September 6

Good Friday Morning to you. Today is a day I’d like to call my mom and tell her thanks for all the things she has done for me, but mom doesn’t remember me, nor does she remember her life. She can’t speak and she is slowly forgetting how to walk. The last time I was with her, she seemed to be forgetting how to swallow. It’s very sad, but she is 92 and eventually all of our bodies simply wear out and give up. 


Sometimes we all feel like giving up. We make promises to do better, we pray more or try harder in hopes of finding our way out of the mess. When even our best efforts don’t seem to work, God reminds us of the truth. He loves us and will never abandon us.


This is the message of Jesus: while we were still sinners, he came to save us. Nothing we do will ever separate us from the love of God.


Paul battled through tears, overwhelming opposition, loneliness and weariness, but he never gave up on his calling to follow Jesus. He did not attempt to do it alone. Throughout his ministry, Paul was surrounded by a community of believers. Some encouraged and helped him, others let him down, but he never gave up.


“I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house...However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace....Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭20:19-20, 24, 28‬ ‭NIV‬‬


What can we do today to share our belief? And we certainly need to do it today because who knows what tomorrow holds. For Paul, it held prison and persecution; my mother never dreamed she would forget everything and everyone. We need to be running this race, not meandering along, right?


Lord you have set us to be shepherds and overseers, overcomer sin this life Help us to live up to our calling and to be about your business here as we journey through this world. We pray we can learn to think like Paul and our single aim will be to complete the race and finish this task you have laid before us. Sometimes there are so many distractions that we have trouble seeing where we are headed—focus our eyes on you Lord and blur those distractions. We praise you for you are the Alpha and the Omega, the King of kings. We give you the glory due only to you. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pan

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