Christian Living
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE As A Member OR Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
The Apostle Paul often referred to the Christian life as a race. In Corinthians, he stressed the importance of running so as to obtain the victory. (I Corinthians 9:24) In Hebrews, he stressed the necessity of running the race with “patience.” (Hebrews 12:1) In his letter to Timothy, he proclaimed with confidence that as he finished his “course” Jesus would be there to present him with a Crown of Righteousness. (II Timothy 4:8)
Running has always been an activity that has reached from adolescence to adulthood. The call of “on your mark” is the prelude to an all out effort to reach the finish line. “Get set” brings one to a position of anticipation, knowing the next word would be the signal for bodily ignition. “GO!” and it is off to the ultimate goal of the finish line.
I wonder how many Christians fail to realize that our lives are an all out effort to achieve what God has called us to do. It is not to occupy a pew until Jesus returns. It is not to be a spectator that sits on the sidelines and voices editorials on how others should conduct their lives. It is not a cheerleader rooting for others to carry out God’s initiatives. It is not spending thirty minutes or less singing songs we have no intention of carrying out; for example, “I’ll go where you want me to go dear Lord,” or “I surrender all.” Do we really mean to bring into reality the challenges of these songs, or are we just fulfilling a time slot in the Sunday service? Is hearing the weekly sermon count toward our time in God’s Word? Believers are not to be living statues, but living examples of the power of God.
God is calling Christians to “take your mark.” In other words, get ready to step up to the starting line. To get ready for service we must understand the Word we are about to share. I marvel at the Scriptural ignorance that so many confessing Believers exhibit. We need to spend time reading and understanding the written Word. We must never approach the starting line of service without preparation. We will never know everything, but we must at least grasp the intent of what we read. When we are prepared we will hear the Holy Spirit say, “Get set,” which means to be ready when He decides to release us into the race of life. Too many of us jump the gun and race around displaying our own lack of or misunderstanding of God’s Word. In the racing world, it is called a false start. Much of the criticism of Christians stem from witnessing our misrepresentation of truth. We deserve to be judged by the world if we present a gospel that is not a gospel. The Church today could be on the New York Stock Exchange, for it has become big business that claims great dividends, as a result of ones financial investment. We teach that whatever you want all you have to do is rub the Bible and God will be ready to grant you your wishes. We teach avoidance of problems instead of God’s companionship through the problems.
The Word go is a powerful little word. Someone once said, “You cannot spell God without it. You cannot spell Good without it, and you cannot spell Gospel without it: You take Go out of Gospel and you have a “spell” and that is what a lot a Christians seem to be in.” The Starter of our race stands ready to drop the green flag, but not until we are ready. Are we ready to “take our marks?” If so, get set for your race is about to begin and the ultimate reward is waiting for you at the finish line.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR
This article has been read 541 times < Previous | Next >
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.