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Passage
"And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. And the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher." So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, "I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking." Genesis 24:15-21 (NKJV)
Pondering
So far we have looked only at the first 2 C's, now we'll consider the next three.
When choosing the right partner we are to seek godly..
1. Christians
2. Counsel
3. Character
Abraham's servant sought for the woman who was not simply beautiful but who was a dedicated and loving servant. His requirement was that the bride-to-be would offer him a drink and also water his ten camels. Now, one camel alone would need about six of Rebekah's water jars - thats sixty rounds of water from the well! This shows us that Rebekah was a hard working servant who thought not of herself but had compassion on others. Christian character is vitally important when you are seeking for the right life partner. Look for signs of selfless service and compassion in the other person above external beauty and an impressive resume.
4. Communing
What was Isaac doing as the servant was out looking for a bride for him?
"And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted his eyes and looked, and there, the camels were coming.." Genesis 24:63 (NKJV)
Isaac was a man of prayer and he was meditating on the Lord whilst his bride was being brought to him. If you want to get the best spouse, pray for the right one. Spend time meditating on the Lord and seeking His will in all things, especially concerning your life partner.
5. Communication
This is where Isaac and Rebekah failed and later we see the terrible results of bad communication in their relationship. Isaac was a quiet, contemplative type and Rebekah was probably more bubbly and approachable. Their communication probably failed early on and led to terrible things in their marriage.
Tomorrow we will see how this lack of communication effected them and their children.
Poem
Rebekah did not just satisfy one thirsty soul
But ten empty camel humps were made whole.
Her selfless service and enduring grace
Were what put a smile on the servants face.
Prayer
"Father, help me to be the best partner to the one you've chosen for me. Help me to be compassionate and selfless and serve them with endurance all the days we are together. Help me to pray for them and, when we are together, with them, so we can be a powerful team for Your kingdom. Amen.!"
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Should we Forgive and Forget?
Passage
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV) {see Jeremiah 31:34}
Pondering
There is a Spiritual Urban legend that we must "Forgive and Forget". This commonly teaches us, erroneously, that "Just as God forgives us and forgets our sin so we should forgive others and forget their sin."
At first glance you may say, "Well, isn’t that what the Bible says? Doesn’t Colossians 3:13 teach us that we should forgive as God does and, according to Hebrews 8:12, God "remembers no more" all our sins." But, as we will see, the term "remembers no more" does not mean "forget" as we understand it in modern English.
The key to understanding what the Biblical term "remembers no more" really means is in understanding the Biblical use of "remember". In modern English , "remember" means to not forget. Just by looking at one Biblical use of "remember" we can see this modern meaning is not the same as the Biblical one.
Take Noah, for example. Genesis 8:1 says that "God remembered Noah" after he and his family, and all the animals had been floating around in the Ark for five months. Did God forget all about Noah for five months and needed to be reminded by one of His angels? Can God forget? Isn’t He all knowing? Obviously the Biblical term "remember" means something quite different. Indeed, the best interpretation would be "to respond to and work in a situation or person" (in this case, all those in the Ark).
Conversely, the Biblical meaning of "remember no more" would be "to not respond to and work in a situation or person". So, when the Bible says God remembers our sin no more it means that He does not respond to our sin and work in our lives as we deserve. By His grace we are completely forgiven and do not need to live in shame and separation from Him. He knows all about our past sins, but if we ask His forgiveness through Jesus Christ with real repentance, He casts away ("as far as the east is from the west." Psalm 103:12) the present alienation, shame and guilt that sin brought to us.
That's good news!
Poem
To forgive and forget is what we are told,
Cause God does that, I guess He is old!
Though He knows all things can He forget them too?
How very convenient for me and for you.
It's amazing He forgets the sins of His saints,
Even though His Word records their complaints.
So, if ever God was to read His own word,
He'd suddenly remember, Oh my! That's absurd!
Prayer
"Dear Lord. Thank you that if I confess my sins you are faithful and just to forgive me my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Though you do not forget my sins you do not treat me as my sins demand as Christ has taken all the punishment of death and separation. Praise You Lord for this wonderful news and help me to embrace fully your glorious forgiveness. Amen!"
