“Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do no wish,” John 21:18
Wow, where did the year go? Yes, today is the last day of 2014! Personally it has been a year of great change and challenge.
The change came as God made clear to our family that we were to complete our assignment in Kentucky with the wonderful people at Kings Baptist Church and we were to begin the next phase of our lives with our new family at FBC of Jackson Georgia.
The challenge came as we left our oldest son as well as so many others we loved in Ky. 9 months later we still miss Keith every day as well as our church family. But at the same time we are being loved in amazing ways where we are. The greatest challenge is in building a team that will touch the world for the next 25 years.
This morning I thought about the great challenge before Peter as He was restored to service in the Lord’s work (21:15-17).
Think it through:
I. God was calling him to feed, tend, and guide the early church.
Peter was faithful to his assignment. Certainly he was not perfect but he passionately (II Peter 1:12-14) pursued God’s call on his life.
II. God would call him to finish well.
The verse above is Jesus prophecy of how Peter would die. Peter would be led to a cross and there he would give his life in the service of the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, it is easy to look back over the year and even the years gone by. We can analysis the good of faithfulness and the bad of failure. Through it all God has been good. One of the things I celebrate is the coming to the completion of reading the Bible together in 2013-2014!!!
But I also look ahead and I wonder, “What does God have for us in 2015?”
Could it be persecution as with many of our brothers and sisters around the world? Could it be a ministry move? Could it be the home going of a loved one? Could it be a great personal call to serve the Lord in a unique way?
Whatever it is, “May we be willing to finish well for His glory!”
My response:
Thank you Father for allowing me to serve you in your Kingdom plan in 2014!!! Please guide me to serve you more faithfully in your Kingdom plan for 2015!!!