The Return

Dateline Jerusalem
March 12, 516 BC

They Finished!
 
“They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. Then the people of Israel--the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles--celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy” Ezra 6:14-16(NIV)

Are You a Good Finisher?

In one way I’m a lousy finisher. When I play basketball, get a rare offensive rebound and try to put it back in the hoop, my teammates will yell, “finish”. The reason is that I usually don’t. I miss. I have bad hands, bad touch, bad skill. One teammate said, “Jeff your shots usually go in on the third try”. But what good is all the effort without finishing? 

The Apostle Paul said “finish the race”.  

The returned exiles did finish. This is a big deal to me. I want to finish my earthly race well. I want to say what I was to have said while here and I want to get up one more time than I fall while here. I want to finish the race I’ve been given to run, not someone else’s race – I’ll fail at that race for sure.

Prayer

“Lord, help me to run the race you’ve put me in, which, in all likelihood, is meant to be run right where I am. Please give me courage, stamina, and the ability to see your purpose for your having entered me into this race in the first place. In the Name of Jesus, Your Son, the Great Finisher. Amen”