Gotta get going for an early morning airport run. Thought I’d re-post something from 2012 . . . a fond reminder of a dear friend. A needed reminder for such a time as this when we need to keep on keepin’ on . . .

He wasn’t flashy . . . but he was the real deal. Not some nuclear physicist, but a pretty good truck driver with a down-to-earth wisdom that caught your attention. Not a university trained man, but one who had buried his nose faithfully in the Scriptures daily . . . one whose hunger and thirst for the things of righteousness drove him to study the inspired Word of God . . . one, who as a result of what he found in the Word, had set his gaze firmly on the prize and sought diligently the kingdom. Not someone who would necessarily stand out in a crowd, but someone who had a profound impact on this guy at the keyboard. And one of his favorite encouragements . . . one that I’ve claimed for my own . . . was, “Keep on keepin’ on!” And this guy from my past was brought to mind as I was reading in 2Timothy this morning . . .

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it . . .

(2Timothy 3:14 ESV)

Paul knew better than anyone that the Christian walk isn’t really a walk or a stroll but that it’s a race . . . a pursuit of an ultimate goal. And that this race isn’t just a sprint but a long, enduring marathon. It was important to Paul that those who came to faith, would pursue the faith . . . that those who started well, would finish well . . . that those who sang Sunday School songs as a kid, would still be singing the praises of God as a “senior saint.” And, I’m thinking, that part of the “secret sauce” to finishing well has got to be the daily determination to keep on keepin’ on.

And the secret to keepin’ on? You continue in that which you have learned and have come to firmly believe. If I believe, or am assured, that something is true, trustworthy, the “real thing” . . . then I am far more likely to seek it . . . and desire it . . . and live for it. Would it be safe to say, “Show me a Christian who’s struggling with living for Christ and I’ll show you someone who’s not really convinced that Christ is living in them or worth living for?” Staying power is heavily reliant on being convinced that Jesus and the salvation He offers is truly “the way, the truth, the life” . . . the only way . . . the whole truth and nothing but the truth . . . demanding our whole lives and nothing less than our lives.

Timothy learned and became convinced of the truth of the gospel. He was a student . . . studying not only the Scriptures but also those who modeled how to practically “seek first the kingdom of God”. And Paul commanded him, “You MUST continue, in that which you’ve become convinced.”

I know I’ve said it before . . . again and again . . . but being saved is about so much more than just avoiding hell. It is about so much more than just waiting for heaven. Being saved is about pursuing salvation. It is about learning and then continuing in that which we’ve learned. It is about desiring to live godly lives in Christ Jesus (2Tim. 3:12). It is about knowing and then living out doctrine . . . about a way of life . . . about purpose, faith, longsuffering, love and perseverance (2Tim. 3:10). It is about continuing . . . or as my friend Wynn would say so often, it’s about “Keepin’ on, keepin’ on!!!”

And I think the reason so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ are struggling with continuing is because they really haven’t learned and they really aren’t convinced. They have not learned the truths of the faith and thus have not embraced the truths of the faith. They have not been taught “to observe all things” which is just as much a part of the Great Commission as is “Go therefore and make disciples” (Matt 28:19-20). Poorly taught . . . poorly walked. Little investment in the Scriptures . . . little staying power in the world. Lack of concentrated consideration of God’s Word and ways . . . lack of desire to take up the cross and follow Christ.

The more convinced I am of the truths contained in the “God-breathed Scriptures” (2Tim. 3:16), the more likely I am, by God’s grace and the power of the Spirit within me, to continue in the God-ordained way of life He has called me to.

Oh, that we as the people of God would know a revival of “firmly believing” . . . and that we would know the power of the Spirit in continuing . . . that we would keep on keepin’ on . . . by His grace . . . and for His glory . . . amen?