Forgiving and Forgetting is Impossible
Passage
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:12
Pondering
The Spiritual Urban Legend that we must "Forgive and Forget" is potentially very dangerous. It is not merely a small, innocent mistake of interpretation and understanding. It can cause huge problems in our relationships with God and others.
Firstly, believing we must forgive and forget is dangerous because it is IMPOSSIBLE with the big hurts in our life. Larry Osborne says, "Sure, we can and should forget the little things; the social slights, the unkind word, the fool who jumps our parking space. But when it comes to the true hurts and injustices of life, most of us are keenly aware that self-induced amnesia isn’t in the cards."
How many of you have heard a preacher say that God has turned His back on your repented sins after having tossed them into a deep ocean and then put a sign of "no fishing" there? What they mean by this is that God has forgotten about and covered all your (and others) repented sins and so must you. Don’t go back fishing for their memories and dig up the past. That kind of thinking is all well and good for small hurts and sins of the past. However, some hurts are so huge that they are like icebergs with tips sticking out of the ocean of forgetfulness!
The problem here is that such thinking can cause us to give up seeking forgiveness for the big sins and big hurts of the past. We try and bury them deep in our sub-consciousness but they keep resurrecting to haunt us. We end up paying lip service that we have forgiven those who hurt us so badly, or we have been forgiven for the huge sins we committed long ago, but because we have not fully forgotten them we feel that true forgiveness is out of our reach!
Hence, many Christian walk around with unneeded guilt due to a faulty spiritual urban legend. The truth is that God does not want us to forget really painful memories that have caused much hurt. He wants to heal those memories. To forgive others is not to forget what they have done to us but it is to relinquish our right to hurt back, to give that person a second chance and receive healing of past memories, so when we think of those events all we think of is what our glorious saviour has done to heal and restore us.
He has taken the separating barrier of our past sins away, as far as the east is from the west. When we have fully repented of past sins God can well remember those sins but knows that our repentance has restored our relationship with Him. So, as we remember our past sins and hurts we can rejoice that He has healed those memories and see how great is His love and forgiveness!
Poem
Trying to forgive and forget can cause us to quit,
As we try to throw the big sins in the pit.
To our dismay they are too big to fit,
So we hide them and just let them sit.
True healing comes when we let Him shine the light
Revealing those sins in their depths and their height.
Then seeing His cross is deeper and wider than these
We ask for true forgiveness and fall to our knees.
Prayer
"Thank you Father that your grace is sufficient. No matter how great my sins of the past you forgive them fully and restore me to full relationship with You. Though you and I can still remember those sins we know that they are forgiven and covered by the blood of Christ. A painful, hurtful memory can now be transformed into a time of deep gratitude of where we have come from - looking from the mountain top into a valley of past sin and marvelling at the deliverance. Amen!"
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:12
Pondering
The Spiritual Urban Legend that we must "Forgive and Forget" is potentially very dangerous. It is not merely a small, innocent mistake of interpretation and understanding. It can cause huge problems in our relationships with God and others.
Firstly, believing we must forgive and forget is dangerous because it is IMPOSSIBLE with the big hurts in our life. Larry Osborne says, "Sure, we can and should forget the little things; the social slights, the unkind word, the fool who jumps our parking space. But when it comes to the true hurts and injustices of life, most of us are keenly aware that self-induced amnesia isn’t in the cards."
How many of you have heard a preacher say that God has turned His back on your repented sins after having tossed them into a deep ocean and then put a sign of "no fishing" there? What they mean by this is that God has forgotten about and covered all your (and others) repented sins and so must you. Don’t go back fishing for their memories and dig up the past. That kind of thinking is all well and good for small hurts and sins of the past. However, some hurts are so huge that they are like icebergs with tips sticking out of the ocean of forgetfulness!
The problem here is that such thinking can cause us to give up seeking forgiveness for the big sins and big hurts of the past. We try and bury them deep in our sub-consciousness but they keep resurrecting to haunt us. We end up paying lip service that we have forgiven those who hurt us so badly, or we have been forgiven for the huge sins we committed long ago, but because we have not fully forgotten them we feel that true forgiveness is out of our reach!
