Today Is The Day!

For those that don't know it, I am a habitual last minute kind of guy. I have lived by the motto, never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. However, the older I get the more I realize the uncertainty of tomorrow. There are things that I desire to do in this life that, if I keep putting them off, may never get done. This is the thought that was on my mind this morning as I read from the 28th chapter of Genesis.

The story is a familiar one. Jacob is on the run, fleeing from his brother's wrath. Esau is sure to pursue him and will definitely be angry enough to kill him if he catches him. So Jacob leaves Beersheba and heads towards Haran but exhaustion and nightfall catch up with him along the way. Stopping for the night, this fugitive lies down to sleep. However, in the darkness of night, God visits his dreams.

Jacob dreamed that night of a ladder stretching from heaven to earth and he saw angels ascending and descending on the ladder. In his dream, the Lord stood above the ladder and declared, "I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac..." The most interesting thing, at this point in the story, is what God didn't say. He said, I'm the God of Abraham and of Isaac, but he didn't say anything about being the God of Jacob.

This meeting between God and Jacob was not just a chance encounter. Jacob is on the run. Life's problems are more than he can bear. He has caused in his life a situation that he simply cannot face. Death and Destruction are on his trail and he is desperately looking for a place of escape. He needs some shelter, he's in desperate need of a savior. It is fitting that, while he was running from his problems, he ran headlong into the problem solver!

He didn't plan it this way. He wasn't looking for God. He wouldn't have counted himself worthy to be in His presence. Rather, God came looking for him. God steps right into the middle of the mess he's made of his life and confronts him face to face. Remember me? Remember sitting on your Grandfather's knee and hearing stories about me? I am the God of Abraham. Remember the God that your daddy served? I am the God of Isaac.

God was doing more than just reminding Jacob of the past. The dream that night was about an invitation to a fresh start. The God of Abraham and Isaac was saying to Jacob, I want to be your God too. Cast your cares and burdens on me, I can shoulder your heavy load, I want to be your God. Come walk with me and I will walk with you. god made promises to Jacob that night, follow me and I will fulfill in you the covenant that I have made with your Father and Grandfather.

Jacob woke from that dream wit the knowledge that he had been in the presence of God. The experience was so extraordinary that it frightened him. “Surely the Lord is in this place," he said, "and I did not know it.” In awe and respect he erected a monument to the glory of God. He changed the name of the place, calling it Bethel meaning "the house of God." It was his first real encounter with God. In his darkest night God became more than just a story his Daddy told him. God became more than just the provider his Grandfather had talked so much about. God became real, a present help in a time of trouble.

The thing that got my attention this morning was Jacobs reaction to God's overtures. Jacob vowed a vow saying, "“If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ​so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, ​then the Lord shall be my God." Jacob had a supernatural experience with God. God had found him at his lowest point and overshadowed him wit the glory of his presence. However, Jacob walked away from that experience with a mind set that said, "One of these days the Lord shall be my God."

God reveals Himself to Jacob. He invites him to taste of the goodness of God. He sends an implicit invitation, I want to be your God. But, while Jacob was awed at the display of God's glory, he wasn't ready yet to relinquish control of his life. Instead he was content to say to God, if you help me then, one of these days, I'll make you my God. What a shame...

The truth, today, is that many of us do God the same way. We know we need to get closer to Him. We recognize that He is calling us to a deeper walk with him. But we procrastinate, saying to God, one of these days I'm going to answer your call. When I get a little older. When i get married. When I settle into a career. When I finally retire. When I have more time. Then I will serve you and you will be to me my God. The tragedy of this is that none of us is promised that we will ever see tomorrow.

There is a reason why Isaiah 55:6 admonishes us to “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found.” It is the same reason that Paul admonished the church in Corinth that "today" is “the day of salvation.” The truth is that there is no guarantee that our "then" will ever become "now." The only now that we have is the day that we were given when the sun came up this morning. I want to encourage you today to make this the day that your "then" becomes a "now."

If you've been thinking that "one of these days" you are going to get right with God, make today that day. If you've been telling yourself that "one of these days" you are going to answer his call, then make this that day. Today is the day, for none of us is promised any other day.

God is still calling out to you. How will you answer Him today?

