What is Endurance?

 

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1)

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. Everyone who competes goes into strict training. He does it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever" (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

I'm thinking about the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. An amazing young man, Rowdy Gaines, won the gold medal for swimming the 100-meter race in 49 seconds.

He had worked hard to win -- swimming laps daily for hours. He later figured he had swam over 25,000 miles as he prepared himself for the games. During an interview once, he said, "I swam around the world preparing myself so I could win a race that lasted 49 seconds!"

(The earth is just under 25,000 miles in circumference.)

WOW! That's perseverance! That's dedication! That's commitment! But that's what it took to win "the race set before him."

Who sets the race before us? Do we honor and glorify Him with our dedication and commitment? Or do we give up pretty quickly? Maybe take all the credit for ourselves?

The crown awaits us...that crown that we can someday joyfully cast before Him....

Charles Wesley wrote a hymn about that crown - "Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place. Till we cast our crowns before Him, lost in wonder, love and praise!"

That's the point of it all -- honoring and glorifying Him!

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus! And all the people said 'Amen'!

What Is God's Will For My Life?

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16).

 Most of us, at some time, wrestle with knowing and doing God's will for us. 

These verses are very clear. You could teach them easily to a small child and they would  understand with no problem! 

Just 3 things to remember: rejoice, pray, and give thanks! All the time!

 That is God's will for us! That is what pleases Him!

Hundreds of books have been written about knowing God's will, thousands of sermons preached, countless study groups organized...maybe we should go back to the beginning and start with what we already know He wants us to do -- do that -- and wait for further steps.

I know that from my (long years) of experience -- obey what we know and then He will lead us on to more knowledge. Why should He give us the next steps if we haven't even obeyed the first instructions?

So today:  Rejoice, pray and give thanks....

[I remember reading a comment from Mark Twain, "It's  not what I don't understand in the Bible that bothers me, it's what I do understand!"]

How Loudly Must We Sing?

Germany - World War II

In at least one German  town the railroad tracks ran behind the church.


An eyewitness stated:


We heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but we tried to distance ourselves from it, because, we felt, what could anyone do to stop it?


Each Sunday morning, we would hear the train whistle bowing in the distance, then the wheels coming over the tracks. We became disturbed when we heard cries coming from the train as it passed by. We realized that it was carrying Jews like cattle in the cars!


Week after week the whistle would blow. We dreaded to hear the sounds of those wheels because we knew that we would hear the cries of the Jews en route to a death camp. Their screams tormented us.


We knew the time the train was coming and when we heard the whistle blow we began singing hymns. By the time the train came past our church, we were singing at the top of our voices.  If we heard the screams, we sang more loudly and soon we heard them no more.

Years have passed and no one talks about it now. But  I still  hear that train whistle in my sleep. 

    
        -- From How Do You Kill 11 Million People? by Andy Andrews

Are we doing the same thing now?

Mud Pies or Sand Castles?

Ephesians 3:20 -- "Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly {immeasurably} more than we can even ask or think {or imagine}..to Him be glory...

    Thoughts from C S Lewis --

"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and to earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion is no part of the Christian faith.

   Instead, if we consider the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desire, not too strong, but too weak.

   We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea.

   We are far too easily pleased."

How Do I Get Through This?

The great preacher and writer, Andrew Murray, was once approached by a woman who said she was in dire trouble and needed advice. He handed his assistant a piece of paper, saying, "Just give her this. I have been writing it for myself. Maybe she will find it helpful." 

This is what he had written:

"First, He brought me here. It Is by His will that I am in this difficult place right now. In that I will rest.

Next, He will keep me here in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child.

Then, He will make this trial a blessing, teaching me the  lessons He intends me to learn. 

Last, In His good time He can bring me out again -- how and when He knows.

Say - I am here --

1. By God's appointment.

2. In His keeping.

3. Under His training.

4. For His time."

[This story came from Alistair Begg, and I am grateful. It has helped me. It might not alleviate our circumstances, but I think it enables us to keep the right perspective and glorify God!]

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