A person's dying words are often remembered as being the most significant. The last words Jesus uttered as he gave his last breath on the cross were, "It is finished." He had completed the assignment His Father had given Him, and He breathed His last knowing that the reason for His coming into the earth had been fulfilled.

Paul likewise had a passion to finish. He likened the christian life to a race. "This one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Not all finish this race. Many cannot endure the last mile of the marathon. In Matthew 24:13 we are told that "he who endures to the end shall be saved."

It's easy to start something. The world is full of bright ideas that showed great potential but lacked the strength of a finisher. Sometimes it's easier to begin something new than finish something old, because something new always brings a freshness and with it renewed energy. It's hard to stick with the "same old same old" because the novelty has worn off. But there is great reward in finishing, and Galations 6:9 encourages us not to lose heart and to "not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.

I have personally found finishing the second cd in The Secret Place series a significant challenge. It has been much easier for me to write a new song or start work on some other recording project, than to finish this one. Passionate Pursuit has been 3 years in the making, and finishing it has been one of the hardest things I think I have ever done. It has been the most demanding, the most physically and emotionally challenging project I've ever worked on. But now it is finished, and I can finally rest knowing I have completed this particular assignment the Lord gave me.

I trust you too will be able to enter your rest after a period of faithfully serving the Lord - faithful in staying true to your commitments through thick and thin, faithful to your employer, faithful to your family, faithful to your church, faithful, faithful, faithful! Proverbs 28:20 says, "A faithful man who can find?" They are obviously a rare breed.

A faithful man finishes what he starts, "and he shall abound with blessings." ( Proverbs 28:20 ) At the end of every year I want to be found faithful. At the end of life's race I want to hear the Lord say, "well done good and faithful......."

I don't want to just line up at the starting block, I want to line up with the finishers too. How about you?

Ray and his wife Pam pastor Pursuit church in Auckland, New Zealand, a Christian charismatic Bethel church.

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