Paul went from persecuting the church to being a persecuted apostle of the church. After his arrest in Jerusalem, during his first imprisonment, he wrote a letter to the Philippians in which he boldly declared this short but profound line…

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (1:21)

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The following video reflects my collection of thoughts from our early Tuesday morning men’s Bible study. I scribbled notes as our men exchanged ideas, Scriptures, and encouragement.

My apologies for all the scratching noise – was my paper rubbing against the mic – won’t let it happen again.

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My family and I are currently traveling and visiting with family for the Thanksgiving holiday. I enjoy seeing my extended family on both sides, but one of the aspects of travel I love the most are those conversations that happen in the front seat between me and my wife (when she’s awake, that is).

This past weekend, we entered a rather deep discussion about how meaningless things are “in light of eternity.” That is, in the grand scheme of things, if our lives on this earth are 60 or 80 years, or even 100 years long, what is that in comparison with forever?

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I can remember sitting in a circle of Pastors in Bowling Green, Kentucky of all different ages. One of the older Pastors spoke up and directed his words to those of us who were in the “younger half” of our ministries and said, “Guys, don’t forget to finish well.” He was serious. and the ministry drop-out rate gives evidence that it’s an important thought.

That’s why I’m so inspired by Thom Rainer’s post today on A Prayer to Finish Well. Here’s just an excerpt:

As the day draws closer when I meet You face to face,
May I be a man who was already drawing closer to You,
A man who eagerly anticipated that day,
And a man who left behind a legacy and not regrets.

Lord, strengthen me to finish well.

And then, and only then, can I say that my life was not lived in vain.

Here’s my whole life in a nutshell…

For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
~ 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

I turned… in repentance and faith, from sin’s doom to Jesus. It was an awesome day. It was in my past and it solved my past so that my past will never come to hurt me for all of eternity, and neither will my present or future failures once they are in the past either. I turned… it’s in the past.

I serve… the living and true God. That’s my life. I’m bound to Him because of the awesome work of grace He has done in my life. What else is there to live for, really? I’m His, bought with a price, and He is mine, pledged to me and guaranteed by the downpayment of the Holy Spirit in my life.

I wait… for His Son from heaven. Death is momentary and God’s wrath toward me has been extinguished by the very blood of Christ. So now I wait. He’s coming. You may or may not believe it, but you’ll believe it when it happens.

Hit the snooze button. Crawl out of bed after the second alarm. Hit the shower. Choose a shirt. Make the coffee. Start the car. Fight the traffic. Punch the clock. Meet the clients. Please the boss. Grab lunch. Please the boss some more. Punch the clock again. Fight the traffic. Fix dinner. Watch television. Play with the kids. Read the news. Hit the sack. Then… hit the snooze button.

Sound familiar? It’s the “daily grind.” The only difference between a rut and a grave is that ruts don’t have ends. Are you in one?

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This video is very touching. It’s short. It has subtitles. But it says so much!

I’m not a NASCAR fan, but my friend Rick Lemons is, and he’s written a book that I was just given by a friend. It’s simply called The Race. I’ve skimmed it and like what I see so far as Rick compares the Christian life to a NASCAR race. I’ll write more on it later, but wanted to pass along the suggestion/promotion.

The last couple of weeks have been rather interesting at the Cox house. Angie has begun a new career teaching Bible at Life Way Christian School in Centerton, just a few miles away, and Ella started second grade there today. Though Angie will take Ella with her each day, I had the privilege of delivering her to her new classroom today. All I can say is she seems a little bit less like a little girl each time we do this.

For me, I’ve remained a little emotional about it throughout the day. I’m not sad that she’s growing up, though that’s probably Angie’s feeling. Rather, I’m afraid of that day when I won’t be able to protect her. She’s a bit timid and had a difficult time when we got to the classroom. It reminded me of what a comfort zone her parents are to her. At least for now.

Over time, she’ll become a little more independent. Someday she’ll drive herself to school. Someday she’ll move off to college. Someday…

At the end of these thoughts I’m reminded that instead of wishing away the present, or dreading the future, perhaps we should enjoy each and every moment we have with the precious people in our lives. I can’t even begin to express, in this single blog post, just how thankful I am for the gift of Ella Grace, nor can I convey how proud I am of my wife. For both of them, this is a great new adventure with a lot of scariness thrown in for effect. That’s life, isn’t it? It’s how God grows us – by facing down all the scariness with faith, we learn how to run with confidence.

Who knows what else this year may bring?!

photo credit: Sister72

Jesus said life can either be like a sandcastle, which is built for a day only, not for eternity. Or it can be built on a stone foundation. The difference is simple… build your life on liquid, shifting, unstable values and you’re bound to crumble in tough times. Build your life on the absolute truth of His teachings, His Word, you’re bound to stand. Paul first built his life on sand and later said he counted it all as dung, rubbish, loss in exchange for the excellency of personally knowing Christ. It’s our choice. We can be beautifully sculpted either way, but we’ll only last if our foundation is right.

Enjoy some examples from Flickr…

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