Weekend, April 26 & 27
Winning Moments: Finishing the Race
But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy.
Acts 20:24a
From August 8 through 24, 2008, the world's eyes will be focused on Beijing, China, host of the 2008 Olympic Games. If any contest in the Olympics epitomizes the original Greek games, it has to be the marathon, the 26-mile foot race that is traditionally the final event of the summer Olympics. After such a long race, runners cross the finish line with a variety of expressions: some with arms raised in joyful exultation, others with expressions of pain and anguish.
The apostle Paul wrote that he wanted to finish his spiritual race with joy. And in Paul's case, the way he ran the race was the same as the way he finished. The spiritual race is not about the fastest or the one with the most style, it is about faithfulness—running the race with the joy of the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. That means, if we have the joy of the Lord, we can run the race and cross the finish line with the same strength with which we began.
For the Christian, entering heaven shouldn't be our only moment of joy. If the joy of the Lord is our strength, every step we take is a winning moment.
The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy.
Samuel Shoemaker
Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Chronicles 9:1 - 11:47 ; 1 Chronicles 12:1 - 15:29
1 comment:
Dr. Jeremiah, I have enjoyed listening to your Bible teaching for many years. You have always given Christians challenging and thought provoking messages. This devotional on “Winning Moments: Finishing the Race” is a perfect example.
I too have looked at the apostle Paul’s mention of the races that took place during his day and how he compared them to our spiritual race. In fact during my study, I found out that the races that Paul spoke about were the ancient Olympic games. And just as the Olympic Games had a opening, closing, reward ceremony, and a finish line, so does the spiritual race. This is all unveiled in my new book that God inspired me to write; ”The Christian Olympics-Going for the Gold Crowns” (www.Christianolympics.org).
I think that God is inspiring us to encourage one another to “keep the faith”.
I am looking forward to meeting you and all of the saints at the Closing Ceremony in the sky!
May God Bless and Keep You.
S. E. Gregg
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