Many have lived well-intentioned lives, but few have finished well. Finishing well involves making intentional choices.
Finishing well is about behavior. It’s about a life that seeks greater alignment with Christ. It involves translating what we say and know to be true, into daily life, and an ongoing lifestyle. And that means choices.
This series of posts has sought to better define what it means to finish well and examine those issues that hold a Christ-follower back. In the first post, we sought to define what it means to finish well. Next we identified potential the barriers to finishing well. Last time we surfaced five choices ways that can enhance your potential to finishing well.
Time is short. The days are already numbered. Our challenge is to fight past the obstacles that life presents, and even at times having to push through other believers who started well, but are not finishing well for Christ, and hear those words at the end… “well done, thou good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:14-39)
In his day, Joshua drew a line.
While he saw leaders turning away from a life of full surrender to God… and while he watched those he had personally trained make the choice to serve other gods… Joshua drew a line. He made a public declaration of his life intent, and his commitment, to serve the Lord His God to the end.
Joshua called the leaders of his day to make a choice. He challenged his generation to live for their God… and to live differently. His public declaration can still be heard today:
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Ammorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” — Joshua 24:15
Public commitment needs to be resurrected. It’s time. The are needed again in our day.
You and I may not be able to stop the slide of culture, or even persuade those around us to stay the course, but what we can do is to make the choices, though the power of God’s presence in our lives, to love Christ to the very end.
Will you ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE, and choose to follow Joshua’s life and declaration?
Whether Pastor, business owner, mother at home, in the city, in the rural regions, in the USA, In Singapore, from the West or living in the East… whatever the challenges life in presenting… I am calling all for each of us, and all of us, to make the intentional choices required to complete the race set before us… to FINISH WELL. Together… may we be the generation that changes the percentage.
Terry Walling
NOTE: I have created a space for you to make your PUBLIC DECLARATION of your commitment to FINISH WELL. Hit the “ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE” button and it will take you to our blog that explains more.
THIS IS THE FINAL blog post in this series on FINISHING WELL. I would greatly value your comments. Was it helpful? Did it have an impact of you and your personal development? Please take a moment and give me your thoughts. Thanks.
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