READING:
One-year plan: Leviticus 1-4, Matthew 26:26-56
Two-year plan: Genesis 45:16-46:34, Matthew 14:13-33
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For years, I have taught that no one finishes this race well by accident. The men I know who’ve finished well made an intentional decision early in their Christian walk and ministry to finish well. They recognized the ferocity of spiritual warfare, but committed themselves to standing in the armor of God and rejecting the enemy’s arrows—all the way to the end. Finishing well means deciding to finish well.
On the other hand, today’s New Testament reading reminds me of another side of this discussion. Jesus told His disciples that all of them would fall away from Him that night just as the prophet had written. Peter swore he would not, even if all the others did. Even when Jesus told him again exactly what would happen, Peter denied its possibility. All the other disciples joined in the chorus, too, with all denying they would deny Him. They would indeed do, though, what they said they would not do.
On one hand, I’ve never known anyone who fell who believed he would ever fall; that is, I’ve not known anyone who set out to fall. On the other hand, I’ve also never seen anyone finish well by accident. Humility and honesty demand we never deny the possibility of a fall, but wisdom and faithfulness require that we never let it happen.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: What is your strategy to finish well?
PRAYER: “Father, grant me honesty to recognize my potential to fall and wisdom to stand against it.”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Leviticus 5-7, Matthew 26:57-75
Two-year plan: Genesis 47-48, Matthew 14:34-15:9