His Blood Was Precious Blood

Did you know that blood has a voice? When Cain slew Able, God said to him, in Genesis 4:10 (ESV), "the voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground." The voice of innocent blood has the ability to speak and it gets the attention of God. I don't know what all was going on in the throne room of heaven that day but the blood of Able would not be denied an audience with the Ancient of Days. It pressed its way into the presence of God and made its plea known.

Able's innocent blood cried out for vengeance and retribution. Able's blood demanded judgement for a stolen life, for innocence crushed beneath the weight of jealousy and hatred. Able's blood said, "I am innocent and I demand judgement." God responded to the cry of Able's blood and confronted Cain, passing judgement upon him for the murder of his brother.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that the blood of Jesus also has a voice. However, the blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Able. Where the blood of Able cries out for judgement and vindication, the blood of Jesus cries out for Mercy and Forgiveness. This is why I'm so thankful for the blood of Jesus. When He shed his blood on that old rugged cross he became my advocate, the vocal defender of my soul.

Revelation 12:10 describes Satan as the accuser of those who trust in Jesus. It goes so far as to declare that he "accuses them day and night before our God." But, in 1 John 2:1, the word tells me that we have an advocate, a voice that speaks on our behalf. I beleive, this morning, that the voice of our advocate is the voice of the blood of Jesus. That precious blood covers our faults and failings and cries out for mercy and forgiveness. It offers no defense, it makes no excuses, but rather, by virtue of its own innocence, it demands mercy! So John writes in Revelation 12:11, "and they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony."

I'll be the first to admit I've made mistakes and I've not always been perfect. But, when the accuser comes around to remind me of my past, I'll be content today to let the blood speak for me. His blood speaks better things. His blood speaks of mercy and forgieness. And his blood, combined with the word of my testimony is how I'm going to overcome the accuser of my soul!

This morning I celebrate the voice of that precious blood! It speaks of healing and deliverance. It speaks of mercy and grace. I'm so glad that His blood was not just the blood of another spotless lamb. But his blood had the power to cleanse the hearts of men. His blood has the power to heal my body and set my spirit free. I'm so glad that I know that his precious blood still flows from Calvary.

Thank God for the blood!

Bad Things And Good People

This week several preachers that are very close to me are facing very dangerous medical situations. These are good men and what is happening in their lives amounts to a bad thing. Have you ever wondered why bad things happen to good people?

A few years ago my wife and I went through an incredibly difficult time. Our first son was born and required surgery when he was only 6 days old. In the following 2 years he had 6 surgeries for a variety of reasons, none of them was particularly life-threatening, but each of them represented a difficult obstacle for his mom and I. We discovered, in that time, that one of the most difficult things you can do, as a parent, is to relinquish your baby into the hands of a surgeon and watch them walk down that lonely cold corridor that leads to an operating room.

Two years and 23 days after my first son was born, his little brother made his grand entrance into this world. The doctors recognized, almost immediately, that there was a problem with our newborn son. The saga that followed was the culmination of an incredibly difficult 2 years. Our baby boy was born with a congenital heart defect. As they rushed him to a special care facility we were cautioned that it was likely that he wouldn't survive the trip.

I'm so thankful, today, for the power of prayer. Prayer was made that day, in the name of Jesus, and a process of healing began. There was an immediate radical change in the condition of our son's health, however, six days later he still had to undergo heart surgery. When the surgeons were finally done with us and he had recovered enough to finally go home, they warned us that we were looking forward to, at least, one more surgery within the next 4 years. However, that 4 years came and went and my precious son has not needed the second surgery. God is good!

During that trying time I contemplated the question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" During one of my study times, God impressed an answer on my heart. I'll never forget preaching a message that rose from the answer to that famous question.

Today, nine years later, I find myself contemplating the same question. I'm going to have to go digging through my old notes and see if I can find and revisit the sermon I preached then. But I don't have those notes handy at this moment and I just want to jot down some random thoughts that are running through my mind in relation to the subject.

