Exhortation Station

As we enter into Yahweh’s fall Feast season, I thought I’d share a few thoughts springing from a passage in 2 Timothy.  Being that these appointed times hold significance regarding the end of days, I think this message contains some fitting thoughts to ponder.  Whether you are observing the Feasts this month or next, I pray you will find these words edifying.  Let’s dig in…

2 Timothy 4:6-8 — “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; ⁸ in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Here we see some parting words from Paul to Timothy.  At this time, Paul was imprisoned (for the second time) in Rome, and he knew his life would soon come to an end.  What particularly struck me about this passage is Paul’s statement in verse 7 — “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” 

This passage brings up a question that is good for us to ponder as followers of Yahweh.  The question is this: “What do I want to be able to say at my last breath?” 

How precious few attain the joy of looking back on their lives with the sense of fulfillment that Paul had in 2 Timothy 4:7.  It’s a goal worth pursuing.  How much more common it is for people to look longingly at years past — years in which the things they wanted deep down to pursue the most were left on the back burner, traded instead for activities of little value.  This thought is convicting to me.  Our day-to-day decisions have implications far down the road.  What Paul said to Timothy was not the result of something that happened overnight.  Rather, it was the result of continual, pressing pursuit of the Father’s will and of uncompromising spiritual warfare.

What did Messiah say at His last breath?  John 19:30 says, “Therefore when Yahshua had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”  Of course, this was not the end of the story for Yahshua (He was yet to be resurrected), but at this point in time Yahshua had finished the primary work the Father had sent Him to accomplish, becoming the unblemished Lamb of Yah so our sins could be forgiven.  Hallelujah!  May we press on toward the joy of being able to honestly say one day that we finished the work Yah had called us to while we had the time.

Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”  Let us think about what we want to say at our last breath.  Let us number our days, making decisions today that take our end into account.  May we one day be able to say, as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith!”

Hosea 6:3 — “So let us know, let us press on to know YHWH.  His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.”  

(All Bible passages NASB; Hebrew transl. added.)