One of the men I admire in American History is Abraham Lincoln. He had many notable characteristics such as honesty, and integrity. He was no quitter. He did not let his past failures dictate his future successes. If anyone had a reason to get discouraged and bail out, it so seems like it could have been him. At times I come across a brief synopsis of Lincoln's road to the White House, and I am encouraged with his fortitude in "FINISHING STRONG". Abraham Lincoln failed in business in 1831. He was defeated for legislature in 1832. He had a second failure in business in 1833. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836. He was defeated for speaker in 1838. He was defeated for elector in 1840. He was defeated for congress in 1843 He was defeated for congress in 1848. He was defeated for senate in 1855. He was defeated for Vice president in 1856. He was defeated for senate in 1858. He was elected President of the United States of America in 1860. Abraham Lincoln Finished Strong. While pursuing The Lord for the contents of Shiloh's first Newsletter in 2006, the words "FINISH STRONG" resounded over and over in my spirit. This is not the title of your typical New Year's Beginning message. No matter how I would try to get around it or away from these two words, The Lord would continue to whisper in my spirit, FINISH STRONG. After some going back and forth in prayer, in thought, and in reading God's Word, I rested in this New Year's Message, FINISH STRONG. What is it that God is saying to us with these two words at the beginning of a New Year? I believe The Lord is reminding His people to continue in pursuit of completing with fervency our life in Him, this side of eternity. Living our lives in such a fashion that we truly reflect, He is coming soon. If we really believe this, our spiritual houses will be in order. Our lamps will be full of oil. We will be watching and praying. Every arena of our lives will proclaim Hallowed Be thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven. The word Finish means to complete or to give final touches to. God is making ready His Bride without spot or wrinkle or blemish. He is putting those final touches on us, if we so yield. He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying. Let him "SHAMA" what the Spirit of God is saying in these last days. "Shama" a Hebrew word means to hear and to take hold of, to hear and to do. God is adorning His Bride with jewels. He is polishing His own. He is putting on the final touches if you will, for all of His that are willing and obedient. He that has begun a good work in you is faithful to complete it. This promise applies to those who so desire and are postured in His Finishing School. The word Strong means intensity in degree or quality, having a powerful effect. I take it these two words together mean completing all He has ordained for me through Him with fervency and leaving a profound effect for His Glory Eternally. When Jesus addresses the seven Churches in the book of Revelation chapters 2 and 3, He is in essence strongly urging them to FINISH STRONG. He is warning and exhorting His Church. The selection of seven Churches is taken to indicate that in some way they, or the messages to them, sum up what God has to say to all His people. The letters deal with lovelessness, persecution & testing, compromise, corruption, lifelessness, faithfulness, and apathy. It is only when we are completely sold out to Him because of our gratefulness and love to Him that we can overcome every obstacle that tries to invade our souls. No compromise, no corruption, no lifelessness, no apathy. When persecution and testing come, we are over comers. Faithfulness is our lifestyle, not occasional manifestations. There is no turning back, or barely getting by. We Finish Strong. We must all take inventory and judge ourselves. A fulfilled destiny means Finishing Strong. It all begins with our love walk with God. This is our foundation for all else in life. It is the first and greatest commandment. Regarding our love for God, Jeanne Guyon puts it well in her book "Final steps in Christian Maturity". She states, "The glory of heaven is not the motive. Nor can the motive be the wonderful feeling of the Lord's presence. There must be no object, earthly or heavenly, that is your ultimate desire. It is only that you have loved Him, have fallen in love with Him, and are in a state of loving Him." This is "Finishing Strong". I heard it said before that it takes God to love God. That sounds kind of strange but it is true. It takes our surrendered life to God and His habitation in us, to truly love God. We cannot compartmentalize our life. We must Finish Strong in every area from our relationship with God, to our relationships with others and how we treat others, how we submit to authority in the secret places of our heart, how we manage and what we do with our finances, how we take care of these earth suites we live in, how we do our jobs, how we keep up our homes, and all other possessions. Every area is meaningful. And if God is truly Lord of our lives, we are not slothful and we do not compromise Because we love Him, we make it a point to Glorify Him in all areas. Then, we are sure to FINISH STRONG.
Debbie Fondren
