"But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God's grace" (Acts 20:24, HCSB).
I am not a good finisher. Some are good at working hard and running the race, some good at finishing what they started. I'm good at starting things and never finishing...which is not-so-good. I have so many projects that are incomplete right now. Our remdeling of the master suite remains ongoing so that is certainly something that needs to be finished. The Christmas decorations are ready to be put up. There are working things like syllabi to be done and emails to be sent. I have writing to do and other ministry projects just hanging. And dare I even mention the dreaded dissertation that needs to be finished?!
It is so easy to lose focus and yet Paul tells us in Acts 20 to finish the course that the Lord has called us to. I must count my life of no value and charge head to do the main thing. I must finish what He called me to start and to leave the rest. I must put aside everything that keeps me from doing my ministry.
In the next few days, I will complete my priority list for 2010. It will be a private list of the essential things that I know that the Lord is calling me to do. This list will not be a list for debate but a list that I will commit to and keep plugging away at until they are complete. The next few days will also be a time for me to finish what I started this year (2009). Just as I must start the new year well, I must finish some things already started.
I pray that the Lord will guide us all as we finish this year of commitment and begin the process of starting a new one. May He lead you every step of the way as we know Him, share Him, and lead others to do the same.