Hence, many Christian walk around with unneeded guilt due to a faulty spiritual urban legend. The truth is that God does not want us to forget really painful memories that have caused much hurt. He wants to heal those memories. To forgive others is not to forget what they have done to us but it is to relinquish our right to hurt back, to give that person a second chance and receive healing of past memories, so when we think of those events all we think of is what our glorious saviour has done to heal and restore us.
He has taken the separating barrier of our past sins away, as far as the east is from the west. When we have fully repented of past sins God can well remember those sins but knows that our repentance has restored our relationship with Him. So, as we remember our past sins and hurts we can rejoice that He has healed those memories and see how great is His love and forgiveness!
Poem
Trying to forgive and forget can cause us to quit,
As we try to throw the big sins in the pit.
To our dismay they are too big to fit,
So we hide them and just let them sit.
True healing comes when we let Him shine the light
Revealing those sins in their depths and their height.
Then seeing His cross is deeper and wider than these
We ask for true forgiveness and fall to our knees.
Prayer
"Thank you Father that your grace is sufficient. No matter how great my sins of the past you forgive them fully and restore me to full relationship with You. Though you and I can still remember those sins we know that they are forgiven and covered by the blood of Christ. A painful, hurtful memory can now be transformed into a time of deep gratitude of where we have come from - looking from the mountain top into a valley of past sin and marvelling at the deliverance. Amen!"
Forgiving and Forgetting is Irresponsible
Passage
"So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."
2 Samuel 12:13-14 (NKJV)
Pondering
Secondly, believing we must forgive and forget is dangerous because it is IRRESPONSIBLE! We can wrongly think that because God has forgotten our sin we must be off the hook when it comes to any consequences of that sin. Hence, a convicted murderer could repent of all his sins and receive forgiveness of his sin of murder. Then he may expect God to miraculously intervene so he does not have to spend any time in jail but be restored to a normal life. Imagine the prisoner’s shock when he learns he has been given a double life sentence without parole. As time goes by he could become hurt, bitter and angry at God for not keeping His word.
When God forgives us he stops treating us as our sin requires (that is, we have restored relationship to God). However, if there are seeds of negative consequences already sown, they will be reaped. This is clearly seen in King David’s life. When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sins of Adultery and murder he said that God had "put away" his sin but there would still be negative consequences: his baby, the product of that adultery, would die and there would be ongoing problems with his children (which later surface in Amnon’s incest and Absolom’s rebellion).
Was David forgiven? Yes! Did he expect God to take away all negative consequences of his sins? No! But, in the midst of enduring the painful consequences of his sin, he experience renewed relationship with God and supernatural joy in His presence (Psalm 51:11-12). The more damaging our sin is to the testimony we have as a Christian, the more consequences we’ll have to endure even after we have received full forgiveness from God. But the most important thing is that our relationship with God will be fully restored and we’ll experience His love, peace and joy.
Poem
When we sin there's a seed of a weed that is sown,
That continues to grow even when forgiveness is known.
It may damage our garden but one thing it won't do
Is break our relationship with the gardener too.
Prayer
"Father, it's sobering to realize that sins I commit can have a dramatic effect on others. Help me to walk in true godly fear so that I live more and more uprightly, not committing sins that will hurt others. Also, help me to realize that I may be seeing consequences of past sins that have been forgiven. This is a natural outworking of the law of sowing and reaping but it does not mean my relationship with You is broken. Praise You Lord for your amazing grace and mercy lavished upon me.Amen!
"So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."
2 Samuel 12:13-14 (NKJV)
Pondering
Secondly, believing we must forgive and forget is dangerous because it is IRRESPONSIBLE! We can wrongly think that because God has forgotten our sin we must be off the hook when it comes to any consequences of that sin. Hence, a convicted murderer could repent of all his sins and receive forgiveness of his sin of murder. Then he may expect God to miraculously intervene so he does not have to spend any time in jail but be restored to a normal life. Imagine the prisoner’s shock when he learns he has been given a double life sentence without parole. As time goes by he could become hurt, bitter and angry at God for not keeping His word.
