“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7

The world is fond of cute little sayings that might or might not make any sense, like–“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on”. Really? Did you ever try to tie a knot while hanging at the end of a rope? Flying might be easier! The late Adrian Rogers made a better point when he said:

 

“If you’re like most people, you don’t realize your dependency on God until you’re burned out from stress—either self-induced or caused by circumstances beyond your control.

Why is that?

Paul says it’s because we are fragile. But he doesn’t stop there. He says that God made us this way so that His power may be known through us! (See 1 Cor. 1:26-31)

Maybe someone told you, “Oh, just tie a knot and hang on!” Sometimes God wants us to let go of the rope because it is keeping us tied down to our destructive habits. We are totally dependent on God so that the love of His Son may be made known to the world.

Get a piece of rope and tie a knot in it. Let it sit on your desk this week as a reminder that God is more than just a knot at the end of the rope. He is the Savior of the World!”

“Walk in Love.” – Ephesians 5:2

Religion (Christianity) is love: the love of God shed abroad in the heart, transforming our nature into love. The blessing is bestowed to be exhibited; we are to let our light shine, and walk in love.

Under the influence of love to God, for His mercy towards us; and love to man for God’s sake. By the rule of love, doing unto others as we would they should do unto us. Seeking their spiritual and eternal welfare. Letting it be clearly seen, that we indulge no envy, jealousy, malice, or ill-willin our hearts against any; but that we wish them well, and desire to promote their best interests in any way we can.

Love should run through the whole of our actions, and be the ruling motive in our souls. God acts towards us from love. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love; and love is the brightest and surest evidence of regeneration.

Let us not be satisfied to feel that we love, but let us manifest it; let us “WALK IN LOVE”; this is the way to be happy, useful and honourable. Bitterness, wrath, censoriousness, and selfishness, prove that we are under sin; but love is of God; and he that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

May I from every act abstain,
That hurts or gives my brother pain;
Nay, every secret wish suppress,
That would abridge his happiness;
And this may I Thy follower prove,
Great Prince of peace, great God of love! — James Smith, 1840

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,  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.  For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. “–Heb. 12:1-3

Statistics show that only one in ten pastors will finish as a pastor. Think about that– a 90% drop out rate! That’s shocking and exceedingly sad. Many start well, but few finish well. Of all people you would think, and hope, that they would never quit, give in, give up, or turn back–but most do. And, since this is true of pastors, it should not surprise us that so many others fail to finish their course. If those who regularly study and teach God’s Word quit the ministry it is not surprising that others would throw in the towel. Why?

While every case is different, I believe the root reason for failure is the same for everyone— a failure to keep “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”(Heb. 12:2). When we fail to focus on Him we faint, fall, and fail. We are safe only so long as we keep our eyes on Christ. Without Him we can do nothing. With Him all things are possible. Everyone, except those involved in it, think the ministry is easy, but it isn’t. Perhaps the only thing more difficult than being a pastor is being a pastor’s wife. But the fact of the matter is that all Christian ministry is hard –if you do it right. The demands of discipleship are difficult. While it cost nothing to become a Christian, it will cost you everything to be a true follower of Christ–“ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath , he cannot be my disciple.”(Luke 14:33).

The only way any of us can complete our course is to constantly consider Christ. The only way to be faithful and become fruitful is to abide in Christ (John 15:1-7). To fail here is to fail altogether. Our motto should be “For to me to live is Christ…“(Phil.1:21). He is the One who enables us to “do all things” (Phil. 4:13) and is able to “supply all your need”(Phil.4:19). Why would we quit on a God like this?

Failure doesn’t happen overnight, it is the result of neglect. Backsliding is like a slow leak, rather than a blowout. When a person neglects Bible study. prayer, and duty it is just a matter of time before they faint from the hardness of the way, yield to temptation, revert back to their old ways, and drop out. Truth be known, some of you are headed in that direction at this very moment and unless you change your ways you will fail to finish your course–even if you are a pastor, or a pastor’s wife.

Our resolve should be to be “faithful unto death”(Rev. 2:10). Our reliance should be entirely on Christ. Our responsibilities should be fulfilled. Our race should be finished. Our reward shall be great. May God help us to say with Paul,“But none of these things move me , neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”(Acts 20:24). O to be able to say,as Paul did,” I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” (2 Tim. 4:7). Regardless of what hardships we are forced to face, to hear our Master say “Well done!” will be worth it all.

“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”– Psalm 32:5

Have you ever wondered, “After what he did, how can he ever be at peace with himself?”. Or, better yet, “After what I did how can I ever be happy again?”. Well, the answer is found in our text— relief is received through repentance! The guilt of sin makes us miserable, but repentance enables us to rejoice. The daily devotional “A Good Thing” says:

“Two things we are clearly meant to take away from this account: sin must be confessed and, when it is, sin will be forgiven.

The psalmist reports that he was brought to the place of acknowledging his sin. He was not trying to hide it, or justify it, or excuse it. He held nothing back during his confession; he admitted to God his every fault and failing.

As he freely admits his sin to the Lord, we should notice, the psalmist also freely acknowledges it as sin (not just a mistake or personality flaw). He confesses his transgressions to the Lord. They are his (no one else is to blame) and they are transgressions (willful offenses against the law of God).

Have you gone to the Lord in confession and owned up to your own willful disobedience and pride? Have you utterly opened your heart to Him, acknowledging the wrongs you have done against his good and just law?

Then—but only then—will we have the same assurance in which the psalmist rejoices, that our sin is forgiven and every transgression pardoned. What a sweet, powerful thing is a clean conscience before our holy God!

Do not delay the repentance that God deserves or the forgiveness that you need.” Think about that!

Exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin– Hebrews 3:13

We cannot help but notice from this exhortation the deceitfulness of sin, the swiftness with which it can deceive us, and the urgency with which we must battle against it.

Sin lies to us, causing us to harden our hearts and draw away from God in unbelief (12). When we give in to any sin, we are not able to think as clearly and joyfully and trustingly as before.

Whether the sin is lust or anger or pride or greed, sin deceives us into thinking that satisfaction is found somewhere else than in God. It promises fulfillment through sensual pleasure, or putting others down, or lifting ourselves up, or gaining more “stuff.”

But this is a lie. True and lasting joy is only found in the path and presence of the living God. Everything else is just a dead, limp substitute that has been painted and polished and perfumed to look enticing.

But how swiftly we give in to the lie! The writer reminds us that we need daily exhorting, lest sin have its hardening effect on our hearts. We can walk faithfully for a week, a decade, or half a lifetime and then suddenly fall in a day! Constant vigilance, and the exhortation of others, is needed in order to avoid sin’s pitfalls today, no matter how successful we’ve been so far.

Finally, the writer presses the urgency of our situation. It is only called “today” for 24 hours! Then tomorrow will come, and soon the end of all days. Do not put off the vital work of repentance and faithfulness. Today is already almost over, and our Lord that much closer to returning.( Baptist Bible Hour)