BBD 06.23.22 Finishing Well (New)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Since June 8th 1998, this is
the 1855th
The Burning Bush Devotional
23 June 2022
Finishing
Well
It was almost 25 years ago when I received a
phone call from one of the leaders of the church where I was the pastor. He
wanted to come to my house and visit with me about something. Shortly
afterwards he did come and confessed to me that he had committed what you would
consider a terrible sin. This sin had significant consequences for all
involved.
I
prayed with the man and shared 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I gave him a book which I had just bought “Finishing Strong” by Steve Farrar. I had only read about half of the book but
knew it was what this man needed to hear. As far as I know, this man lived out
the rest of his life in faithful obedience to the Lord.
There are so many people in the Bible that
lived out their lives totally committed to God to the very end. However, at
least one along the way had a side excursion, King David. David committed
adultery and murder, but when confronted by the prophet Nathan he repented.
We have King David’s prayer of repentance in Psalm 51:
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me (Psalm 51:1-3 NKJV).
Too
many of us have begun our race of life well but as time goes on our passion for
the Lord decreases. King Saul began well, but he appears not to have had the
same heart for the Lord as did David. Acts 13:22, “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them
David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’”
In 1 Samuel 13
we are told of how Israel was preparing to attack the Philistines. Prior to the
attack an offering to the Lord needed to be made, but Samuel had not yet come
to make the offering. Tired of waiting Saul made the offering himself and this
is what we are told in 1 Samuel 13: “And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment
of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now
the Lord would have established your kingdom over
Israel forever.”
We have David’s prayer of repentance, but where
is the prayer of repentance of King Saul? David more than once repented when He
knew that he had failed the Lord, and this appears to be the character that
results in a man or woman after God’s own heart. In Proverbs
24:16 we are told, “For a righteous man may fall
seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity.” If you want to be a man or woman of
God, when you fail, follow the example of King David. Confess your failure and
rise up to again follow the Lord.
Of course, we do not want to finish our lives
in failure, and we do not want to have any sinful side excursions either. So
how do we stay strong in our faith? We must continue to take advantage of the resources
of God:
Prayer: Jesus says men “ought to always pray and
not to lose heart.” – Luke 18:1.
The Word of God: Jesus says in Matthew 4:4, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Church: In Hebrews 10:24-25 we are told, “And let us consider one another in
order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one
another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Copyright © 1998 - 2022. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998, the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Visit the
Burning Bush websites:
(The theburningbush dot net website
will be coming to an end at any time because it appears to have been abandoned
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many months and can only make updates to the site by using a web browser that
has not been updated. So, the website could disappear at any time. When it does
theburningbush.net will forward to the new burningbush.com site)
The Burning Bush websites are
celebrating 24 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to subscribers
across the world. At one time there were 18,000 subscribers in more than 70
countries to the devotional but that has now shrunk to around 8,000.
There is a translation tool on
burningbush.com and theburningbush.net websites in the top right-hand corner of
all of the pages.
Please pray for the
Ukrainians as they bravely face the Russian onslaught.
Please pray for all of the
Ukrainian refugees and those trying to care for them.
Dear
Heavenly Father, We need Your help! Please give the United States an extension
of time! Please send revival and spiritual awakening across this country,
remove the plague of bad leaders and replace them with godly leaders who know
Jesus as their Savior and follow Him, who will make the decisions that You want
them to make Lord. Please help our country turn back to you and throw off the
yoke of the world. In the precious holy Name of Jesus Christ we ask. Amen.
Please pray for God to touch and
bring about His will in these lives: Alice Martin; Andrew Cohen Winfield; Martha
and John W.; Alan Medders; Norman Cupp; Georgia Bronnert; Caleb Freeman; Pat
S.; Barbara Wright; GWEN PRUET; James Perkins and his wife; Vonnie; Evi Porter;
Jennifer Burge; Kinsey W; Addison; JoJo, Bailey and Nicky; Ralph and De
Chapman; Cody Stahlman; Patsy M.; Brandy and Jadyn’s Dad; John W.; Patricia
Rohman and Lisa Butler who has had a stroke; Scott J.; Karla W.; Clayton T. and
Sarah; Clark S.; Lana Bass; Matthew Collins; Marjean C.; Bradley E.; Fern
McVey; Nannie R.; Sarah Anderson; Beverly J; Larayne S. and Shonda Hutson.
Please pray for the coronavirus
COVID19 pandemic to come to an end. Pray for treatments and a cure for the
virus to be rapidly found and deployed. Pray for all those afflicted to be healed
and for our leaders to have supernatural wisdom and ability to lead us through
this pandemic.
Please pray for an end to the
rioting, looting, wanton destruction, and the racial hatred in the USA and that
it will be replaced with peace and love. May God help the USA! (Of course, I am always in need of prayer -
please pray for me. 03.18.18 I accepted the call to be the pastor
of Fairview Baptist Church in Elk City, Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for
this church.).
You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com
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