LEAVING A LEGACY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

2 Peter 1:13-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever thought about what your Christian legacy will be after you draw your final breath here on this earth and cross over to the glory of eternal life with God and Jesus, His Son and your Savior forever?

I think it’s definitely a question we need to first ponder and then take action on. Because while we might depart this world, we all have the opportunity to leave something behind to share Christ with generations of people who follow.

Take Peter, for example. He literally was chosen as one of Jesus’ first followers, walked alongside Him in ministry, and received a special call after Jesus’ resurrection to care for His flock, something Peter did extremely well after His Master ascended to Heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand.

You may remember that in Acts, chapter 2, Peter delivers an incredible sermon, the first one after the Holy Spirit descended on him and his fellow apostles on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem and the scriptures tell us that about three thousand new Christian believers were “added to their (the apostle’s) number that day” (Vv. 14-40).

From that point on, Peter made good on Jesus’ call to carry on His work, shepherding believers through his Gospel work. And in addition to what we read about Peter in the Gospels and the Book of Acts, we know he penned two letters that are within the New Testament, letters we have been poring through since the end of May. There is no doubt that Peter worked hard to leave a legacy for Jesus behind after his life was through. In fact, we find him touching on this in our passage today from the first chapter of his second letter. Here’s what we read in verses 13 through 15:

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Like all human beings who have ever lived, Peter understood his mortality. He knew that there was an expiration date on him and yet he strived to write to his brothers and sisters who were exiled and scattered in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1). Part of the reason he composed his letters was because he believed it was “right” to “refresh” the memory of his fellow believers “as long as” he had life in “the tent of” his “body”, a body he knew would soon be put “aside”.

Peter longed for all Christians who would read his words (to include us today) to remember the spiritual truths he shared long “after” his “departure”. His words have become his spiritual legacy and they are still ministering to believers more than 2,000 years later.

You know, a lot of people want to know about this ministry, The Christian Walk, and its advent. Born in 2007 out of the Lord’s call for me to write from His Word, I was ironically in Peter’s letters at the time and began writing from there through the entire Bible. Today marks the 4,048 message since that day and I can say with full confidence that this accumulation of devotions, straight from God’s Word and inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the Lord’s gift to humanity, a lasting legacy that I pray will go on to glorify and honor Christ, helping others come to their salvation or grow in their knowledge of Him long after my body tents is folded up and I put this life aside for the best life ever, the everlasting life promised to all who would place their hope in Jesus as Savior.

What a blessing it is every day to be used by my Lord in such an awesome, meaningful way so to leave a lasting legacy behind after I enter into victory. I hope that you too have your own legacy planned out, a legacy that, like Peter’s, will help others to remember Jesus long after He calls you home.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.