SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 7/28/2025 9:52 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: PT-5 “The
Past: The Course, In Which He was
Faithful”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
2 Timothy 4:7
Message
of the verse: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the course, I have kept the faith;”
Today we begin
to look at the second part of the third of five principles which are expressed
or implied in this verse that were foundational to Paul’s life and
service. Third, Paul recognized the need
to avoid wandering, to have self-discipline to stay on his divinely appointed course until it was finished. Now this is also true of all believers as
from our spiritual birth until the time God calls us into His divine presence
that is our divine mission. Now we know
that we are in the church age and there are two possible ways of being called
into His divine presence, one through death, or two through the rapture of the
church.
John
MacArthur writes that “the writer of Hebrews warns of two major hindrances that
relentlessly threaten to deflect believers from their God-given course.
‘Therefore, since we have so
great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us’ he says ‘let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us’ (Heb. 12:1 emphasis added).
Looking again at the two
highlighted words encumbrance and sin we can see that they
obviously are not the same thing. The
following could define encumbrance: an encumbrance is not evil in itself. Normally, it may be harmless or even it could
be worthwhile. However the danger and
harm come when such things hinder our service to Christ. What happens is it can begin to weigh us down
as we are running, they can distract our attention when we should be
concentrating, they move our focus from the Lord’s work to something else, and
they can also sap energy that should be dedicated entirely to the Lord. Anything unnecessary that we allow in our
lives becomes a spiritual encumbrance.
In describing the works that will not become a reward for believers when
they are judged Paul describes such things as “wood hay, and straw.” These
things can be burned up: 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which
is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man’s work will become
evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with
fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any
man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If
any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved,
yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:11-15).
Now
we move onto the second hindrance that is mentioned in Hebrews 12:1 “1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of
witnesses surrounding us, let
us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” This is
more obvious and much worse, and that would be sin for sin does not merely
deflect us from the Lord’s work but often robs us of headway already gained,
and that surely is not a good thing. If
the sin is unusually serious then the Lord Himself may pull us from the race,
because our testimony and effectiveness have been undermined. “For
this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep” (1 Cor.
11:30). “If anyone sees his brother
committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will
for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is
a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for
this” (1 John 5:16). MacArthur
writes “The great apostle was very much aware of that potential threat to his
own ministry. He had no fear of such
things as ‘bonds and afflictions,’ as
long as he could ‘finish [his] course,
and the ministry which [he] received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly
of the gospel of the grace of God’ (Acts 20:23-24). But he had great concern that he might
somehow do something or fail to do something for which the Lord would find him
unworthy of his calling. ‘Therefore I run in such a way, as not
without aim,’ he said I box in such
a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest
possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified’ (1
cor. 9:26-27).”
MacArthur goes on to write “The writer of Hebrews goes on to point
us to the only protection against encumbrances and sin, namely, fixing ‘our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising
the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God’ (12:2).
“Even after Jesus questioned Peter’s love and warned of his coming
afflictions for the sake of the gospel, the disciple still did not have his
eyes fixed on the Master. Instead he
become curious about John, saying ‘Lord,…what
about this man?’ and received another rebuke: ‘Jesus said to him, ‘If I want him to remain until I come, what is that
to you? You follow Me!’’ (John 21:22). In
other words, if the Lord allowed John to live until the Second Coming that was
none of Peter’s concern. Peter’s concern
should have been about his own faithfulness.
“Rudyard
Kipling’s famous poem ‘If’ is not Christian, but it captures the essence of the
mature life, the life that keeps everything in its right perspective and
priority.” Now I am about to quote this
poem, and this will end this section, as Lord willing I will begin to look at
the fourth foundational principle of Paul’s life in tomorrow’s SD.
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming
it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt
you,
But make allowance for their
doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t
deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good,
nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your
master;
If you can think—and not make
thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors
just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a
trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to,
broken,
And stoop and build ’em up
with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of
pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word
about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after
they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to
them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your
virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose
the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you,
but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of
distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in
it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a
Man, my son!
Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today: I am thinking about the passage in 2
Corinthians as I desire to live my life so that when I get to the judgment seat
of Christ that I will hear “Well done.” It is a difficult thing to live the
Christian life, especially in the world we have at this time as there is so
much “stuff” going on.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust
the Lord to keep me on the path that He desires me to be on.
7/28/2025 10:47 AM
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