June 8--What It Takes To Finish Well

Now that I'm in the home stretch, I'm all ears when it comes to hearing how to finish my life well.  Today's passages tell me what I didn't already know--that it takes depending, not going it alone:  1 Kings 3-4, Acts 6, Psalm 126, Proverbs 16:27-28.

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Eve reads her Bible journal aloud on this episode.

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Transcript

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June 8th. What it takes to finish well. I won't be reading the scripture references for those. Please check the written post. The most difficult hike we took was up Catawba Falls on a two mile trail that was wide and easy at the beginning, but after a couple hundred yards or so became a straight up climb on a newly installed stairway that took us alongside a thundering waterfall. It was thrilling to look over the side and see how far we'd come, farther than we could see once we were high in the treetops. A spectacular display of lush moss and fern grew right out of the rock that clambered up the falls and was no doubt watered by runoff, but I had to stop gawking at it since the height was dizzying. Abraham aged two hiked this trail just like the rest of his cousins who were ages five to thirteen, and it was an astonishing thing to witness. It was just one of the trails we tackled in the North Carolina mountains that cousins camp week. But Abraham's strength to hike and climb wasn't purely his own. The real powerhouse that fueled him walked beside him and sometimes carried him, along with his nine month old brother, was Sadie, his mama, who was also my daughter. With Abraham in tow, Sadie walked a slower pace than the rest of us, but still kept in sight of us. When he needed a rest they took one. When he wanted to look closely at something they did. When he needed a snack or a drink, there it was for him. I'm still marveling over how well he did three days running, but when I think about how kindly he was accompanied, how carefully he was tended, how compassionately he was spoken to when he needed holding and consoling, I see that he was guaranteed to finish with good help like this. The secret to finishing well isn't doing life by yourself, it's having a powerhouse with you who supports you at every step, which is just what today's passages tell us. The

1 Kings 3-4

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Old Testament chapters are first Kings three to four. If God appeared in your dreams and said he'd give you whatever you asked for, what would it be? Young and inexperienced as he was, King Solomon asked for the wisdom to rule his people well, which was admirable and pleased God, but God's response to Saul's request was even more worthy of praise. God didn't just make Solomon wise, he made him the wisest man on earth, as attested by the number of visitors who came just to hear him talk. God also gave him the things he didn't ask for as a reward for his wise request. He gave Solomon great wealth as evidenced by his collection of horses and riders, plus how much food it took to feed his household, which was massive by any standard. And God gave him peace with his enemies, something else he didn't ask for, so that all Israel lived in safety during his reign, quote, each man under his own vine and fig tree, end quote. It was an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity for the king of Israel and all his people who quote, ate and drank and were happy, end quote. God knows what the good life is. After all, he created life and all the good stuff in it, and he gave Solomon all the markers, from international fame to national thriving, from peace during his lifetime to wealth, wisdom, and knowledge beyond anybody else's. Plus God said that if Solomon walked in his ways and quote, obeys my statutes and commands as David your father did, God would give him a long life to top it all off. But this was not enough for Solomon. Seven chapters later King Saul was obsessed with women, and they became his downfall. While wisdom was a wonderful gift, it wasn't enough to bring about lasting righteousness for Solomon. It would take faithfulness to pull it off, and sadly, this was one thing he didn't think to ask for. His women, there were hundreds, led him into idolatry, and he abandoned God worship and worshiped Ashtarith, Kemosh, and Malak, the gods of other nations, and God was furious. But God didn't abandon his people nor his promise to David that he'd never fail to have a descendant reigning. Despite faithlessness in human beings, God has faithfulness in spades, and while we turn away from him and break our promises to obey, God keeps his promise to be our God throughout all centuries, including this present one and right into eternity. Because faithful is what God is, to stop being faithful, he'd have to stop being who he is, and this he won't do, quote, for he cannot disown himself, end quote. Jesus' disciples deserted him when he was arrested and crucified, all except for John, but Jesus still met up with them as planned in Galilee after his resurrection, and his first words to them weren't how could you? They were quote, peace, it's me, don't fear, end quote. Of all the things he could have said, these words had to feel the most relieving, because Jesus never upbraided his friends for abandoning him. Instead he cared about what they needed to hear in that moment, never mind what he'd already done for them by dying and rising. Jesus is called quote, faithful and true, end quote, for good reason. He went to the cross, was humiliated, suffered, and died, and drank every last drop in the cup his father gave him. And when he met up with his guys in Galilee, his first thought was of them, how they were feeling and what they needed from him. They were wondering, will Jesus hold a grudge? So Jesus said peace. Jesus looked different, so he said, It's me. They were afraid and wondering what will happen next, so Jesus said don't fear. And if he cared about them like this at their worst, surely he cares about us at ours too. There are other signs of God's faithfulness everywhere we live, in daily sunrises and sunsets, moon phases and tides, a stationary solar system, gravity on Earth, order in the cosmos, seasons with their harvests, air, sunshine, and water. There's also love and forgiveness, bodies and their mobility, our five senses, feelings and intuition, plus physical, mental, and emotional healing. The parking spot, the phone call, the money you thought you lost, your recovery from injury and illness, the words from a friend just when you needed them, God's faithfulnesses are unending and most of them go unheeded. Have you ever marveled how they just keep coming in spite of it? After reading about Solomon's great faith in the beginning and great failure by the end, the one thing I want to ask God for is faithfulness because I won't finish well without his help. If the worship of the wisest man on earth went off course, surely mine will, unless God's faithfulness to me enables me to stay faithful to him. To finish well, depend on God's help to be faithful to your last breath.