When God forgives us he stops treating us as our sin requires (that is, we have restored relationship to God). However, if there are seeds of negative consequences already sown, they will be reaped. This is clearly seen in King David’s life. When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sins of Adultery and murder he said that God had "put away" his sin but there would still be negative consequences: his baby, the product of that adultery, would die and there would be ongoing problems with his children (which later surface in Amnon’s incest and Absolom’s rebellion).
Was David forgiven? Yes! Did he expect God to take away all negative consequences of his sins? No! But, in the midst of enduring the painful consequences of his sin, he experience renewed relationship with God and supernatural joy in His presence (Psalm 51:11-12). The more damaging our sin is to the testimony we have as a Christian, the more consequences we’ll have to endure even after we have received full forgiveness from God. But the most important thing is that our relationship with God will be fully restored and we’ll experience His love, peace and joy.
Poem
When we sin there's a seed of a weed that is sown,
That continues to grow even when forgiveness is known.
It may damage our garden but one thing it won't do
Is break our relationship with the gardener too.
Prayer
"Father, it's sobering to realize that sins I commit can have a dramatic effect on others. Help me to walk in true godly fear so that I live more and more uprightly, not committing sins that will hurt others. Also, help me to realize that I may be seeing consequences of past sins that have been forgiven. This is a natural outworking of the law of sowing and reaping but it does not mean my relationship with You is broken. Praise You Lord for your amazing grace and mercy lavished upon me.Amen!
Forgiving and Forgetting is Inadvisable
Passage
"Having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme."
1 Timothy 1:19-20 (NKJV)
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works."
2 Timothy 4:14 (NKJV)
Pondering
Thirdly, believing we must forgive and forget is dangerous because it is INADVISABLE! It is not advisable to forgive others and forget completely what they have done. Why is this so? Because, if they are not fully repentant they can keep coming back to commit the same sin against you and treat you like a mat or a punching bag. You may say, "But didn’t Jesus teach us to turn the other cheek?" Well, my reply would be , "How many cheeks do you have?"
Forgiving others does mean giving them a second chance (as God gave to David a second chance to remain as King) but it does not mean allowing them to trample all over you (David still had to suffer the consequences of his sin as we have seen). You may turn the other cheek a few times but if that person is not changing in the area of the sin forgiven you need to rebuke them and even distance yourself from them (as seen in the pattern found in Matthew 18:15-17).
This is illustrated in the following story: An African man worked for Eunice, a missionary in Liberia. One day she caught him stealing clothes from her house. "Please forgive me," he pleaded. "I did wrong. I promise not to do it again." She forgave him and allowed him to continue working for her. But less than a month passed before she caught him stealing again. "Look at you!" She said. "You’ve stolen again!" The bright fellow stared at her and yelled back, "What kind of a Christian are you?" Eunice, dumbfounded, had no idea how to respond. The man continued, "If you forgive me, you do not remember it. If you did not remember it, such a thing did not happen."
Forgiving someone does not mean your relationship with them will be fully restored or you will continue trusting them as before. In the story above, the missionary was right to give the worker a second chance. However, after the worker proved that he was not really changed she should have either dismissed him or set more safeguards over her possessions. This would not be a sign of lack of forgiveness but a sign of wisdom. She should still fully forgive him each time by giving up the right to hurt back but full trust may never be restored.
In the Biblical example above Paul even delivered Alexander to Satan for the Lord to repay according to his works. Alexander was an Ephesian Christian, a member of the church in Ephesus. Something transpired where Alexander sinned and harmed Paul in a way that is not recorded. Instead of forgiving and forgetting, Paul extended forgiveness but distanced himself from the unrepentant Alexander, asking God to exact vengeance on him! Sometimes vengeance is an option but not for us to exact, but God.
Poem
Christian! You're not a door mat or a punching bag
That others can abuse.
Remember, punching bags can always bounce back
But in doing this you'll lose.
Let God send the punching bag from heaven
And giving up the right to hurt you must choose.
Prayer
"Father, help me to be wise when others trample over me as I forgive them. Teach me when to withdraw and when to ask You to come in a repay them. In every situation help me to give up the right to hurt back. Amen!"
"Having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme."
1 Timothy 1:19-20 (NKJV)
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works."
