Run To Win

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.  1 Corinthians 9:24-27 

My pastor gave an inspiring sermon this past weekend finishing on today’s verses.  I liked it not just for the message and verses but also for it reminded me of my dad.  My father’s eulogy talked a lot about the race he had run, and the eulogist spoke of 2 Timothy 4:7 which said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.”  Being a humble servant, I realize that our walk of faith is not a one-day sprint.  It is a marathon, and as marathons go, you have to continually pace yourself.  My pastor spoke of training for the race doing things such as having a dedicated prayer life and maintaining our strength to be able to both encourage and even carry others.  Like marathons, we may not be able to see the end of the race for a while, but you keep running.  You keep reading the word.  You keep showing love to as many people as you can.  Realize in each of those moments, God is preparing us for something bigger and better. 

We must always remember that there are numerous stages in our walk of faith.  Sometimes, we will run easy as if it were a nice stroll in the park (we have peace and comfort in our life).  Other times, we have to run up a hill and exert extra energy (trials and struggles).  Perhaps, we realize we are falling behind the competition, and need to push to catch up (losing our way to God).  And then, we will at times need to sprint to create distance from the competition (overcoming a trial or a major sin).  There are even times where we might need to help someone keep their pace (encouragement and loving selflessly).  No matter where we find ourselves, we must always remember that through all our running there is one finish line, and when we cross it, we should not be running for second place.  All of the other moments of the race lead us to it, and if we do not train hard (continually growing in our faith), we will be ill prepared to have successfully finish. 

God delights whenever we grow to understand Him better.  So if you have felt stagnant in your faith as of late, don’t fret.  Start running even if you're 'out of shape!'  And if you have been running, keep preparing for the next phase of your marathon.  If you are tired and weary, don’t let ‘the wall’ fool you into stopping.  Keep fighting!  Trust God to give you strength to overcome.  Finally if you see the end is near, don’t jog.  Sprint with all you can!  God is at the line cheering you on!  Finish the race and keep the faith!  Where are you in your race?  What changes must you make in your life to be in position to win?  My prayer is that we work continually toward growing in our relationship with Christ or in other words, run to win!  Amen. 

Tues Devo: Tell the difference

Romans 16:17-20 “ Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (NASB)

Hello,

One of the challenges we face in a fast-paced life is slowing down enough to exercise discernment/judgment. We are tuned into things that appease us. We have become accustomed to evaluating what we see/hear first based on how we feel – not on what God’s word says. The smooth speech, said with confidence, pushes us to say “why not..” instead of “why…”

We need to recognize the difference of the words/instructions/suggestions being given to us – do these align with the Bible or no?

I think Paul here as he wraps up his letter to the church in Rome gives 2 we need to see:

·         Recognize who these people are, and turn away from them. Don’t try to draw close.

·         Remember the long term, not the call to satisfy short term desires. The end is known – God will crush Satan.

I pray this encourages you today,

Will Hill

Walk in the light

1 John 2:9-11

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.  Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.  But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

My dad is not one to speak up often.  He is a quiet man that rarely speaks his mind.  Well, recently there has been some feuding between two of my siblings.  That was when my dad posted the above scripture to Facebook.  As I read this scripture, of course I thought about my siblings and the issues going on there, however my thought didn’t stop there.  I started to think about my brothers and sisters in Christ.

As Christians, we share a heavenly father, making us siblings within God’s kingdom.  We are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, as well as those in our earthly families. 

If you hate a brother or sister in Christ, you are walking in darkness.  We are called to the light.  We are called to live in the light.  We are called to love our brothers and sisters, therefore nothing can make us stumble.

Do you have a brother or sister (heavenly or earthly) that you need to reconcile with so you can walk in light?  I encourage you to do so now.

Thursday Devotional - Final Passover

Jesus paid our debt in full when He died on the cross. In fact, the Greek for “it is finished” is “paid in full.” Last week we saw how Jesus persevered to the end, declaring “it is finished,” to fulfill God’s plan. Even the timing of when He died and what happened after His death continued to fulfill God’s plan.

John 19:31-37         ³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The Jewish leaders were so concerned about being outwardly clean in order to celebrate the Passover. Crucified before them, though, was the only truly clean and perfect Righteous One. All their previous Passover celebrations pointed to this final Passover sacrifice.

As God had commanded Moses and the Israelites not to break the bones of the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:46), so God made sure His ultimate Passover Lamb’s bones weren’t broken.

As God had commanded Moses and the Israelites to spill the Passover lamb’s blood and take shelter under it (Exodus 12:6-7, & 13), so God made sure His ultimate Passover Lamb’s blood was spilt so you and I could take shelter under it.

Jesus was the perfect and final Passover Lamb. Have you accepted Him as your Passover Lamb who died in your place, taking the judgment you deserve? If so, you and I have shelter under His blood for forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and His robe of righteousness!  

