Posted By allen on April 10, 2010

Finish what you start!

June and Vicki were on their way back from their grandmother’s house.  They enjoyed the walk to and from their grandmother’s house on the other side of the lake almost as much as they did the visit.  Grandma had a small house just off the lake in a little cove. There was a tire swing in the side yard and just outside the back door was a boat dock with a canoe. 

They had been walking for about ten minutes. They could see splashes in the lake where the fish were jumping and they could smell food that somebody was cooking on their grill.  It was a beautiful day to be alive and at the lake.  They really didn’t mind that they had about another hour to walk before they got home.  They passed the time by telling jokes to each other and trying to skip rocks on the lake.

Vicki picked up a rock about the size of a quarter that was flat on both sides.  It wasn’t very thick but it felt kind of heavy in her hand.  She leaned back and tossed the rock into the lake.  It hit the lake with a big splash and skipped up. As the rock stopped in midair, everything went silent.  The fish stopped jumping and the wind stopped blowing.

The girls were shocked.  They turned to each other and then ….

Jim was so excited to be out hunting with his father for the very first time.  He had been begging for years to go rabbit hunting, but his father had kept telling him that he couldn’t go hunting until he was 12.  Imagine how surprised Jim was when his father woke him up at 4 o’clock that morning.  Today was his eleventh birthday and his father was taking him hunting a year early as a reward for getting straight A’s on his last report card.

So here they were, Jim had his brand new 410-gauge shotgun and his father was carrying a 20 gauge.  They were approaching a brush pile where a pine tree had fell and some limbs had blown against it — a perfect place for rabbits!

All of a sudden a rabbit jumped out of the hole and started running away from them.   Jim’s father raised his shotgun and fired one shot.  The rabbit stopped for a moment and then took off running again. 

About that time Jim noticed the brush pile moving.  He raised his new shotgun, took the safety off, and aimed at the brush pile.  The next rabbit that came out of that pile was going to be his! 

Jim felt something wet and cold on the back of his neck.  He turned around and there standing no more than a foot away from him was …

Birthday parties are for adults too.  Just because you’re a little older doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy a birthday party – especially a surprise party.  This was the case for Walter.

Walter was the custodian at the church.  He lived with his wife of 27 years.  All four of  his kids were married and living in different states.  Usually his birthday consisted of having a nice dinner at home with his wife and then taking a long walk with her. 

But this birthday was going to be different.

Walter put a big chunk of butter and sour cream on his baked potato and had his salt in his hand when the phone rang.  He was slightly annoyed that someone would call and interrupt his birthday dinner.  (Didn’t everybody realize that today was his birthday?)

On the third ring, Walter picked up the phone.  The upset look on his face turned into almost a smile when he said, “Oh, hi pastor…”

“Walter,” the pastor replied, “There is something happening at the church that I need you to look at.”

Walter groaned, “Okay pastor — I’ll take a look first thing in the morning.. I’ll be in at …”

“No!” the pastor interrupted, “It has to be looked at right now!”

Walter was not very happy when he arrived at the church a few minutes later.  The church was dark and the only car in the parking lot was the pastor’s.  Walter pulled up next to the pastor’s car and let himself in the church with his key.

The gym was on the other side of the church, but Walter didn’t need to turn the lights on to walk around the hall to it.  He reached for the gym door in the dark and noticed a bright light flash from under the door.  He smelt smoke as he opened the door and then …

One of the things I dislike most is when somebody starts a story and then stops before it is finished.  That just makes me want to yell out “FINISH IT!”

Are any of you wondering how those stories ended?  What happened next?  Is not knowing how the story ends bothering you or even upsetting you?

Does it bother you when somebody doesn’t finish what they start? 

If I got everything together to make a cake, started mixing it together, and then quit… would you be upset?

Do you think it bothers God when we don’t finish things we start?

Remember when you first became a Christian?  Remember how you read your Bible, prayed and told others about Christ every day?   Are you telling as many people about Jesus now as you did when you were first saved?  Are you reading the Bible and praying as much as you used to?

In the book of Revelation, the Angel speaks to the church of Ephesus in chapter 2, verse 4 and says ,  “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”    The church at Ephesus was a strong church at one time, but had fallen away from God. 

We need to work hard to not forget our “first love”.  We need to keep the memory of that day we were saved in our mind and fresh.  Let’s make an effort – with God’s help – to live for Him every day and to never stop telling others about Him.

Let’s try hard to finish what we started.

Categories: Devotions
Tags: challenge, Christian living, growth