 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
As I'm writing this, there are about fifteen days left of 2020. Hooray! There are no promises that things will be easier at the beginning of next year, but won't it feel good to just be done with 2020? But, I want to encourage you to not waste these last few days! It might be tempting to write them off, knowing that the holidays will be different than any other year, or maybe you're disappointed as you look back and see all the goals that you didn't reach. Keep going strong! When I was a teacher, one of my mottos at the end of every school year was "Finish Well." i was always exhausted after teaching for so many months with only a few breaks, and the end of the year meant finishing grades, cleaning the classroom for the summer months, finishing the yearbook, graduation, and more. I didn't want to do anything except relax, but I had to get things done, and I wanted to get them done well! Maybe as you look back at 2020, you see all the bad, all the negativity, but take some time to focus on the positive things that happened. There has to be something good that happened in your life. You may have to dig deep, but look for the good. As you look back, you may also see goals that you didn't reach. I know I set goals last January that with the stay-at-home orders, I honestly could not achieve. But, don't dismiss your goals! You have a few days to start on them or simply put them on your list 2021. In a few months, let's look back at 2020 and say, "we have fought the good fight, we have finished the race, and we have kept the faith!"
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 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
God has not given us a spirit of fear. And if God has given us power and love, He has also not given us a spirit of anxiety and anger. So, if these characteristics are not from God, can we stop using them? Can we stop twisting our words to emanate fear in order to get people to agree with us? If God has given us self-discipline, can we hold our tongues? There is a pretty obvious line between speaking the truth in love and speaking the truth in hate, and I think some people tend to justify hate and fear if they think they are speaking truth. Christians, I’m primarily talking to us. We are supposed to be bringing hope and truth. Instead, some of us are on a conspiracy theory hunt. We should be using a little more wisdom. Have you read Revelation lately? Moral of the story: God wins. We win. Satan tries his hardest, but He loses. The end of this blink in history and then we enjoy the rest of eternity with our Creator. We are in the midst of some unique times. We have the opportunity to point people to Christ and hope. Almost every church has their service online. Devotions are online. Bible Studies are online. The church has now moved from buildings to every home in the world. Are you pushing people towards this? Are you using your voice to proclaim the Gospel and God’s love? If Christ returns tomorrow, what will be the last thing you say or post online? I want to encourage you to show love. People don’t need fear. Every avenue of media is telling them to fear. They need love and hope. They’ve lost jobs and loved ones, have had to cancel or postpone life events, and are just plain tired of having their lives on hold. Can we be the light? Can we point people to the only One who brings hope? When our church building doors finally open, there should be a flood of people who have found hope during this time and want more. I know I included a lot of questions in this blog post, and if hope is the answer, let it begin with me. |
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