“So a course was fixed and a start was made.” The Hare and the Tortoise http://snipurl.com/hareandtortoise
“Let us keep on running the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1 (NIrV)
“God Time[1]” with the kids this week is on determination. My 3rd grader quickly applied this thought to a book report due this week and a pioneer project due next week. For my daughter, well – she’s 100% girl, we applied it to getting out the door for school this morning.
The 53 words offered in this little devotional where packed with challenge. To avoid copyright issues I’ll not type them out but the essence is determination requires only two things: first decide, then do.
How do we decide? Hebrews 12:2 says “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus.”
The Passion of the Christ movie opened my eyes to the meaning of the word passion. It is easy to claim we are passionate about something when we are applauded for our efforts. One of my biggest fears/frustrations is being misunderstood. I want others to grasp my passion or at least understand it enough to appreciate my efforts. Hebrews 12:2 goes on to say “He [Jesus] was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.” We know that Jesus agonized at His focus was on God’s will not on his physical circumstances. I must remind myself of that. I must decide before I do. For determination to carry me through, I cannot focus on my current position. My focus must be on the goal – the path Christ has set before me. Are you determined? What is your goal? Where is your focus? Are your eyes fixed on the author and perfecter of your faith or on the people and circumstances around you? Do you decide before or after you do? Be determined - act based on your decisions. The path can get rough. Making decisions along the way will greatly affect your finish. Now it's time for me to determine to clean house. That definitely requires focusing on the goal.
[1] Children’s Ministry material from 252Basics
2 comments:
I'm the Director of Training for The reThink Group and one of the writers for the 252Basics curriculum. It's always great to hear stories like yours about how our material not only impacts kids but adults as well.
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