God, in his infinite wisdom, treats all men equally. As the scriptures say, time and circumstance happen to every man and, when it rains, it rains on the just and the unjust alike. Just because you are a "good person" doesn't mean you are sheltered from the rain. It only means that you will never go through the storm on your own. It will rain, the trials will come, and the difficulties will be there. But through it all, God is there with you to strengthen and encourage you as you overcome the obstacles in your path.

I believe that there is a reason for this. If God began to reserve hard times and difficult things for only those who truly "deserved" them then he would no longer be the impartial judge that his very nature dictates that he must be.

Consider this: God is no respecter of persons. Our salvation is based upon this premise. The gospel is to "whosoever will." It wasn't reserved just for those that were "good" enough because if it were, we would all be lost. Rather, God shows his mercy, without partiality, to anyone that will hear and obey his word. David said, in Psalm 130:3 (ESV) "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" The answer is simple, none could stand if God wasn't impartial in his mercy.

This simple truth follows that premise. God doesn't mark down your righteousness as reason to exclude you from the storms of this life because if he did, his righteous nature would dictate that he mark down your iniquities and exclude you from his mercy.

Because of this I choose not to fear the storms of this life but rather to celebrate the fact that the same God that is impartial in the trials and tragedies of this life is abundant in his mercy towards me! He walks with me through every valley. His rod and his staff, they comfort me. He prepares for me a table in the presence of mine enemies and all of this is possible, in his righteousness, all because he didn't shelter me from the valley!

The Man In The Mirror

Near the end of the first chapter of James, the author admonishes his readers to be doers of the word of God rather than hearers only. He immediately lets us know that the one who hears the word but doesn't apply it to their lives is caught in a trap of self deception. They have convinced themselves that, because they have chosen to expose themselves to the life giving word of God, then they are, by virtue of that fact, righteous.

There is a problem with their logic. It is not enough to simply hear instruction if you refuse to act upon it. Hearing the word of God has never been a standard of salvation. However, acting upon what the word tells us has always been the cornerstone of salvation. Therefore we should all strive to be more than just hearers of the truth of God's word, we should each strive to apply it to our lives.

James follows that profound truth with a supporting example that, I believe, contains volumes of truth. He tells us that the person that hears the word but doesn't act on it "is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like." (James 1:23-24 ESV) This individual is distinguished from the doer of the word who looks in the mirror and sees his own reflection but doesn't forget what he has seen and so acts upon it.

The difference between the two is what I find interesting today. The first is an individual who studies the mirror for the sake of looking at the mirror. He's not nearly as concerned about what he sees in the mirror as he is with studying the mirror itself. The second man, however, isn't gazing intently at the mirror at all. He, rather, is captivated by what he sees in the mirror. It's his reflection that is cast by the mirror that has captivated his attention.

The world is full of people who claim to be students of the word of God. Educated men who have devoted themselves to the study of God's word as well as casual students who study the word from time to time. Most people who profess a faith in God attempt to spend at least some time each week reading the word of God. However, James has exposed us to a truth that there are two kinds of people that study the word.

First there are those that read the word or listen to the preached word for the sake of studying the word alone. They read for understanding and insight into the language and meaning of the word. They may dig deeply for some truth concealed in the word of God. However, for the most part, the object of their interest is the literary work called the bible. They hear the unmistakable voice of God's word but their focus is on the voice more than what the voice is saying.

Another group exists, though, that studies the word not for the sake of knowledge about the word but rather for the sake of knowledge about themselves. These seekers peer intently into the word of God in an effort to catch a glimpse of their own reflection in it. The purpose of their pursuit is not a knowledge of the scripture but rather a knowledge of themselves. They listen to the voice of the word in order to hear what it is saying about them.

There will always exist a gulf between the first and the second. The hearer only will change the word to fit their philosophy of life. Molding it and crafting it to fit in their world view. These individuals can take the bible and bend it to say anything they want it to say. They are masters at fitting the word into their view of life.

The doer of the word, however, will always be changed by the word. They read the word in order to see their life as it is reflected by the truths contained therein. Their life focus is to be molded to fit into the view of their life presented by the word. They remember the reflection of themselves that they have seen in the word and make the changes that conviction has dictated in their hearts. The hearer studies the word to find a way that is pleasing to them, the doer studies the word to make sure they are pleasing to the word. There is a vast difference between the two.

