but he still climbed out of the boat. Run to Jesus, the enemy will wants to stop you but stay strong and run to him.

After the death of Moses, Joshua was tasked with leading in the children of Egypt into the promise land. Some time before, spies were sent out in order to see what they would need to do to enter the promise land. The rest came back and said there was no way that they could defeat the Giants standing in their way but Joshua and caleb came back and reported that they had every belief that those Giants could be defeated. What sets you apart from others is your faith and belief in God.

So from the perspective of Gods view, do you believe that all things are possible? Are you seeing the same thing as God is seeing. Whenever God sends someone out on a mission, he never leaves you unprepared and lacking support. Knowing this, it is not possible for us to be afraid or even be shaken for it says in Joshua 1 to be strong and of Good courage, for he will never leave us nor forsake us.

“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭KJV‬‬
http://bible.com/1/jos.1.9.kjv

Keeping your eyes on Jesus will ensure you are focuses on him and him alone. Times will come when things happen to shake your faith and to blind your vision but we have to stay steadfast and strong and focused on Him in order to reach our full potential.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:2-3‬ ‭KJV‬‬
http://bible.com/1/col.3.2-3.kjv

This passage lets me know that because I am hidden in Christ, I must set my mind on heavenly things. Are you doing the same? When you see news of terror, how do you respond?
Being hidden means that no one can find you

Take on the mind of Christ, be steadfast, refuse to be shaken. Build your foundation, operate and respond from a heavenly perspective.

Stay Blessed


#brussels #faith #walkinfaith