With the winter weather all around us and the New Year spread before us, our thoughts naturally reflect to wondering what 2025 might hold for any of us. The good news is that God has a great plan He is unfolding for the year ahead and you and I are part of it, whether we realize it or not. But, just as sports teams need to have and know where their goal is, so we must as believers if we are going to make progress and be blessed.

The Apostle Paul realized this, but he didn’t write or say these things to try and ‘earn his salvation by good works.’ He was very clear to get to heaven, to have your sins forgiven, to be saved, to be adopted by God is a total free gift of God’s grace and mercy in Christ, because of what Jesus did for us at the cross, not because of anything we might do. Good works should follow our commitment and personal relationship to Christ, as a result, but never as a cause of receiving eternal life. That’s a gift we must receive by faith in Christ.

Pastor Greg Laurie was talking about this the other day when he said, “Philippians 3:12–16 reads, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made” (NLT).

So, How Are You Doing?
How did you do in 2024? Have you got off track, or are you running for the gold?

Have any relationships or things slowed you down in your pursuit of God?

The moment you believed in Jesus Christ, this race began for you. Some of you are just beginning, while others have been running for quite a while.

My son Christopher has already finished his race, and his old dad is still running! As I get older, I think about finishing this race more than ever.

And not everyone is finishing well. I know of some who have not finished their race with joy (see Acts 20:24 NKJV). People who seemed strong in the faith but have “crashed and burned” in the race of life. They got off track or, in some cases, even self-destructed.

We see this in the Bible as well.

Biblical Figures with a Weak Finish
King Saul comes to mind. He would have been a good politician: tall, handsome, charismatic, and I might add, anointed by God to be the king. Prophesying with the prophets, he had incredible potential.

Everything was going Saul’s way, and if he had just obeyed God, it would have been great. But he disobeyed God repeatedly and allowed pride—and eventually paranoia and jealousy—to consume him. This led to a series of sins, causing God to reject him.

The once-great King Saul met a tragic end at the battlefield having, in his own words, “played the fool and erred exceedingly” (1 Samuel 26:21 NKJV).

In the end, he really had no one to blame but himself. He started his race well, but his finish was a disaster.

Or we think of the mighty Samson, supernaturally blessed with super-human strength, and able to vanquish his enemies with relative ease.

But, like all people, Samson had his vulnerabilities. He was a “He-Man” with a “She-Weakness.” A series of compromises took place in his life, starting with marrying a non-believer and ending up with a prostitute that took him down “Hooker, line, and sinker.” It culminated in a one-way trip to Delilah’s Barber Shop.

He, too, did not finish his race well.

Biblical Figures with a Strong Finish
I could go on with the stories of men who did not finish the race of life well. But Paul wanted to be in the company of those who “finished their race with joy,” joining the ranks of those who finished in God’s “winners circle.”

Men like Caleb, whose incredible story is found in Joshua 14. Or Daniel, who wouldn’t compromise, even in his 80s.

Let’s commit ourselves to finishing what we have begun, remembering this: The race of life is not a quick sprint but a long-distance run. The Christian life is “the long look” at life, keeping our feet planted on the ground, in this life, with our eyes on Jesus & eternity, our hands lifted up in prayer, prayer and worship as we seek to serve the Lord by being a faithful, good witness for Christ and seeking opportunities to serve His people in a million different ways depending on the spiritual gifts, talents and abilities He gives us that we will, one day, stand personally accountable for. Let us be faithful, passionate, energetic and bold with our expression of our Christian faith in our rapidly changing world this year, alright?

So run well this new year, and every year after, especially in 2025! May God help you run your race this year in ways as only He could, by His grace, His power and His presence in Christ Jesus our Lord & Savior Amen!