I am challenged today to do more than just read and research the word, rather I'm looking for the man in the mirror...

Strangers and Pilgrims

For some reason, over the past several days, my mind has been on a foreign country where I have ministered in the past. I have found myself, several times over the last week, or so, stopping to pray for the missionaries that I know there and the church that has been established there. I've got Asia on my mind and that's where my thoughts are flowing from today.

Taiwan, and Asia at large, is a unique place with a rich culture. The people are different, the language couldn't be further from English and the customs have a character and flavor to them that are unique to that region of the world. One of my favorite memories from my first trip to Taiwan was sitting down with Bro Richardson and a Taiwanese gentleman and learning the ritual and culture involved in the brewing of tea. Just the sharing of a casual, common drink was a ceremony of sorts that had significance and meaning wrapped up in each step of the process.

Over the years I've been privileged to make several trips to Taiwan and minister there. Early on, even before the first trip, I began to study the language and the culture in an effort to acclimate myself to what I knew would be a totally different kind of place. Being a consummate reader, I read everything I could that dealt with China and Asia at large. I hired an Air Force translator to teach me Chinese and later I enrolled in a college level Chinese course where I learned not only to speak Mandarin but to read and write some of it as well.

When I was there I did my best to fully embrace the experience, making every effort to adopt the customs and practices that were native to the land. However, no matter how hard I tried, it was always going to be painfully obvious that I was a stranger. I could speak enough Mandarin to get around on the streets, but not without a pronounced western accent. I could honor the customs and attempt to say and do all of the right things but never would I get it perfectly right because, the simple truth is, that I never fully grasped the significance of each thing. As hard as I tried to blend in there was no way to conceal the fact that I was still a foreigner. I felt comfortable and at home in Asia but the simple truth is that I was a stranger, and that is all I will ever be in a foreign culture.

In the second chapter of his first letter to the church, Peter felt led to remind us that we are strangers and pilgrims in this world. "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims," he said. (1 Peter 2:11) The next two chapters contain real world advice on how we should live our lives based upon the understanding that we are strangers. As strangers in this world, we are reminded that we will never quite fit in. As strangers in this world, there will always be something different about us. It will show up in the way we talk. It will show up in the way we dress. It will show up in our manners and customs.

I simply want to remind you today that we are strangers and pilgrims. This world is not our home. We were never meant to blend in. If and when the church becomes just like the world, it ceases to be the church. The reason for this is that our citizenship is not of this world. We serve another king. We are subjects of another kingdom. We answer to a different, higher law. Our lives are governed by a greater authority than the system of this world. We would do well to remind ourselves of that truth often.

Peter recognized the fact that it is in our nature to want to blend in. It is in our nature to want to fit in. Nobody likes to stick out like a sore thumb. For the same reason that I endeavored to learn as much as I could about the culture of China and assimilate it into my life, we feel compelled by our flesh to fit in with those around us. If we aren't careful we will begin to measure ourselves by the standard of this world. If we aren't vigilant we will begin to adopt the thinking and viewpoint of carnal flesh. So Peter warns us, in the same verse, to "abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul."

The passions and desires of our flesh war against our soul and strive to compel us to conform to this world. Our own human nature will endeavor to mold us into a form that is acceptable to this world. But Paul warned us in Romans 12:2 to "be not conformed to this world." Instead he urged us to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind." What a great piece of instruction. Our flesh wants to conform to this present world and so it wars against our soul. But we must understand the simple premise that we may be in this world, but we don't belong to this world. As a result of that understanding, it falls to each of us to insure that, each day, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Each day, we must get into the presence of God and renew our minds. Each day we must find the time to go before the throne of God and be reminded of our true citizenship. It is absolutely critical to our soul and our salvation that we maintain the distinction and separation that identifies us, both to the world and to ourselves, as strangers and pilgrims in this world. Because, one fine day, He's gonna split the eastern sky and call us home to be with him and on that day I'm going to be glad that I never made my home down here.

I want to encourage you today. Heaven is our home. We are the children of the King. We belong to Him and we were never meant to "belong" in this old world. The old songwriter got it right, "This world is not my home I'm just passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue…"

If Grace costs me anything...

