_______________________________________

Your Finishing Story (ODB Book Excerpt)
_______________________________________


Bedridden with brain cancer, United States Congressman Paul
Henry summarized his condition with the words, ÒMy walk with
God continues.Ó A short time later the Lord walked Paul into
heaven.

While a slow, tortuous death from brain cancer is not an
easy way to die, it can be said of Paul Henry that he finish-
ed well. He left behind the fragrance of a vibrant faith and
transformed life.

You too can finish well. To do so, you must first make sure
you are a member of GodÕs family. If you havenÕt done this,
you can by acknowledging your sin, by admitting your need
of GodÕs forgiveness, by believing what the Bible says about
Jesus dying for you, and by receiving Him as your Savior
(see Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-13). This assures you of arriv-
ing in heaven, but itÕs only the beginning of your journey.

If you want to Òlive and die happily,Ó as stated in an old
catechism I studied as a boy, you must      _________________
make it your lifeÕs aim to Òexpress your   
gratitude to GodÓ for His salvation. You    ÒMy walk with God
are to grow spiritually by keeping in        continuesÓ
touch with Him through confessing your       - Paul Henry
sins (1 John 1:8-9), loving even your en-   _________________
emies (Matthew 5:44), and letting the 
Holy Spirit take control of your life so that you are ÒfilledÓ
with Him (Ephesians 5:18-21).

If you will follow this path as an expression of your gratitude
to God, you will finish well. What more could anybody want?

- Herbert Vander Lugt

_______________________________________________________________

Adapted from the 32 page booklet, ÒFinishing Well: Gracefully
Living With LifeÕs ChallengesÓ. (Q0713)


  -----------------------------------------------------------
  Our Daily Bread, Copyright 1994, used by permission of
  Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49555, USA.
  Written permission must be obtained from RBC for any
  further posting or distribution. RBC provides a variety
  of Bible resources, which are free of charge. RBC is not
  funded by any group or denomination, and support comes
  voluntarily from its Members and Friends. Write for more
  information, or call 1-800-598-7221.
  ------------------------------------------------------------



---------------------------------------------------------------
file: /pub/resources/text/Our.Daily.Bread/extras: finishing.txt