2 Timothy 4:14 (NKJV)
Pondering
Thirdly, believing we must forgive and forget is dangerous because it is INADVISABLE! It is not advisable to forgive others and forget completely what they have done. Why is this so? Because, if they are not fully repentant they can keep coming back to commit the same sin against you and treat you like a mat or a punching bag. You may say, "But didn’t Jesus teach us to turn the other cheek?" Well, my reply would be , "How many cheeks do you have?"
Forgiving others does mean giving them a second chance (as God gave to David a second chance to remain as King) but it does not mean allowing them to trample all over you (David still had to suffer the consequences of his sin as we have seen). You may turn the other cheek a few times but if that person is not changing in the area of the sin forgiven you need to rebuke them and even distance yourself from them (as seen in the pattern found in Matthew 18:15-17).
This is illustrated in the following story: An African man worked for Eunice, a missionary in Liberia. One day she caught him stealing clothes from her house. "Please forgive me," he pleaded. "I did wrong. I promise not to do it again." She forgave him and allowed him to continue working for her. But less than a month passed before she caught him stealing again. "Look at you!" She said. "You’ve stolen again!" The bright fellow stared at her and yelled back, "What kind of a Christian are you?" Eunice, dumbfounded, had no idea how to respond. The man continued, "If you forgive me, you do not remember it. If you did not remember it, such a thing did not happen."
Forgiving someone does not mean your relationship with them will be fully restored or you will continue trusting them as before. In the story above, the missionary was right to give the worker a second chance. However, after the worker proved that he was not really changed she should have either dismissed him or set more safeguards over her possessions. This would not be a sign of lack of forgiveness but a sign of wisdom. She should still fully forgive him each time by giving up the right to hurt back but full trust may never be restored.
In the Biblical example above Paul even delivered Alexander to Satan for the Lord to repay according to his works. Alexander was an Ephesian Christian, a member of the church in Ephesus. Something transpired where Alexander sinned and harmed Paul in a way that is not recorded. Instead of forgiving and forgetting, Paul extended forgiveness but distanced himself from the unrepentant Alexander, asking God to exact vengeance on him! Sometimes vengeance is an option but not for us to exact, but God.
Poem
Christian! You're not a door mat or a punching bag
That others can abuse.
Remember, punching bags can always bounce back
But in doing this you'll lose.
Let God send the punching bag from heaven
And giving up the right to hurt you must choose.
Prayer
"Father, help me to be wise when others trample over me as I forgive them. Teach me when to withdraw and when to ask You to come in a repay them. In every situation help me to give up the right to hurt back. Amen!"
Monday, August 3, 2009
Running The Right Race
Passage
"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24
Pondering
In this life we are to run in the right race, not the rat race! I read a story recently about a cross-country championship in Riverside, California. Out of 128 runners only 5 runners finished the race properly. You see, Mike Delcavo knew the organizer of the race and knew the course very well. When he saw the others going the wrong way he motioned for them to follow him. Only four followed him, the rest laughed and mocked and went their own way. Only Mike and the other four finished correctly and gained the prize.
It is no different in this life where we're all running a race. But do we know the organizer, Jesus, who will show us the course layout by His Spirit? As we run correctly there will be many who mock and laugh at us but if we keep on running in His race we will gain the prize of being with Him eternally.
In the above story, the other runners actually crossed the finishing line before Mike and the other four but were disqualified as they had taken a short cut. That's the trouble when you run in the rat race, taking short cuts to get there first. Someone once said that you can win the rat race but you are still a dirty old rat! The only race worth running is God's glorious race that the Apostle Paul ran in and, at the end of his full life, could say, "I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness." 2 Timothy 4:7-8. I want to run this race and no other.
Poem
You may run well in the rat race,
Beating all the others flat.
But when you arrive in first place,
You'll find that you're still a dirty rat!
Prayer
"Father God, keep me from running all worthless races and give me the strength to run your race, even when others mock and laugh at me for doing so. Amen!"
How To Run The Christian Race
Passage
"And if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules." 2 Timothy 2:5
"I press on toward the goal for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14
"And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown". 1 Corinthians 9:25
"..let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:1-2
Pondering
If we are to run God's race we must run correctly. Scriptures show us the correct way of running the Christian life.
