Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV
Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”
Run one step at a time – “…and let us run with patience, the race that is set before us.”
When I was in eighth grade, I decided to try out for our high school’s track team. Though I never ran well, our team was second in the state, so I learned quite a lot about running a race. In this first scripture we discover that in order to run well, we must be patient. Even a sprint isn’t won or lost in the first couple of steps. For long distance runners, it is vital to set the right pace. It is common for rookie runners to burn out during the first few laps, because they are setting too fast a pace and aren’t running their race. The Bible says we must be patient to run the race that God sets before us. Trying to run our race at someone else’s pace is sure to leave us exhausted, discouraged and defeated.
Secondly, Run with all your strength – I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:14 NLT
On the first day of practice, our coach liked to challenge us to a long-distance run, just to see who would stick with it and who would drop out. Some of the guys, were throwing up in the locker room afterwards, a few of us stumbled near the end and many of us pulled up with leg cramps before the end of the 2 ½ mile course. Coach didn’t care yet who was fast or slow. What he was looking for is who would quit and who would press on. At the start of our Christian life, God often allows us to have some nice easy laps so we can get warmed up. But as the Christian race progresses, so do the difficulties. Paul tells another church that he was shipwrecked, beaten with rods, stoned, and then thrown into prison, and that was just for starters! It took all of Paul’ strength to keep going, but he did so because he had his eyes on the prize that God was keeping reserved in heaven for him. If we are going to be on God’s team, we may have different challenges than Paul, but we will all be asked to give our best, and run with all our strength, until the very end.
Near the end of his life, Paul wrote to his young friend Timothy: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 2 Timothy 4:7 NLT
As Paul awaited execution, he didn’t complain, or cast blame for his situation on others. Instead he told Timothy plainly, “I have finished the race.” Paul had run every mile that God had set before him. He had patiently kept up the pace, he had given it all the strength that he had and now he knew that something far better lay in store beyond the finish line. When we ran, there was always a tape stretched across the finish line, and our coach used to tell us, “Run through, not to the tape. Don’t give up, no matter what keep going, because your prize in Jesus Christ, lies a just few steps beyond the finish line!
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Psalm 84:3 ESV
Our short visit back home in Pennsylvania is one of those touchstones of our year. The quiet hills and hidden wildflowers greet us and tell us that we are one year older. They ask us where we have been and why we waited so long to return. We drink in the silence and walk the familiar gravel roads, and thank God we are home again. I do hope you enjoy these glimpses of my favorite spots.
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 ESV
I love this verse, which appears at the end of the story of Zaccheus. ” To the crowd, Zaccheus wasn’t worth the time of day, much less the presence of Jesus at His dinner table. They couldn’t understand why Jesus would defile himself by eating in the home of a tax collector. They, along with most of us, missed whole point of Jesus coming. He didn’t come to earth for nice wholesome acceptable folks. He came to seek people with problems, sins and failures. The wise men had come with gifts, looking for Jesus when He was born in Bethlehem. In an even greater way, Jesus came, with the gift of salvation, looking for us, and it cost Him His life to find us, so that we could find Him!”
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