(December 22, 2013)
Heb 12:1 Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. (Hupomone-endurance)
The race that we are running is a serious race. We must be determined and diligent. Do not look back to your old ways. Do not give up. Stay in the race. It is not a 100m dash, it is a marathon and we are in it for the long haul. We are also in a war and a lack of desire to win is unacceptable.
1 Cor.9:26 -27 Paul speaks of the discipline that he pits himself through in order to run the race. We are however, not in competition with each other. It is not a race of works, but of faith. Satan has no power over us when we run God’s race in faith. God is sending little miracles first and we have to keep prophesying: “God we are going to see you today.”
We are not supposed to impress anyone or to please them. We are given examples of strong finishes in the Bible to encourage us through the knowledge that the same God who helped them, is also our God. He is not weak and has not lost interest in us. Do not be distracted; do not let little things (even fellow Christians) weigh you down.
Do not let 2014 find you sitting on the tracks: pray, fast and share God’s Word.
Unbelief (doubting God) is the sin that hinders Christians. Keep prophesying the blessings of God on your life. To do otherwise is to tie up the angels sent on your behalf. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Be focused. If you look in the wrong direction, you will be thrown off. If we are focused on Christ, we will see everything else in the right perspective.
Heb 12:2 Christ is the author and finisher of our faith.
Jesus had a good Daddy and trusted Him for everything and in everything. Christ is our perfecter. He brings things to completion and maturity. The death of our God finished it, completed the job. Heb. 12:2 Jesus “. . .for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. . .”
John 17:4 Jesus told his Father that He had brought Him glory by completing the work He sent Him to do and asked Him to glorify Him in His presence with the glory that He had before the world began. We glorify our Father by obeying Him.
God will be shifting some of us out of our comfort zones, but do not be afraid. When you feel the weight and pressure of the world, say “I am crucified with Christ . . . the life that I now live in the body, I live in God who loves me and gave His life for me.”
