Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 214 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
How to Live a Legacy Each Day #3
Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 214 of our Trek, and yesterday and today, we are exploring the trails that will help us learn how to live a legacy life each day. Listening to Wisdom-Trek daily is one thing that will help you to gain the wisdom needed to live your legacy today, which will also allow you to leave a legacy tomorrow. If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.
We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This episode is airing originally on the last day of 2015. How has the year turned out for you? Are you healthier and more joyful than you were a year ago? Did you achieve your dreams and goals that you had hoped to? If you answered yes to either of these questions, well done! If not, don’t be discouraged. Tomorrow starts a brand new year with all of its potentials.
For Paula and me, we have had many blessings, but we have also had some setbacks. On the positive side, our younger daughter Janet was married to Rowan Webster and our son Barney and his wife Leesha blessed us with another beautiful granddaughter. Our construction project in Arizona finally started this year, which was a real benefit, as we were just finishing up our work with another client. We also were able to start this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal this year, and it has opened up our eyes to additional business opportunities for 2016. But, one of our primary clients is in the oil and gas industry where prices have crashed by over 65% so that has impacted us financially. While I enjoy the low gas prices at the pump, it is not without significant ramifications. Through both the good and the difficult situations, we move forward living that rich and satisfying life that Christ has for us.
It brings to my mind what the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Church in Philippi 3:12-14, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Join me in being resolute for 2016 to live with purpose, on purpose. Let us choose each day to live a legacy of positive impact on our world. Let us not miss this opportunity.
On our Trek for today, let’s continue on our trail as we explore…
How to Live a Legacy Each Day #3
We finished yesterday with the understanding of what that Apostle Paul meant when he said, “I have fought the Good Fight.” Today we want to explore his last two proclamations which are…
- “I have finished the race.”
- “I have remained faithful.”
2. “I have finished the race.”
Finishing the race means ensuring in the process that you are neither disqualified nor disheartened in the race of life and becoming a living legacy. The Apostle Paul fully understood what he meant when he made the statement, “I have finished the race.” He was near the end of his life and knew what the prize was as I mentioned in the verses earlier. “I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
I’ve been around long enough to know some men and women whose lives were on fire to make a positive impact on others, who have for some reason quit the race or, at least, are just walking and no longer running. The Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the church in Galatia 5:7, “You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth?”
Here are four things the evil one or your own self-absorption will do to hold you back from finishing the race.
- Distractions – These can be either positive gains that you become self-focused on or wrong/harmful things that you should not be involved in causing you to lose focus and not continue on your race.
- Discouragement – This can be when someone is negative to you causing you to want to give up or you stumble and fall in your race so you decide to quit.
- Divisions – This can be strife between you and other people or you having a falling out with God because life is not what you pictured it should be.
- Deceptions – This is when you become so self-absorbed that you deceive yourself into thinking that life is all about you, or you gain the mentality that God wants you to be happy, and the pursuit of that happiness disqualifies you from the race of living a legacy for good.
In any situation which may pull you from the good race of life, keep in mind the encouragement found in Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
So far we have explored
- “I have fought the Good Fight.”
- “I have finished the race.”
Now let us explore Paul’s last proclamation.
3. “I have remained faithful.”
Remaining faithful here brings to mind a long trek or marathon race in Paul’s analogy. You continue one step at a time, one foot after another, continuing on until the end. Someone who is persistent and consistent. Someone who is always dependable. These are the traits of a faithful person.
- Hold on to what is right, just, and fair, regardless of personal cost to you
- Pursue God daily. Have a lifestyle of worship
- Forget living to please others, and live to please God and pursue the destiny that He has called you to.
- Live sacrificially for others – a descent into greatness as a servant leader.
- Live and leave a legacy. Live sacrificially because you are living for something greater than yourself.
- Embrace supernatural faith and remain faithful at all cost.
“I have remained faithful.”
Is it your desire to live and leave a legacy? Do you desire to proclaim as Paul did:
- “I have fought the Good Fight.”
- “I have finished the race.”
- “I have remained faithful.”
To do this, you must do as Paul did in Galatians 2:20, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Paul knew the secret of his success which he stated in Philippians 4:13, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
As we continue our trek of life, if we follow the proclamations of Paul to fight the Good Fight for what is right, just, and fair, continue on our trek until it is completed, and we have remained faithful throughout our journey we will be living a legacy each day, we will leave a legacy that will impact all of eternity.
On our Trek, we explored what Paul proclaimed at the end of his trek. If we apply the principles that we explored during the past week, we can say the same thing when our Trek is nearly finished. Live fully each day. Tomorrow starts a brand new year, and we will pursue the renewing of our minds so that 2016 is your best year ever. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.
As we take this Trek together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!