At the Half

It is almost the end of the first half. July is just around the corner and then we are beginning the finishing of the year. Most of us started in January with some very specific goals for this year, and now is the time to see how those plans are going.

For some people we are ahead of the game while for others, we have fallen a bit short of what we had hoped to accomplish so far. The good news is that we are only at the half! We have an equal amount of time and opportunity in front of us as we have behind us.

It has been my experience that too often when the scoreboard does not look particularly encouraging to us, it is easy to fret and fume about the current conditions rather than focus of the task at hand. In the New Testament book of Hebrews, the author writes in 12…

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people;[c] then you won’t become weary and give up.

This is a perfect reminder of what we must do to face the future with faith and assurance. As we look at our current situation in life there are 3 things we must implement,

  1. We have to start with Admission of where we are. This is all about honest evaluation. Just as with a football or basketball team, when they gather in the half-time locker room that have to Admit the score is the score. The writer of Hebrews says “since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses…” We could try to blame or deny, but the road to victory begins with admission.
  2. Secondly we must make necessary Adjustments in the “game.” Again, in this passage from Hebrews, we read “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” It seems foolish to have to say this, but the universal truth of life is that we cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results. What are the adjustments you need to make in your business, life, marriage, etc. I’ve recently had to make some very painful adjustments with our ministry in Africa. It was heart wrenching but necessary.
  3. Thirdly we must take Action to effectively enter the second-half. Listen again to the words from Hebrews, “And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith…” This is a clear mandate that we must execute the plan. We can plan and plan for things to happen, but if we don’t execute, we’ve just had a reasonable, but futile academic exercise.

Jesus, the champion of faith and the greatest leader of all time, constantly gave his disciples (including us) a clear and direct commission. It was even so important that it was the final words he spoke on earth and is perfectly summed up in Mark 16:15

“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.”

Everything I do everyday should be about this clear, firm, and direct instruction from Jesus. I am convinced that when I do this my second half will be better that my first half.

I hope that you today will Admit … Adjust … Act as we begin our second half to 2019.