Our Senior Challenge

Graduation is a time of handshakes and hugs, laughter and tears, a time of shouts of joy with caps sailing high in the air, a time filled with hopes and dreams.

To our Seniors, we want you to know that we are all proud of you!! We want the best for you. All that stands between you and the top of the ladder is the ladder, so climb it! All that stands between you and the best of life is life itself, so live it! Life is what you make it. You control your destiny. Your life-house is yours to build.

 

Give God His rightful place. There has never been any doubt as to where God wants to be or should be in our lives. At Sinai it was No other gods before Me. With Jesus it was Love God with all your heart, mind, body and soul.

Jesus said, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Jesus is saying, if we will place His kingdom, His righteousness, His people and their needs first in our lives, then He will take care of us and our kingdom needs.

The word seek implies a strong minded pursuit. J.B. Phillips renders the Greek... Set your heart on His Kingdom., His righteousness. The Amplified Bible says, Aim and strive after His kingdom, His righteousness. Jesus is not speaking of being Sunday only Christians, pew warmers, nominal lukewarm church members. He is speaking of total commitment to God.

The word kingdom here means more than just the church. God’s kingdom is synonymous with God’s rule. Question!! Who rules in our lives: God, Satan, self, position, career, fashion? Jesus said, We cannot serve two masters. We must give God His rightful place

 

Have a genuine love for people. Jesus said, The second commandment is like unto the first, love your neighbor as yourself. Paul said, Place the interest of others before our own interest, bear one another’s burdens, do good to all men, especially those in the household of faith. God created us for relationships. He created us for loving and serving one another. The sooner we accept this primary Bible truth, the sooner we will enjoy the benefits and blessings God has in store for those who will serve Him by serving others.

You see, if a corporate position, popularity, power, privilege, prestige or political clout is the god of our life, then something terrible occurs within us when these are no longer available.

Cultivate relationships. Relationships that will sustain us through this life and into eternity.

 

Strive for honesty and integrity within. We must become a person of principle. We must be true to our convictions. It is what’s on the inside that makes us happy, not external circumstances. Blessed, happy are the poor in spirit... Those who are humble. Blessed, happy are the pure in heart... Those who have pure motives. Blessed, happy are the meek... Those who honestly yield to their convictions. Jesus is talking about what goes on in our own heart. This is where genuine happiness occurs.

Like a basketball, we must be filled with the right stuff. Sometimes life is going to bounce us around, life is going to throw us to the floor, life is going to miss the goal, slam dunk us. Sometimes life will go out of bounds, foul us and not play fair. How we deal with these situations and circumstances is determined by what is on the inside. Happiness is a heart condition.

 

Pursue excellence. Mediocrity and monotony are like teeth in gears, one gives birth to the other, one fits into the other. They go together like hand and glove.

Our culture is drowning in a sea of mediocrity. It's evident in our educational system, in our politics, in the business world, and even in the church. Excellence is out. Mediocrity is in. We are satisfied with a "C” average when we could have a four point. We are satisfied with nominal Christianity when we could be spiritual giants. We’re satisfied with being nominal Bible students, so we don't come to Bible study. We are satisfied to raise our children in mediocrity, when we could be raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Something is wrong here

Without a pursuit of excellence, there is a lack of purpose: We become busy, yet bored. We are involved, yet indifferent. We are filled, but not fulfilled. Life becomes repetitious, dull, boring, and we droop into depression. Here is our challenge: If you don’t like who or what you are, change!. Pursue excellence. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on... I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward. People of excellence are those who refuse to sit back and wish things would change. They don’t dream of how it could be if things were different. People of excellence make a difference where they are, today, right here, right now!!

 

Never give up. Christianity is a life of perseverance, of keeping on keeping on, of never giving up. The reward is promised to those who will fight the fight, finish the course, keep the faith. In the first three chapters of Revelation Jesus promises: a right to eat of the tree of life, the crown of life, the hidden manna, a walk with Him in white, and never to erase our name from the Lamb’s book of life, if we will persevere, if we will overcome.

It lies before you now...

The untrod path.

The unopened door,

The mountain peak.

The straight and narrow.

We challenge you...

Walk the path,

Open the door,

Climb the mountain,

Stay with the right.

If you do, the sky’s the limit.

Let God be your guide and hang tough.

Follow your dreams with determination.

And when you find yourself inundated with choices:

Be wise...

Choose God’s way—

Choose excellence.

And never give up.

Our prayers go with you always.

 

—RANDALL CASELMAN