Acts 6

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The New Testament chapter is Acts six. The early church grew and prospered, even Jewish priests converted and joined in. The apostles made administrative changes to flex with people's needs, so deacons were installed to handle the daily things like feeding their widows. But the church also faced adversity. Stephen's stellar faith prompted persecution from those who couldn't keep up with him in wisdom and spirit. He was arrested on trumped up charges, but even those who accused him found they couldn't take their eyes off him, quote, his face was like the face of an angel, end quote. Christians don't escape the details of daily living. They mow grass, pay taxes, work a job, and pay bills just like everybody else. But as we're going about these things, it's important to be involved with the community of believers and pitch in to help those who need it. We're poured into to pour out, not to keep it all to ourselves. There's also the reality that you'll be persecuted for living God's way. Stephen stood out because of his intelligence, insight, and passion for Jesus. Serving his local church body brought him into contact with others who wanted to best him and couldn't, so they went after him to take him out, and they did. Following Jesus is about humbly serving where he leads, quote, full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, end quote, and your local church is a good place to plug in, but being full of God and good sense can be irritating to those who aren't. Be prepared to meet their pushback with truth spoken in love. To finish well, humbly serve in a body of

Psalm 126, Prayer, Proverbs 16:27-28

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believers from Psalm one hundred twenty six When God allowed the exiles to return to the land of Israel, it seemed too good to be true. They couldn't believe their good fortune. They laughed and sang and were quote filled with joy, end quote. But by the fourth verse of the sixth verse Psalm, they've gone from being overloaded with joy to being drought stricken and in despair with heavy hearts. What happened? They stopped doing what God said, so the Psalmist asked God to refresh them again, to turn their despair into laughing, to bring them armloads of blessing end quote, and he did. No one can bring rain in their drought or pull themselves out of despair or lift their heavy heart, but God can. He doesn't look at us from across the galaxy and say, get your act together first and then I'll love you. He gets it together for us because he knows we can't do it. He sends drought and rain so we can feel our need of him, turn to him, and flourish. The good life we all want doesn't depend on us to pull up our bootstraps or soldier on or try harder to do better. To have the good life we learn to depend on God the way the farmer depends on rain, the way the prodigal depends on the road back home, the way Abraham depends on his mama. To finish well, keep turning to God for everything you need. Prayer. God, give me the faithfulness I need to keep coming to you. Help me trust you with all my days from now until the very last one. In Jesus' name, so be it. From Proverbs 16, 27 to 28. Words are as powerful as fire, as fists, and they can unfriend better watch them. The passages in First Kings, Acts, Psalms, and Proverbs are selected for today in the yearly Bible. This is Eve de Bartleaban, Robuck.