BBD 11.16.16 Finish the Race (Classic)

#1 · November 16, 2016, 1:24 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on November 16, 2016, 1:24 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Classic from 2009

Burning Bush Devotional

16 October 2016

Finish the Race

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things
that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every
city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things
move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race
with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to
the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom
I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. – Acts 20:22-25
NKJV.

In the Aaron’s 499 race (In 2009) at the Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega,
Alabama, Carl Edwards was in the last lap of the race when his car went
airborne crashing into the fence protecting the fans. Some of the fans were injured,
but thankfully they are going to be okay. Carl was uninjured, and when he
realized he was okay he climbed out of the car… and then he finished the race.
He could no longer win the race, but he could finish the race, and that is what
he did as he ran across the finish line on foot.

The apostle Paul was determined to finish his race too. Paul’s race was the
race of life, and he had already had some “crashes” on his way to the
finish line with much opposition. He had been stoned to death, but raised by
prayer (Acts 14:19-20), he barely escaped in Thessalonica, and there was a
continual harassment by the Judaizers following him around trying to cause
problems. In Acts 20,
Paul is headed for Jerusalem even though he has been supernaturally told that
there are difficulties ahead for him. He does not know definitely what those
difficulties will be; however, he knows what is ahead may be very bad because
he has been through some bad things along the way.

In Acts 21, we
are told that Paul receives a further more definite warning about what is to
come. Although it appears that Paul may have already perceived this as a
possibility, and the warning was to help those with him to understand. In Acts 21:10-13 we are told this, “and as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from
Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and
feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind
the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’
Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with
him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What do you mean by weeping
and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” Paul wanted to finish the race, even if he had to crawl
across the finish line. He wanted to live his life in the center of God’s will
down to the last moment of his life; down to, and through the last breath that
he took.

How is your race going? Are you in the last lap or are you just going into the
first turn? Wherever you are at along the way you are going to need something
to make it to the end. That something that you need is a determination to
finish the race no matter what obstacle or obstacles you may encounter. How do
you get that kind of determination, that kind of strength? Jesus is the only
One who can give the determination and the strength to you that you will need.
That is exactly the source of Paul’s determination and strength. Paul knew that
well as he said in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not
that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to
be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and
in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Copyright © 2009-2016. 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:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating
18 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 12,000
subscribers across the world. (At one time there were 18,000 subscribers to the
email devotional. Email has become less important as many are using the social
platforms like facebook and twitter more frequently.)

The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the
Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of
the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Prayer
Requests:
Please continue to pray for healing for Michelle Abetz,
Shane Hall, Brad, Damon D. & wife, Reta (my sister – she is currently in
hospital very ill), Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Lexi McCalip, Gary Kirk, my Aunt
Ellamae Dobbs and Jeanie.

Please pray for God’s will to be
done in the upcoming election in the USA. Please pray for an end to the racial
hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of
course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. My prayer focus is
now that God will give me opportunities to preach. As the apostle Paul says, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”).

You can contact Ed Wrather at edwrather@yahoo.com or
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Classic from 2009

Burning Bush Devotional

16 October 2016

Finish the Race

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things
that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every
city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things
move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race
with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to
the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom
I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. – Acts 20:22-25
NKJV.

In the Aaron’s 499 race (In 2009) at the Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega,
Alabama, Carl Edwards was in the last lap of the race when his car went
airborne crashing into the fence protecting the fans. Some of the fans were injured,
but thankfully they are going to be okay. Carl was uninjured, and when he
realized he was okay he climbed out of the car… and then he finished the race.
He could no longer win the race, but he could finish the race, and that is what
he did as he ran across the finish line on foot.

The apostle Paul was determined to finish his race too. Paul’s race was the
race of life, and he had already had some “crashes” on his way to the
finish line with much opposition. He had been stoned to death, but raised by
prayer (Acts 14:19-20), he barely escaped in Thessalonica, and there was a
continual harassment by the Judaizers following him around trying to cause
problems. In Acts 20,
Paul is headed for Jerusalem even though he has been supernaturally told that
there are difficulties ahead for him. He does not know definitely what those
difficulties will be; however, he knows what is ahead may be very bad because
he has been through some bad things along the way.

In Acts 21, we
are told that Paul receives a further more definite warning about what is to
come. Although it appears that Paul may have already perceived this as a
possibility, and the warning was to help those with him to understand. In Acts 21:10-13 we are told this, “and as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from
Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and
feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind
the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’
Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with
him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, ‘What do you mean by weeping
and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” Paul wanted to finish the race, even if he had to crawl
across the finish line. He wanted to live his life in the center of God’s will
down to the last moment of his life; down to, and through the last breath that
he took.

How is your race going? Are you in the last lap or are you just going into the
first turn? Wherever you are at along the way you are going to need something
to make it to the end. That something that you need is a determination to
finish the race no matter what obstacle or obstacles you may encounter. How do
you get that kind of determination, that kind of strength? Jesus is the only
One who can give the determination and the strength to you that you will need.
That is exactly the source of Paul’s determination and strength. Paul knew that
well as he said in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not
that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to
be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and
in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Copyright © 2009-2016. 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:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating
18 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 12,000
subscribers across the world. (At one time there were 18,000 subscribers to the
email devotional. Email has become less important as many are using the social
platforms like facebook and twitter more frequently.)

The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the
Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of
the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Prayer
Requests:
Please continue to pray for healing for Michelle Abetz,
Shane Hall, Brad, Damon D. & wife, Reta (my sister – she is currently in
hospital very ill), Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Lexi McCalip, Gary Kirk, my Aunt
Ellamae Dobbs and Jeanie.

Please pray for God’s will to be
done in the upcoming election in the USA. Please pray for an end to the racial
hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of
course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. My prayer focus is
now that God will give me opportunities to preach. As the apostle Paul says, “…woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!”).

You can contact Ed Wrather at edwrather@yahoo.com or
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org