​​"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27a). As followers of Jesus Christ we are to live lives that are consistent with what we say we believe, teach, and preach.

For me, life is about Treasuring Christ, Living the Word, Making Disciples, and Finishing Well. I am no where close to perfect when it comes to living a life that encompasses these four goals but I do, by God's grace, strive to meet them.

​I came pretty close to finishing recently. I'm not too sure it would have been well but by God's gracious provision I have been granted an extension of life. Only God knows how long this extension will be. The Bible reminds us God is behind it all. Whether we're talking midlife surprises at 39 or open heart surgery at 45, His providence neither gets it wrong nor lets us go, ever.

So what happened? I recently had open heart triple bypass surgery--at 45. I spent a total of 11 days in the hospital with five of those days in ICU. For a little over a month I had been having chest discomfort and pain. My cardiologist finally decided a heart cathertization was in order. The cathertization revealed multiple blockages with the so called "Widow Maker" having a 99% blockage. I was only a few slices of bacon away from a major event followed by sudden death.

I was admitted to ICU, put on various intraveneous drugs meant to keep me alive until they could perform the surgery. I spent those two days between the cathertization and the open heart surgery thinking about the fact I was hanging--very literally--by a thread between time and eternity. I knew I could die at any moment yet strangely enough was at perfect peace. I give God all the glory!

By God's grace I'm still here. The Bible teaches us God is sovereign over our lives so much so that He has already determined the number of our days. Job writes, "You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer" (Job 14:5).

Paul said something similar in his letter to the Philippian believers. "[It is my] earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death" (Philippians 1:20). He recognized God's sovereignty over his life. He, therefore, stived to exalt Christ in life and in death.

My recent hospital stay brought this verse powerfully home. I have had to reassess my life and seriously consider whether or not this verse is my prayer also. It all ties into finishing well. "Whatever happens," Paul writes, "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" (Philippians 1:27). Whatever happens. In other words, if you live, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. If you die, let it be said of you, "He conducted himslef in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ."

I must admit, there was a part of me that wanted to, as Paul wrote, "To depart and be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23). In fact, the first couple of days following my surgery when the pain was almost unbearable, I prayed to die. It is clear to me now, however, that it is God's will that I "remain on in the flesh" (Philippians 1:24). I believe this was out of necessity for my own sanctification, my ministry to my family as spiritual leader, and the gospel itself which I will continue to proclaim until that time when I do see Jesus face-to-face.

Anway, I learned a lot through this ordeal and God used it to reveal some things about myself that still need sanctifying. Perhaps I will share more at a later time. But for now, I'll leave you with this. During the 3 days I spent in ICU before my heart surgery, strung out on blood thinner and nitroglycerin keeping me alive, I thought I may die at any moment. After all, as I mentioned above, my life was hanging by a thread between time and eternity and only needed 1% to completely block off the Widow Maker. Sometimes I would look around the room to make sure no one else was in there with me...you know, no one from the unseen world.

Sometimes I would think about what it was going to be like to see Jesus face-to-face for the very first time. Then I'd pray for my boy and his mama. This went on until they put me to sleep Monday afternoon but I never told anyone...until now. "Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). Where is your hope?

I made the above image a couple years ago to try and capture these goals. Sometimes I explain the last goal (to finish well) as the strategic focus of my life. If I finish well, then naturally, I will have treasured Christ, lived the Word, and made disciples. At the end of his life Paul was able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). The ongoing prayer of my heart is that I, too, will be able to say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." By God's grace--and only by His grace--I will finish well.

All this got me to thinking recently what it takes to finish well. I came up with the following list of characteristics of one who fights the good fight, finishes the course, and keeps the faith. It is in no way exhaustive. You may think of additional characteristics. But these are good ones with which to start.  And, these all assume one is a believer and surrendered to God and sold out for Jesus. To finish well, therefore, a person must...

1. Be a visionary. The writer of Proverbs wrote, "Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, But happy is he who keeps the law" (Proverbs 29:18). Vision, especially a vision to finish well, restrains a person in such a way to keep on target.

2. Be willing to suffer. It amazes me the number of so called believers I encounter who think any suffering is a sign of weak faith. The Christian life is not an easy one. If our leader (Christ) suffered, we can expect the same thing. Peter wrote, "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose" (1 Peter 4:1). Earlier, in 1 Peter 3:17, he indicates suffering is often God's will for the believer. The primary reason for suffering, I believe, is to make us more like Christ. Suffering also serves the same purpose as vision--to keep us on target.

3. Not get bogged down by past successes and failures. Paul said, "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ" (Philippians 3:7). A few verses later he writes, "...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13). It is good to celebrate victories but we should not camp out there. Furthermore, the devil will try to bog us down by pointing out past sins and failures. We must forget those, too. If God has forgiven us in Christ Jesus then we must move on. Otherwise, we'll fail to stay on target.

4. Be patient. In our fast-food world we want what we want and we want it now! James said, "Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains" (James 5:7). A farmer doesn't go out and dig up his recently planted crop to see why it's not growing. He continues to "farm" while patiently waiting for the harvest. Likewise, a believer who wants to finish well is going to be patient. Sanctification (the process of becoming more like Jesus) is an often slow, tedious, and sometimes painful process. But if we're patient we'll eventually reap the reward of said patience--we'll finish well!

