The last week of the year is a good time to reflect on the past 12 months, do a little self-assessment, and decide what things to repent of and reach for in the next lap around the sun.
So, how did we do in 2010? If 2010 were the whole of our life, could we say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness"? My guess is that there are people here who can give three different answers to that question.
- One will say, "I fought no fight because I felt no great desire to follow Christ’s counsel and trust his promises. Satan and my own flesh got no resistance from me."
- Another will say, "I felt some desire to trust Christ and go his way, but whenever a conflict arose, I was defeated every time. I really didn’t fight a very good fight."
- And a third will say, "Praise God, it was a hard but glorious year. The Word of God came alive for me and helped time and time again to overcome temptation and hold to Christ. It wasn’t always easy, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Whichever one of those groups you are in now, remember this: by the grace of God, this year is only a rehearsal for the end. His mercy is opening before you a new life in 2011, and you can enter it and finish as a victorious fighter….
John Piper
Pastor/Bible Teacher
(Excerpted and adapted from a sermon preached by John Piper in 1980)
Changi Chapel 
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