Keeping the Faith

Quiet time reflection from Pastor John Piper’s sermon entitled “I Have Kept the Faith” (http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/i-have-kept-the-faith)

Did I live my life well this 2013?  Will Jesus Christ say “…well done, good and faithful servant”?

Paul’s criterion for success is so different from what I and many people believe to be what true success is.  In 2 Timothy 4:7, he says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  Paul’s measure of success in his life was not his accomplishments but on how he had kept his faith.

Pastor John Piper writes that when you have faith in somebody it means that:

1.  You take them at their word

2.  You count on them to live up to what they say

3.  You trust their counsel

4.  You have confidence in their promises.

Faith in Jesus Christ is therefore faith in His word.  We must have confidence in Christ’s death, resurrection and power – that through His death our sins were forgiven; that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life and; that His grace is sufficient for me.  Most Christians would say this but still act as though much of what Jesus promised us is untrue.  If that is true then we are not trusting Him.

Fighting the good fight and finishing the race is not always easy.  It is not easy because we still have the tendency to trust ourselves and not God.  Instead of trusting Him, we try to lean on our own understanding and to seek our own glory. 

Keeping the faith is a lifelong task.  We can’t expect to run a race halfway or to give up a fight and still think of getting a prize at the end.  Revelation 2:10 says that, “Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.”

Looking back at 2013, I have come to realized that I wasn’t consistent in keeping my faith.  The latter part of the year, especially the last 4 months, was a very difficult time for me and my family.  I struggled with a lot of things and kept my depression hidden from a lot of people.  But the Lord is good and He didn’t give up on me.  He surrounded me with good people who speak of God’s love for me and I thank God for that every day.

As I start this new year, Lord I pray that I may enter and end this year as a victorious fighter.  Someone who would fight the good fight and finish the race…someone who would trust Jesus Christ for all His word.

#Verse2014 #KeepingtheFaith