Despite and Because of Our Past We Can Finish Well"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." I love these final verses. Please read 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Paul is speaking freely and openly to his “son” in Christ of his confidence that his race has been finished well and he will soon see his crown of righteousness. This is the same Paul we were comparing ourselves to quite favorably on Monday. Throughout Paul’s ministry, he never seemed too shy about bring up and sharing his past with others. He was quick to inform those around him that he was the changed man standing before them because of Christ’s strength. He never hid his past from those around him (not that he really could, his cruel and determined persecution of the church made him pretty well known). Instead, he used it as a tool for ministry and as an example of just how powerful and change-inducing the call of Christ could be. He did not allow his past to define him so, despite his past, he finished well. He also did not choose to bury or ignore his past and instead used it to create change in others; therefore, it's also because of his past that he finished well. I want to develop a testimony like Paul’s. I want to see God do an immediate change in my life and I want to follow that up with immediate action. I want to fully grasp and take advantage of my blameless future that has been found in my calling from Christ. Lastly, I want to neither hide nor be defined by my past. I want to allow God to use every aspect of my being to create change in this hurting world. I want to finish well and I want you to finish well too. It's time that we take the world by storm and we proclaim in our own lives and to all the world that “We have been developed by our past, but we are DEFINED by Christ!” Time to dog in! To start at the beginning of this week's devotional, and to download the Scripture Overview, Study Guide, and Scripture Memory Verse Cards, Click HERE. This Devotional written by Lindsey. Focus on this today: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."
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