​5. Be willing to persevere no matter what. The Bible mentions perseverance or endurance multiple times. In other words, God doesn't want us to give up. Consider Revelation 14:12, which reads, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus." Finishing well calls for endurance. When you stumble, get back up and keep on persevering. When you fail miserably, get back up and keep pressing on. Run the race set before you until you cross the finish line. And how will you know you've crossed the finish line? You'll see Jesus face-to-face and He'll say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matthew 25:23).

Again, this is not an exhaustive list. Perhaps you know of more. Feel free to share via the comments section below. Comments will remain open for 60 days following the date of this posting. My prayer for me and my prayer for you is that we'd run the race and finish well, having treasured Christ, lived the Word, and made disciples along the way!

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)  I must admit, the title of this article reflects the way I felt last Monday. It’s amazing the difference a week can make. Last Monday, I was ready to throw in the proverbial towel. Life was hitting me from all directions—family responsibilities, work responsibilities, trying to rear my boy to love Jesus, and personal health challenges. The “good fight of faith,” aka the “Fight for Joy,” just wasn’t in me. I definitely needed an extra measure of God’s sufficient grace.

We all encounter problems, or what the Bible calls trials or tribulation.  Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation.” (John 16:33)  In other words, Jesus was testifying to the fact that in this life we will encounter much difficulty.

“So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12-13). Beware of Satisfaction—that probably seems like an odd title to most. The position of some, after all, is to pursue satisfaction no matter the cost.

Let me just say up front, we should be—no, we must be—satisfied in Jesus alone. In other words, Jesus is enough. The Psalmist asks, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25-26).

The writer of Hebrews states very clearly Jesus is better than anyone or anything we could ever desire or imagine. We are to be satisfied in Jesus. Indeed, He is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

So what do I mean by beware of satisfaction? John Owen mused, “Sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still.” Commenting on this, John MacArthur writes, “Satan is likely to attack when a believer is most satisfied with his spiritual life. That is when pride, the chief of sins, easily sneaks into our lives unnoticed and leads us to believe that contentment with ourselves is contentment with God.”

Are you satisfied with your spiritual life? If so, beware! And, I might add, beware of anyone who tells you God wants you to be satisfied in anyone or anything other than Jesus. And, as long as we’re on the subject, don’t fall into the trap of, “I was born this way.” Every time I hear that I want to say, “Tell me something I don’t know.” We were all born sinners. We were all born spiritually dead and with hearts hostile to the things of God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-5).

So what do I mean by beware of satisfaction? Simply this—don’t get too comfortable in your spiritual life. Sin has a way of creeping in and taking over. Instead, make it your aim to put to death the deeds of the body, or, as in the King’s Vernacular, “Mortify the deeds of the body.”

John Owen asked, “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

In other words, don’t get too comfortable. Don’t get too satisfied in your spiritual walk. If you are satisfied, one of two things is true: Either you’re foolish or you don’t know Jesus, and it may very well be the latter. Why? Because putting to death the deeds of the body is a characteristic of God’s children.

John MacArthur notes, “The person who gives no evidence of the presence, power, and fruit of God’s Spirit in his life has no legitimate claim to Christ as Savior and Lord.” To put it another way, if you’re habitually in a lifestyle of sin with no concern for holy living, you’re not in Christ.

Are you satisfied with your spiritual life? If so, beware! “Be on alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).  

I'll be the first to admit I don't read my Bible often enough.  This sad fact never ceases to amaze me yet I seem almost powerless to do anything about it.  The Bible claims to be God's Word to us yet far too many Christians fail to read it regularly.  Why is this?  I was just pondering this question today as I dealt with a difficult ministry situation.  The one thing that God is sure to use to sustain me--reading and meditating upon His Word--is so often neglected. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.  In the meantime, here are a couple resources that might help you in your journey.

First of all, Andy Naselli offers Three Tips for Better Bible Reading on the Desiring God Blog.   He offers three suggestions, (1) Listen to audio Bibles, (2) Read entire books in one sitting, and (3) Read a Bible without chapter and verse numbers.  There are also links to related resources at the bottom of the blog entry.

Secondly, Professor Grant Horner of The Master's College, has designed a Bible reading plan using a book mark system.  Basically, you read 10 chapters a day but you're never reading the same 10 chapters together again.  Personally, I have been using a modified version of this system for awhile (when I actually read my Bible).  I say "modified" because Grant's system has you reading through Proverbs and Acts every month.  I decided I'd rather read through Daniel, Romans, and Revelation each month so I adjusted the book marks accordingly.  By the way, for you Facebook people, he even has a Facebook Page dedicated to his system.

Thirdly, whether you use a formal plan or your own plan, remember, what's important is that you and I regularly read and meditate upon God's Word.  There is no substitute for regular Bible reading and feeding. The Psalmist wrote, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). Jesus said, "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me" (John 5:39).  Let's all renew our commitment to read God's Word regularly.