Lay hold on eternal life! II

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes

Peace and grace may be multiplied in your life by our Lord Jesus Christ!

I believe that the word I am sharing with you strengthens you and helps you to stay on track to eternal life.

Yesterday we started talking about how we can lay hold on eternal life. We read what Apostle Paul said about it:

 «But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses» (1Timothy, 6:11-12).

We say that these three things help us to lay hold on eternal life. We also established that eternal life has its beginning on earth when we get to know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ. In heaven we will obtain full knowledge of God. In 1st Corinthians (13:12), Apostle Paul says: «For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known». It speaks of partial knowledge of God that we have now; but if we lay hold on eternal life and endure till the end, we will have full knowledge of God and full reward of eternal life.

«Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is» (1 John, 3:2).

This passage of Scripture tells us that we are now children of God; and it is the beginning of eternal life. When we received Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we became children of God; but that is not all. It is just the beginning of our race and our fight. We need to get to the end, and then we will see Him as He is. And then the fullness of God’s glory that is hidden in us will be revealed. To lay hold on eternal life means to be confident of getting to the finish line. It is not enough to repent of one’s sins and accept Jesus as Lord; it is not enough to start the journey towards the knowledge of God; it is important to finish it. Bible says that Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. He started His race and finished it. God is calling us to imitate Jesus in this. It says in Hebrews (12:1-2):

«Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God».

We say that Jesus came to earth, started and finished His work, – and now He is at the right hand of the throne of God. It is the same thing God expects of each one of us; He wants us not only start our walk with God, but to also finish it. For this to happen we need to lay aside of the things that hinder our walk. We need to move ahead with patience and fight the good fight of faith so that we could finish the race and lay hold of eternal life.

It is extremely important not to deceive ourselves and not allow others to deceive us. Every single day we must make sure we are walking on this narrow path that leads to eternal life. My dear friends, today there are so many things around us that distract us; so we need to focus on our destination, on our finish line. We must do everything in our power to get to the finish line.

We will continue tomorrow!

Be blessed!

Pastor Rufus Ajiboye

Similar Posts

  • The sample of effective prayer

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    In order to pray effectively one needs a sample. Christian life is a spiritual life, therefore, connection with Heaven is vitally important. Our God is a spirit, but we all live on Earth, so we need to stay connected with God. There are only two ways of having fellowship with God – The word of God and a prayer. The God speaks to us through His word. The word of God is His revelation about God himself. Neither you can create the character of God by yourself nor you can imagine what kind of person He is, because you can easily fail getting it right. The God tells us in His word about who He is, what He can do and how He acts.

    In order to pray effectively one needs a sample. Christian life is a spiritual life, therefore, connection with...

  • God doesn’t want us to give up! III

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    First of all, God ”will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able”. Maybe you don´t even feel that He is keeping all your situations under control but as a matter of fact, He has already set the limit of your hardships. God will not let things, that are above what you can bear, enter your life. You probably underestimate your own strength, but God knows better. When your reasoning is right you prevail over hardships. God will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, so you can overcome all difficulties in life – that´s the idea you should feed your mind with.

    First of all, God ”will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able”. Maybe you don´t even feel that He...

  • True joy is a power that helps us to go ´till the end and reach the goal

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Even nowadays Jesus is still rejoicing when sees God´s will fulfilled on Earth as on Heaven. Do you want to please God more? Then consecrate yourself to reveal and fulfil His will for your life.You, for example, can dedicate your life to do your best drawing sinners into the Kingdom of Heaven. Heaven rejoice each time when one sinner repents his sins on Earth.

    Even nowadays Jesus is still rejoicing when sees God´s will fulfilled on Earth as on Heaven. Do you want to...

  • Ignorance is a matter of personal choice

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    If a person does not fulfil this duty, he won’t have enough light to see evil and hide from it. Besides, this verse tells us that such a person (he or she is called „simple”) goes ahead and is punished – not by God, but by his own ignorance. Ignorance separates a person from the life of God, because he knows nothing about God’s provision. «..having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart» (Ephesians, 4:18).Because of ignorance human mind is darkened, heart is hardened and he himself is alienated from the life of God.

    If a person does not fulfil this duty, he won’t have enough light to see evil and hide from it. Besides, this...

  • Ministry is important and it has an impact on us, because it helps us to develop compassionate heart

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Compassion, in turn, brings healing and restoring power of God into my life and through my life into the lives of others around me. Through the virtue of the compassion, I become a tool in God hands – a tool used for restoration and a channel of God’s healing anointing.God’s anointing flows and works through compassion. Do you want God to anoint you in a special way? Do you want the God’s power to flow through you mightily? I guess you do, don’t you? God desires that for you! He wants you to be an instrument of His grace, through whom His anointing and power can consistently flow. In order to succeed in this we need to develop a heart of compassion towards the people who in need around us. The more compassion we have within us, the more anointing and God’s power will flow through us.

    Compassion, in turn, brings healing and restoring power of God into my life and through my life into the lives of...

  • What else forgiveness brings into our life

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    2. Forgiveness gives us strength to walk through the stages of our life.& «Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.». (Hebrews 12:1-2).

    2. Forgiveness gives us strength to walk through the stages of our life. & «Therefore let us also, seeing we are...