Alice

A Time For Prayer

So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.  Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.  He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.  James 1:16-18

I struggled for words today.  Inspired by someone sending me verses, I was led to the first chapter of James, which evolved into this prayer, and I hope it lifts your spirits as God and His word did mine.

Father, I come to you for there is none greater than you.  You are the Alpha and the Omega, the all-knowing, the all-seeing, and the all-present.  You are the great I Am.  I am unworthy of the love and grace you have shown me, and I praise you because you are worthy of praise.  I do all I can not to your grace but in the hope that it is a shining example of the heart I have for you.

God, I come to you this morning because frankly, I am at a loss for words and wisdom. I am tired and disheartened by a world that has become comfortable with what is wrong and leaders who will say anything to appease us.  There are people who have turned a blind eye to the suffering of others, and others who lash out violently because they have lost their way.  If they can't be violent, they speak with such ill will that I find myself defending those who I may not even agree with.  How could this be?  I am not sure Lord, but I lean on you now more than ever.  I trust in your word and its ability to give strength at times that I am weak.  To give me courage when I am fearful, and to love when all that may come at me is bitterness and hate.  Help me to love you more such that it not only is a shining example of the love you have shown me but also inspires those to be thankful for your gift of grace.

Heal us Lord.  Heal our sharp words and replace them with Psalms of encouragement.  Take our anger and replace it with an abundance of love and kindness.  Remove our sense of isolation, and push us to engagement and togetherness.  When I cannot see a way out, give me your vision and wisdom for where I cannot make a way, you can.  Father, I am so humbled to be your servant.  Let my words be of comfort to others who are hurting.  Let them know that you are always there.  Always listening.  Always loving!  See through my faults, and use them as encouragement to others that through it all, we all can indeed be conquerors.

Finally, Father, I thank you.  I thank you because you have thought of me even before I knew a thought.  You nurtured me all this time with wonderful parents and brothers.  You placed me in the care of an amazing family that taught me who you were, and then watched me as I wandered in the wilderness until I found you again.  You gave me the perfect wife, three wonderful children, and seven grandchildren.  You gave me this incredible job with amazing people that inspire me every day to do better.  All this love, Father.  I did not deserve it, and yet you somehow loved me enough to give them to me anyway!  I am forever grateful.  I pray that my words are encouragement to others to embrace what they have, and to be courageous to be the people You want them to be.  Thank you for your love.  Thank you for your grace.  Thank you for your blessings.  And thank you for the blood you shed on the cross; a price that I could never repay but I humbly try to each and every day.  In the glorious name of Jesus I pray.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Common life

Hello,

In the reading of everything that happened this last weekend in Virginia, I have been thinking about how little regard we seem to have for human life. We have forgotten that being human is the common bond. Hatred ought to only exist in one form – towards sin. I came across a writing by Tim Keller, a Pastor and author from New York. I want to snag from him some scriptural references that he made. (you can find his full article on the gospel coalition web page)

-The Bible is clear that racism is wrong: Acts 17:26-27 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;” (NASB)

We also see in here that it is God’s desire for all to come to know Him.

-In Genesis God sets a high standard for taking the life of a person, and the reason is that we are all in His image Genesis 9:6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.” (NASB)

-Jonah puts the work of God behind his interests for his country – not wanting to see them repent. When they do, and Jonah sulks over it God says in Jonah 4:11 “Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 person who do now know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” (NASB)

-In the New Testament as the work of Jesus is being spread throughout the world we see that it breaks down racial barriers, not creates them: Galatians 2:11-14 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, ‘if you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (NASB) Paul goes on from here in this chapter to lay out salvation by faith in Jesus being available to all.

-Paul in Galatians 3:28 says “There  is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (NASB)

-Later in the letter to the church at Ephesus Paul discusses the Jews/Gentiles topic and says “But now in Christ Jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier fo the dividing wall.” (Eph 2:13-14, NASB)

You want to help push for peace? Recognize our common human bond as created in God’s image and share His love in real and practical ways – and talk about it!

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Train yourself to Trust the Lord

John 16:33

 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 145:18

 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth.

Numbers 6:25

 the Lord make his face shine on you
    and be gracious to you;

Yesterday I read a devotion with the verses above.  It was talking about how the Lord is training us to become an overcomer.  To find Joy in the midst of circumstances that previously would defeat us.  We can transcend trouble based on the fact that Christ has overcome the world.  He has already won the ultimate victory.

Trust is something that is easy to do when things are going smooth however do you trust the Lord when in the mist of challenging circumstances?  When you are trained to trust, it will be easier to do so in the hard times.

What is it in your life that you need to train yourself to trust the Lord with?  For me, it was my career.  For a long time I kept trying to figure it all out on my own, get myself promoted.  I am now training myself to trust the Lord with this area of my life and it’s amazing how he has changed my outlook and helped me to overcome situations that would have previously defeated me. 