Disclaimer: I haven't posted all week because I've been at church camp with my boys. I thought I'd go ahead and jump start this week with a piece that I wrote about a year ago. I hope you are blessed by it.

The words shocked me. “If grace costs me anything, then I don't want it.” Brent is just a good old boy. He owns a drive-thru coffee shop and, to hear him tell it, his call in life is to share the gospel with his customers. He learned, a long time ago, that I was a Pentecostal preacher and, from my perspective, it seems as if his call in life is to argue doctrine with me every time I pull through his shop.

Not long ago I pulled into his shop and it was obvious from the first hello that he had been prepping himself for my next visit. He launched into a dissertation on how it was unscriptural to consider baptism as a step in the process of salvation. We bantered back and forth a bit as he prepared my drink. I quoted a few scriptures about baptism and I made an argument based upon the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. However, as the discussion progressed, we moved to the subject of grace and ended up discussing the premise, presented in Romans, that faith and obedience are inseparably linked. After a little while, my drink was finished, a car was waiting and we broke off another engaging conversation.

It happened as I was pulling away, and I must admit that I was totally unprepared for it. As a matter of fact I was a little taken aback when he leaned out of the drive-thru window and hollered after me, “If grace costs me anything, then I don’t want it.” I hit my brakes and paused for a moment and, emboldened, he continued, “If grace costs me anything, then it is not grace anymore.” The car behind me pulled up and I pulled out of the parking lot shaking my head in utter disbelief.

I knew such thinking existed, but I had never heard it put so bluntly. The concept is mind boggling. To believe that the grace of God is acceptable only if it requires nothing in exchange is an incredibly self-centered approach to God. What about the disciples? They walked away from everything to follow Jesus. What about Paul? It caused a total change in his life, even his identity was altered. I shook my head in shock because I’ve always believed that the grace that cost so much at Calvary required something of me in return.

This afternoon, I read the first chapter of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Disciplehip.” According to Bonhoeffer, those that would seek to justify sin rather than the sinner have hijacked the message of grace. His premise is solid and his reasoning is sound. I can clearly see where so many took a wrong turn many years ago and perverted the message of grace. As I read, my mind went back to that encounter. It, truly, breaks my heart to hear a sincere young man make such a flawed statement. He really believes that the only way he wants grace is if he doesn’t have to change a thing to get it. The question arises, if God intended to leave his followers just like he found them, then why would he endure the pain and the agony of the cross?

As much as it hurts me to say it, I’ve been witness to this same kind of thinking as it has crept into my generation of Apostolic Pentecostals. It seems that the mentality of the hour revolves around the question of just how little can I do and still be saved. There are those that would say that if you can’t tell me this will send me to Hell then I’m going to do it. Period. The fundamental spirit behind this kind of an approach to serving God is no different than the young man who made the brash statement, "If grace costs me anything then I don’t want it." The end result is the same. It revolves around a mindset that would rather justify lifestyles and fashion choices than to justify the inner man.

Can I humbly say, this afternoon, that no matter what grace costs me, I want it. No matter what I have to leave behind, I’m hungry for it. There is no price too high to pay, no sacrifice too big to make. The old songwriter cut to the chase when he penned the words, “Above all else, I must be saved.”

I firmly believe that God loves you just like you are, but I also believe that He will never leave you that way. I join my voice with that of the early church that proclaimed, I’ve been bought with a price and my life is not my own. Understand this, my consecration and dedication, as manifested by a separated life, are not about earning God’s grace but rather they are about manifesting God’s grace. He made a change in my life and I firmly believe that, if I continue walking with him, that change will be manifest in my life!

We must put an end to the mentality that shuns sacrifice and dedication. It's time to stop the spiritual decay that manifests itself in a desire to please the flesh and appease spirits of this world. We are the children of God. We are called out of darkness and into His marvelous light. It's high time we embraced the costliness of our salvation. Take up your cross, echos the cry of those that gave all they had, and follow Jesus.

This generation my choose a cheap form of grace to the detriment of their own spirituality... But as for me, give me grace -- no matter the cost!

