Happy Friday, folks! As I sit here and write this weeks edition of FIVE THINGS FRIDAY, it is a beautiful, brisk fall morning here on the mountain. If you are new to FIVE THINGS FRIDAY, welcome. For our FIVE THINGS FRIDAY faithful, welcome back. I haven’t been writing as much, but hopefully I will get back on track and begin sharing thoughts, adventures, travels, and all things Jesus once again. As much as I love summer, there is nothing quite like the fall of the year. Maybe in next week’s post I will share a few of my favorite pictures from around camp this fall.
In this weeks edition I want to talk a little about purpose, specifically my purpose on why I run. Before I share about that, I think it’s worth talking about our purpose as Christians. If you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, you not only have a mission, but you have a purpose. Our mission as Christ-followers is to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you...” (Matthew 28:19-20a, NASB). Our purpose is to bring glory and honor and to our heavenly Father through all that we do. 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you, do all to the glory of God.” Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
Paul also encouraged Timothy, his ministry partner and protege, to remember his purpose – to glorify God and serve Jesus Christ, and in doing this, to be an example to other believers even as a young pastor. (1 Timothy 4:7-10)
I always loved running as a kid. You could almost always find me outside running around the yard, playing baseball and basketball for hours on in. In middle school I decided to try track and to my surprise, I found out I enjoyed running short distances really fast. In high school, I heard about this sport called cross country and decided to give it a try. It was a little different than track, in fact, it was a lot different. Instead of running short distances really fast, I was now running long distances at a slower pace. This took sometime to get used to as you might imagine. However, I ran cross country for three years and enjoyed it most days. Although I wasn’t the fastest runner on the team, I still averaged a time of 18 minutes for three miles. Those days are long gone and I haven’t seen that time since, but that doesn’t mean that I have enjoyed picking up running again the last few years, but this time with a purpose. Walking, running, slow or somewhat fast, every time I run, I want to bring glory and honor to God to the best that I can.
Maybe you are reading this and you are not a runner, that is okay. My purpose today is to share with you what I have learned about running as it relates to God’s Word and how that helps me keep my eyes focused on Jesus each and every day. Thanks for joining me today and I pray that this will be an encouragement to you as you run your race and fix your eyes on Jesus Christ.
I. THE STARTING LINE – GOD’S WORD.
All things have a starting line so to speak. For Christ-followers, our starting line begins with God’s Word. God’s Word is how we hear from God. His Word guides us, lights our path and reveals His plan for us. As we grow in God’s Word, we grow in the image and person of Jesus Christ for others to see. In Ephesians, Paul reminds us of our purpose, which is to grow in our faith in God. (Ephesians 3:17-19) If we are to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus to the people we are in contact with everyday, then we must be spiritually fit. We must be learning and growing in God’s Word. We must take time to read it, meditate on it and memorize it. The more we read God’s Word and memorize it, the more we are strengthening our spiritual muscles. The same is true if we want to be a better runner, we must have more effective workouts that push our body, challenges us and be consistent in our training. The more we are “training” and “growing” in God’s Word the more we are strengthening our relationship with Him and learning to persevere in our faith. Am I daily growing in God’s Word by reading and studying it, so that it is helping me to be Christ to those around me? Remember, just like a runner will spend time strengthening their legs, learning to breathe correctly and develop a good stride for running; Christ-followers are training for godliness in our spiritual race.
II. AND WE’RE OFF.
The gun sounds and we are off. The start of a cross country race is one of my favorite parts of the race. The last three years we have been watching Gracie run cross country for her school and I love the start of the race. As the runners are lined up and before the gun signals the start of the race, you can feel the excitement and tension building within the runners. But once that gun fires and the race starts, it is at that point they must rely on the training and workouts they have put in. Well, the same is true spiritually. We can know things about God’s Word, but until we read it, study it, memorize it and search it with all our hearts, we may not fully rely on it each and everyday. Reading God’s Word is exciting! After all, it is through His Word how He communicates with us. I was actually surprised how much the Bible talks about running or gives examples of running. Throughout the Bible, the word run (run, running, ran) is mentioned 65 times. Now, you may say that doesn’t sound like a lot, but if I were to tell you something 65 times, you would start to get the point that what I am trying to say is important. But one verse that sticks out to me and reminds me of my purpose is 1 Timothy 6:11, “But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” Paul reminds us that Timothy’s life was to glorify God with his life, so should run from evil and run towards God! I love that imagery, as Christ-followers, we are to run from evil and run towards God. Imagine if you were on a hike and you came across a bear. You aren’t going to run towards the bear, but away from it (although we should never run from a bear, but just go with me) and run towards safety. We want to get as far away from the bear as fast as possible. Well, the same is true in our spiritual lives. We should be as eager to run from evil and the temptations as fast as we can and run towards the One where safety and freedom are found. Are you running from evil today and running towards God?
