Giving up – Or Never Letting Go?

APOLOGIES: I recently posted two of my blogs TWICE. Not cool. It won’t happen again. Thank you for your understanding.

Giving up – Or Never Letting Go?

As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. ⁶⁷ So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:66-69 – NASB)

I read a fortune cookie statement once that said, “Men don’t fail… they give up trying.”

Besides noting women are just as likely as men are to give up, that is a sad commentary on the human spirit, even if only partly true.

For a follower of Christ it ought never to be true.

The only situations in which giving up would be an appropriate response to the tragedies and disappointments of life are:

• If God did not love us
• If Christ had not died for our sins and risen again
• If the blood of Christ lost its cleansing power
• If the promises of God were no longer valid
• If Christ no longer dwelt within us
• If Heaven were a myth
• If Eternal Life did not exist

The list goes on and on. Since God does love us with an everlasting love; Christ did die for us and rose again from the dead; Christ’s blood will never lose its power; God’s promises will never fail; Christ in us is the hope of glory; Heaven for the redeemed is a firm reality and Eternal life is offered to all…. giving up is not and option.

All you have to do is keep on believing and giving up won’t even occur to you.

Tony Evans said: “If life gets too hard to stand, kneel.

Not an Option

(© 30^th April 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69 – NASB)

I haven’t got any give-up in me,

For my God: He still renews my spirit;

He causes my heart to be steadfast, free

To serve God now – without merit.

God took all the giving-up out,

And replaced it with godly zeal;

Even when discouragement comes,

The Word that He tells me will heal.

I cannot give up for I know

That God works together for good

All things taking place in my life

God has covered – I knew He would.

When giving up seems an option,

And I can’t continue to stand,

I fall on my knees and cry out,

“I’ll do whatever You command.”

For the promise of God is true;

I can trust though I cannot see.

Giving up is not an option –

For my Saviour lives within me.

 Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Don’t Let Go by dbking unknown photographer. It was uploaded to wikimedia by AgnosticPreachersKid. Used under the CC BY 2.0 license; Please note the Disclaimer at this link. No changes were made to this photograph.

When the Game is Over

When the Game is Over

When a chess player is defeated by his opponent, and “Check-mate” has been declared, the game is over. There is no point in continuing. You have lost and you had better accept defeat and put the board away. At least, that is true of a game of chess.

With the game of life, however, that is not necessarily so.

It was “game over” for the thief crucified next to Jesus.

He had lived the life of a criminal and was finally paying the ultimate price for it – his life. There was one thing, however, that he could do, and he did it:

And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over for him anymore.

It was “game over” for the woman caught in the act of adultery.

She was on the verge of being stoned to death according to the law. She couldn’t do anything about that; it was out of her hands. All she could do was kneel there in the dust  and wait  for the stones to end her life.

She waited…and waited… and waited….

And then…

                Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over anymore.

Perhaps you have come to that place in your life where you are convinced there is no way out. Game over. Or you know someone else who has “lost the game.”

Is the game over for you?

Is the game over for them?

It need not be!

Jesus is the only one who can finally declare “game over,”

And he’s not going to do it if you call on him as the thief on the cross did.

The woman caught in adultery didn’t even ask for His help, but Jesus rescued her anyway.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

The game of life is never over till you have been to Jesus.

Game Over?

(© Wednesday 22^nd April 2025 – by Christopher Shennan

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

You think the game is over now,

For the likes of you and me;

You think the scoreboard is final,

And you are lost in misery.

Your life has just come to nothing,

And you are throwing in the towel;

You’ve expended all your effort,

And the umpire’s shouted “Fowl!”

The voice of reason still tells you

There is “no way out” forever;

And the enemy still whispers,

“You’ll find an answer? No! Never!”

I’ve got news for you, my friend:

The games not over, not at all –

As long as you lean on Jesus,

Nothing again will make you fall.

When this life at last is over,

A new game of life will begin –

And you’ll live with Him forever –

A life that is free from all sin.

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Checkmate by Alan Light. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. Also used under the Commons GNU Free Documentation License. No changes were made to this photo.

When the Game is Over

When the Game is Over

When a chess player is defeated by his opponent, and “Check-mate” has been declared, the game is over. There is no point in continuing. You have lost and you had better accept defeat and put the board away. At least, that is true of a game of chess.

With the game of life, however, that is not necessarily so.

It was “game over” for the thief crucified next to Jesus.

He had lived the life of a criminal and was finally paying the ultimate price for it – his life. There was one thing, however, that he could do, and he did it:

And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over for him any more.

It was “game over” for the woman caught in the act of adultery.

She was on the verge of being stoned to death according to the law. She couldn’t do anything about that; it was out of her hands. All she could do was kneel there in the dust  and wait  for the stones to end her life.

She waited…and waited… and waited….

And then…

                Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over any more.

Perhaps you have come to that place in your life where you are convinced there is no way out. Game over. Or you know someone else who has “lost the game.”

Is the game over for you?

Is the game over for them?

It need not be!

Jesus is the only one who can finally declare “game over,”

And he’s not going to do it if you call on him as the thief on the cross did.

The woman caught in adultery didn’t even ask for His help, but Jesus rescued her anyway.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

The game of life is never over till you have been to Jesus.

Game Over?

(© Wednesday 22^nd April 2025 – by Christopher Shennan

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

You think the game is over now,

For the likes of you and me;

You think the scoreboard is final,

And you are lost in misery.

Your life has just come to nothing,

And you are throwing in the towel;

You’ve expended all your effort,

And the umpire’s shouted “Fowl!”

The voice of reason still tells you

There is “no way out” forever;

And the enemy still whispers,

“You’ll find an answer? No! Never!”

I’ve got news for you, my friend:

The games not over, not at all –

As long as you lean on Jesus,

Nothing again will make you fall.

When this life at last is over,

A new game of life will begin –

And you’ll live with Him forever –

A life that is free from all sin.

 Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
My blog: https://christophershennan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CNShennan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherShennanAuthor

Checkmate by Alan Light. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. Also used under the Commons GNU Free Documentation License. No changes were made to this photo.