We Started This Race To Finish It

The race had been completed over an hour before. Most of the spectators had already moved on to other things. However, as the darkness of evening settled over the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, a striking figure entered the far end of the stadium. The winner of the race had already been declared. But, to every one's surprise, this lone runner pressed on towards the finished line. As he hobbled into view it became apparent why he was lagging so far behind the rest of the field. One leg was bloodied and bandaged, and his body was racked with pain. In spite of it all, however, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania pressed through the cold darkness towards the finish line.

This struggle of endurance in the face of a seemingly insurmountable obstacle brought the remaining crowd to their feet. As the injured runner finally crossed the finish line the crowd roared in appreciation of the remarkable moment they had just witnessed. It would go down in history as one of the most memorable Olympic moments ever. A reporter, recognizing the significance of the moment quickly went to the lone, persistent runner and asked him why he didn't quit the race after he realized that there was no chance at all that he could win it. Akhwari famously replied, “My country did not send me 7000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7000 miles to finish it."

Several times, in the New Testament, this life that we live is likened to a race. Today, I am reminded that we are all running a race. We are all striving to win this race. In athletic events, Paul tells us, all run but only one receives the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24) However, the wonderful truth of the race that we are in is that we can all obtain the prize. We all run to obtain the same prize and, unlike most races, we can all obtain the thing we are running for.

The reason for this is that the prize for this race does not go to the swiftest. This is a race where the prize goes to the one that endures until the end. Jesus said in Matthew 24:13, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved." Everyone that crosses the finish line of this race will be rewarded with the prize that we all strain for. I want to remind you this morning that the focus isn't on running the race, the focus is on crossing the finish line. The prize lies in finishing the race. And we can all obtain that prize, simply by running with endurance until we finally cross the finish line.

When I was younger I really liked to run. I ran a couple of miles every evening. However, in the fall of the year, after the time changed, it would get dark too early for me to run. (At the time we lived on a busy highway with no sidewalks, and running in the dark could prove to be dangerous.) Each spring, when the time changed again, I would have to start all over again building myself back up to where I could run 2 miles. I discovered that the easiest way to do this was to run until I didn't feel like I could go any further. At that point I would then pick a target, a goal, somewhere ahead of me and encourage myself to push until I reached that goal, where I would slack off and complete the two miles at a walk. The next day I would push myself to that same point then challenge myself to go a little further. Using this method, I could quickly extend my range each day until, before too long, I was running the full two miles. The thing that compelled me was the finish line that was constantly set before me.

Today, I believe that we would all benefit by lifting our eyes from the present circumstances of this race and extending our vision to catch a glimpse of the finish line. I want to remind you that God didn't start you on this journey just so you could run in the race of life. He started you in this race to finish it. He didn't put you in your current situation just so you could throw your hands up in frustration and quit. He put you here, and determined this course for your life, with one goal in mind, that you would finish the race. I want to encourage you this morning, not to abort the process. Don't stop short of the finish line. It really doesn't matter how fast you run, or how well you run, or with how much style and grace you run, it only matters, today, that you keep running. Our single goal, in this life, is to cross the finish line that God has set before us.

Perhaps this is why the writer of Hebrews instructs us to run the race with endurance. (Hebrews 12:1) He acknowledges that there are going to be trials and difficulties along the way. He acknowledges that there are going to be times when you stumble and fall. He doesn't preclude the idea that you may very well find yourself running this race while bloodied and bandaged from the hardships along the way. As a matter of fact, he goes so far as to tell us that these tests and trials are for our benefit and that they must be met with perseverance.

It was verse 12, however, that caught my attention this morning. There the author encourages us to "lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees." We are all running this race, and we all find ourselves in places, from time to time, where our hands are drooping and our knees are weak. But I want to join my voice with that of scripture and encourage you to lift up your eyes and take a long look at the finish line. This is what we are striving for. This is the reason we press on. This is the strength that fuels our endurance. We aren't living for this present life anyway. We aren't running for a corruptible crown. We are striving for the prize of eternal life. We are running for the greatest treasure of all and nothing in this world is worth abandoning the pursuit of the finish line. We started this race to finish it.

I want to encourage you this morning to keep running. Run, that you might obtain the prize. Run that you might cross the finish line. There is no prize for starting. There is no prize, even for running in the race. The prize resides in finishing the race. So keep running...