III. ENCOURAGEMENT ALONG THE WAY.
One other thing that I love seeing at Gracie’s cross country meets is the encouragement that the athletes receive from their coaches, parents and peers. It is a beautiful picture to see them run all over the course shouting words of encouragement and not just to their runners, but to all the runners to keep going. Sure, runners are trying to finish in a certain position to help their team win, but they are also trying to finish! It is so much fun when you see a pack of runners coming up on the finish line and they begin to sprint towards that goal of crossing the finishing line. I am a firm believer that having others cheer you on gives you the added push you need to finish strong. The writer of Hebrews knew something of this too. In Hebrews 12:1-2 he writes, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Just like the runners in a cross country meet or a half marathon or marathon, we are surrounded a cloud of witnesses, men and women of faith who’ve gone before us, who are beckoning us to run the race of faith, to throw aside sin that so easily entangles us, distractions that so easily, subtly keep us from living with all-out focus on Jesus. As Christ-followers we are running this race together! We are to encourage one another and love one another but in a way that brings glory and honor to God. We also must run our race with our heads up and eyes fixed on Jesus. No runner is looking at the ground as they run the course. They all have their heads up and eyes fixed on the finish line. The same is true for Christ-followers, no matter how difficult life will be, we must always keep our heads up and eyes fixed on Jesus as we seek to run this race. Let me encourage you today to run your race with endurance, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. But also, run as a team and run well bringing glory and honor to God. Encourage others along the way, build others up when needed, lend a word of encouragement or a word of rebuke (sometimes that is hard to accept, but it may be what we need to hear.)
IV. FINISH WELL!
There is a simple saying that goes: It is not how you start that matters; it is how you finish. Jesus made clear that those who endure to the end will be saved (see Matthew 24:13).
The finish line of our race is Christlikeness. He is growing us and maturing us on this racecourse to look like Jesus Christ. And of course, ultimately the finish line is out there in eternity, in heaven. I am so proud of the way that Gracie finished her last middle school race. She worked and worked all season and set a goal to finish in the top 10 and she did it. The last race came down to her and one other girl as they sprinted to the finish line and Gracie was able to use those long legs and beat her by less than a second. It was a great finish to watch, but also to hear the crowd as they were cheering both runners on (especially Jana and I). As you run your race today, whom are you encouraging along the way?
How can you end well?
V. GEAR UP AND GO GET YOUR RUN ON!
In closing, I pray that you are encouraged through today’s FIVE THINGS FRIDAY. I also would like to ask for your prayers as I have recently signed up to run my first ever half marathon! I know for some this may not be a big deal, it’s just 13.1 miles. Since I have started running more the last few years, I have dreamed of being able to run a half and full marathon one day before turning 50. That may sound like a weird goal but I have been able to complete a 5K, 10K and 10 Miler in the last 2 years. So, I told myself it was time for a new challenge and I am scared to death already thinking about it. The last three weeks I feel like I have ran more than I have my whole life,I haven’t it just just feels that way. I am super slow at the moment, but I am keeping my head up and eyes fixed on crossing that finish line in under 3 hours! The biggest challenge so far hasn’t been the running but the change of diet. Trying to be more aware of the things I am eating now is hard, especially when you are a person who loves food. But Coach Gracie is helping me to make sure I am getting my run days in, but I would still ask for your prayers. Prayers for safety as I train, prayers for strength so thatI can show others this is only through God’s power that I’m able to accomplish this feat. As much as I want to accomplish this goal, I want God to receive all the glory and honor from it, because He is the reason I run. #1Cor1013, #Col317
Thanks for joining us for another FIVE THINGS FRIDAY, have a blessed weekend and we will see you next week, Lord willing.
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