We are to run....
1. Keeping the RULES of the race (2 Timothy 2:5)
2. Having the finishing mark as our AIM (Philippians 3:14)
3. With great self CONTROL(1 Corinthians 9:25) and
4. ENDURING until the end (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The four key words are:
Rules
Aim
Control
Enduring
We run His race by keeping the rules as revealed in His Word, the Bible. We are put in the race by His undeserved favour as we confess our sins and confess Him as our Lord and Saviour but we still have a standard to live by. If runners use illegal performance enhancing drugs they may excel for a season but ultimately will be caught and eliminated. We must run our Christian race with integrity and holiness.
Our Aim in the Christian race must always be to please God and run always towards His goal of being like Christ. In Paul's day there were regular games where runners competed against each other (the origin of the Olympic games). At the finishing line the judge would stand with the prize, a laurel wreath crown for the winner. As the runners came down the final stretch their eyes would fix on the judge holding the prize and strain forward to win. In the same way we must fix our eyes on Jesus and strain forward to be more and more like Him.
Runners need much self control and must throw off everything that hinders them in their quest for glory. In our Christian life we must walk in self control and exercise our spirits daily through prayer, worship and Bible reading and flee all temptations and sins that will slow us down in our race.
Finally, what is the point of starting well if we never finish the race. We must endure until the very end. When Carlton Heston was concerned about not being able to win the chariot race in the movie Ben Hur, Cecil B.De Mille told him, "Your job is to stay on the chariot. It's my job to make sure you win". So too for us - we're just to endure and do what God has asked us to do and leave the winning up to Him.
Poem
I may run and win, but along the way break the rules,
The only crown I will wear is the one reserved for fools!
Prayer
"Father God, help me to run the Christian life by keeping your rules found in your Word, the Bible. Help be keep my aim on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. Help me to be self controlled and run without entangling sins and baggage that will hinder me. Help me to endure to the very end by clinging tightly onto you. In the name of Jesus. Amen."
"And if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules." 2 Timothy 2:5
"I press on toward the goal for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14
"And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown". 1 Corinthians 9:25
"..let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12:1-2
Pondering
If we are to run God's race we must run correctly. Scriptures show us the correct way of running the Christian life.
We are to run....
1. Keeping the RULES of the race (2 Timothy 2:5)
2. Having the finishing mark as our AIM (Philippians 3:14)
3. With great self CONTROL(1 Corinthians 9:25) and
4. ENDURING until the end (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The four key words are:
Rules
Aim
Control
Enduring
We run His race by keeping the rules as revealed in His Word, the Bible. We are put in the race by His undeserved favour as we confess our sins and confess Him as our Lord and Saviour but we still have a standard to live by. If runners use illegal performance enhancing drugs they may excel for a season but ultimately will be caught and eliminated. We must run our Christian race with integrity and holiness.
Our Aim in the Christian race must always be to please God and run always towards His goal of being like Christ. In Paul's day there were regular games where runners competed against each other (the origin of the Olympic games). At the finishing line the judge would stand with the prize, a laurel wreath crown for the winner. As the runners came down the final stretch their eyes would fix on the judge holding the prize and strain forward to win. In the same way we must fix our eyes on Jesus and strain forward to be more and more like Him.
Runners need much self control and must throw off everything that hinders them in their quest for glory. In our Christian life we must walk in self control and exercise our spirits daily through prayer, worship and Bible reading and flee all temptations and sins that will slow us down in our race.
Finally, what is the point of starting well if we never finish the race. We must endure until the very end. When Carlton Heston was concerned about not being able to win the chariot race in the movie Ben Hur, Cecil B.De Mille told him, "Your job is to stay on the chariot. It's my job to make sure you win". So too for us - we're just to endure and do what God has asked us to do and leave the winning up to Him.
Poem
I may run and win, but along the way break the rules,
The only crown I will wear is the one reserved for fools!
Prayer
"Father God, help me to run the Christian life by keeping your rules found in your Word, the Bible. Help be keep my aim on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. Help me to be self controlled and run without entangling sins and baggage that will hinder me. Help me to endure to the very end by clinging tightly onto you. In the name of Jesus. Amen."
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