PT-6 “The Past: The Course, In Which He was Faithful” (2 Tim. 4:7)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/29/2025 9:52 AM

My Worship Time                      Focus: PT-6 “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 4th part of the third of five principles which are expressed or implied in this verse that were foundational to Paul’s life and service. 

            “A fourth foundational principle of Paul’s life was recognizing the need to treasure time,” writes John MacArthur.  He goes on to write “We have only the time allotted by God, and none of us knows when it will run out.  Every Christian life runs by His divine timetable and against His divine clock.  We do not know how long He will hold open the door of a given opportunity or of our entire time of service. ‘Be careful how you walk, ‘ Paul therefore counsels, ‘not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil’ (Eph. 5:15-16).  God gives us many things without limit—His love, His grace, and many others. But His gift of time is strictly measured.

            “In 490 B.C., the Athenians won a crucial and decisive battle over the forces of King Darius I of Persia on a plain near the small Greek costal village of Marathon.  One of the Greek soldiers ran nonstop from the battlefield to Athens to carry the news of victory.  But he ran with such unreserved effort that he fell dead at the feet of those to whom he delivered the message.  The marathon races that are so popular today are named for that battlefield.  They also are a tribute to that soldier, the length of the run being based on the approximate distance (Just over 26 miles) he ran in his last maximum effort for his country.  He had completed his course, and there is no nobler way for a man to die.”

            I don’t think that I have ever heard that story before, but perhaps I did a long time ago.  Lord willing I will look at the fifth foundational principle of Paul’s life and ministry in my next SD.

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  This section about how long a person has to live is meaningful to me in light of my wife’s battle with cancer issues.  I am thinking about Psalm 139:16  “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”  This tells me we all have an expiration period, which we don’t know when that will be, but God does.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  It is my prayer that the Lord will give my wife and I life on this earth until He brings on the rapture so we can both go to meet Him in the air together where we will be changed into our new bodies so we can then serve the Lord together forever.

7/29/2025 9:23 AM