I encourage you to work on training yourself to trust the Lord in all circumstances. 

Thursday Devotional - Focused Perseverance

An unusual incident happened at church on Sunday. While a young lady was playing violin during the offertory, a piece of flaming glass (or lightbulb) fell from overhead. It hit the gal on her leg and burned the piece of carpet where it landed. I never saw her flinch! She stayed focused on her music and kept playing her violin until the end. When she sat down across the aisle, we all noticed she was bleeding. I handed her a tissue and my friend handed her a band-aide.

Jesus voluntarily suffered under far worse conditions for you and for me, yet He stayed focused on His work. He didn’t let His pain and suffering or the evil around Him distract Him from His purpose.

John 19:28-30         ²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Jesus persevered to the end, fulfilling God’s plan. Jesus finished His work of redemption!

Do you and I persevere to the end? Or do we get sidetracked when hardships come? What can help you and me stay focused on glorifying God through any hardship so we can finish the work He’s given us to do?

Alice

Open Your Eyes

And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?   Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Matthew 7:3-5

The other day, a lady fell while walking, and broke her nose.  With her face on the ground covered with blood, my wife raced to help her, and summonsed my daughter and me to assist.  We found out that she lived about a half mile down the street.  I offered to take her home, and we offered to pick her up.  She kindly refused, and asked that I get her husband.  I raced over to the address she gave to get him.  He picked up his son, and they drove to meet me at the location where his wife was.  As he arrived, he asked if she could get up.  She acknowledged that she was not sure.  He asked her to get up, and my wife helped her get to her feet.  They walked her to the car, and soon, they were on their way.  My wife and I were grateful we were able to help them, and gave praise to God that we could.

This is the kind of story we tell about how we as Christians help others in need.  They are indeed necessary and reinforce the goodness of God.  But what if this was not the full story.  What if there was a bit more color in this picture.  How would it change?  Here is how.

The other day, a lady fell while walking, and broke her nose.  With her face on the ground covered with blood, my wife raced to help her, and summonsed my daughter and me to assist.  We found out that she lived about a half mile down the street.  I offered to take her home, and we offered to pick her up.  She kindly refused, and only asked that I get her husband.  I raced over to the address she gave to get him.  I rang the doorbell, and there was no answer.  I knocked.  Still no answer.  I went back to my car only to notice the husband getting in his car in the driveway.  I asked if his wife was named ‘Linda.’  He said yes.  He received a message on his phone about the accident, and was on his way.  He picked up his son, and they drove to meet me at the location where his wife was.  I noticed right away something wasn’t right when we talked.  Why didn’t he seem concerned?  In fact, why did he look inconvenienced?  Furthermore, why didn’t he follow me back?  I arrived at location of the accident, and he arrived a minute later.  As he arrived, he asked if she could get up.  She acknowledged that she was not sure.  He asked her to get up looking at us as if he was embarrassed that we, an African American family, had helped her, and my wife helped her get to her feet.  They walked her to the car, and soon, they were on their way.  There was no thank you.  No gratitude.  Just left.  My wife and I were grateful we were able to help them, and gave praise to God that we could for our act of kindness may change their hearts one day.

God’s love truly does conquer all, and while we stand in the light of His grace, we stand in a world where darkness still exists.  I share this not because of a belief that people are racist.  I share because an awesome and amazing God tells us to serve Him above all our prejudices and feelings.  God would not want us to ever tolerate this type of behavior, and to accept it at any level is a failure.  My wife and I choose to forgive remaining as loving of others as God is as loving of us.  Any failure to love others is the plank we must remove from our own eyes.  Only then can we see how hurtful it is when people do not love God’s people as we do.  We pray that those who read this would also choose never accept the type of behavior we endured.  My prayer is your eyes are open to this.  Please.  Amen.

Tues Devo: Get comfortable

Ephesians 6:10-17 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (NASB)

Hello,

Last week I mentioned the armor of God, and I thought this week I would go back to that a little bit. Think of your favorite hoodie, or favorite pair of sneakers. You fit right into it! You know what you can do with it on, and how it wearing them affects results/choices. But…think of the first time you put it on. It didn’t feel so comfortable! It took time to break it in and get used to how it impacted your movements. But after some getting used to it, that favorite clothing piece is almost part of you.

When we look at the armor of God, I think there are similarities. The armor affects and impacts our movements/choices. Sometimes at first they feel unnatural. But, as you keep working with it you become more natural. The armor as it is put on day after day becomes a part of you, and feels fluid in motion.

There is one difference - unlike clothing that breaks in, the armor should break us in. But – the end result is a comfort in wearing it, and a fluidness to our movements over time.

Keep at it! Keep your foundation on truth, keep sharing your faith as you walk, let your faith in God handle the things Satan throws at you.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill