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Tag: running the race

  • “Follow Me as I Follow Christ”

    “Follow Me as I Follow Christ”

    Mentorship and the Church

    “Everyone needs a Timothy and everyone needs a Paul in their life.”

    I’ll never forget the quote above. My pastor used to say it. He meant that we should be keeping a sharp eye out for those younger less experienced Christians in the body of Christ  to lead, mentor, and disciple; as well as looking ahead  to catch up to those whose walk is deeper and more mature than our own. Our Christian walk is one hand reaching back to give assistance, one hand reaching forward to receive, and both eyes fixed on Jesus.

    Someone has said that the best leaders are also great followers. They are ever learning. Ever growing. Ever changing. They are students of others. The best disciples are the same way. Primarily, we are students of Christ. After all, the word disciple means to be a follower or learner of (someone/something).

    Find a Mentor

    But, sometimes life decisions and relationships can get confusing, even if you are reading the Bible and earnestly seeking the Lord. Oh, what a significant difference it can make to have a living, breathing example of Christlikeness! How great a guidance it is to witness first hand a gracious but truthful handling of difficult situations and people by a follower of Christ, a man or woman whose life reflects the maturity of one transformed by submission to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God!

    *Note* If you don’t have the opportunity to be mentored by someone in your life like this, take heart! God gives this opportunity to many but not all. Just keep seeking the Lord! He will faithfully lead you and you will someday have the opportunity to be for others the mentor you did not have.

    Be a Mentor

    As you walk in the footsteps of faithful Christ-following men and women, soaking in lessons, gleaning the precious gems of wisdom for life and following Christ that they share with you through counsel or example, do not forget to ask God to show you someone who you can lead also. What is given to us is meant for us to freely give away. Don’t store it up for yourself only. Pass it on. Find a “Timothy.” Come alongside a younger brother or sister and help them along the journey. Encourage them, point them to a deeper relationship with Christ. Model for them how to navigate the situations of life with wisdom, and humility, with submission to the Holy Spirit and the commandments of God.

    Final Thoughts

    Through each of our obedience to the Lord and our love and care for one another, may the body of Christ be built up and brought to maturity! The Lord bless each of you in every way. May He give you a Paul. May He give you a Timothy. And may you fix your eyes on Christ as you ultimately follow Him!

     

    1 Corinthians 11:1

    Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

    The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

     

  • Running the Race of Faith

    1.23.2025

    Running the Race of Faith

    Hebrews 12:1-2

    My brother ran a one-hundred-mile race in Colorado this past year. Yes, you read that right, one hundred miles. Was it difficult? I can’t even imagine! Did he have to have help? Yes! He had friends and family help pace him parts of the way, as well as provide for physical needs like rehydrating, and no doubt, encouraging him at waypoints as well. He could not have done it alone.


    We also are running a race. The race of faith. And we also have friends and the family of God, along with all the witness of the saints of the past to encourage us. Most importantly, we have a God who strengthens us and supplies our every need to be able to continue.

    Hebrews 12: 1-2 says this:

    “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

    We are to fix our eyes on Jesus. The goal in a race is to cross the finish line. The race we are running is not a race of miles but a race of years, of our entire lifetime. How do we get there without giving up?

    It’s not by looking directly at the finish line. It is by looking beyond it to the face of our Savior.

    We fix our eyes on Jesus. Every. Step. Of. The. Way.

    In fact, the very next verse goes on to say this:

    “For consider Him who endured such hostility by sinners against Himself so that you do not grow weary and lose heart.”

    (Hebrews 12:3, NASB 1995)

    When we say, “Lord this is hard.” He comforts us and points us to His Son, our faithful high priest and advocate and says, consider My Son and what He endured for you.

    Somehow, our problems become much smaller when compared to those of our Lord Jesus. What a comfort it is to know that He who deserves the glories of heaven, endured all manner of temptations, hardships, mockings, rejection, persecution, slander and the list goes on, to save us and as the scripture says, to be our example. (See 1 Peter 2:21)

    When we are weak, if we will fix our eyes on Jesus and cling to Him to sustain us, He will. He will endow you with strength, comfort, and encouragement that only He can provide.

     In the same way that my brother did not run his race alone, but had helpers and encouragers, we too run in the same manner. The family of God is scattered all over this world. His servants are everywhere! They will come in and out of your life as you run. One will help pace you for a bit, and another may refresh your soul when it is dry with the Living Water and feed you with the Bread of Life when you are weak. Someone will offer a word or a promise of God at a way station and send you off running again.

    But friend, the greatest help is this – that He Himself will be with you. He has said, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5b KJV)

    The Almighty God, the Everlasting Father is always with you when you follow Him. So yes, people will come in and out of your life.

    But the One who is with you always will be there every step of the way. Fix your eyes on Him. Don’t stop. Keep going. Run the race well, so that when you cross the finish line, we can all be celebrating!

    Prayer and Closing

    Lord, I’m fixing my eyes on You. Thank You for Your promise to never leave me. Thank you for the example You have given me in Jesus. Teach me and help me to honor You in all my ways. I want to run my race well. I want to finish well. At the end of my life I want to hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

    Friend, I’m praying for you. Let’s run the race of faith together, and honor the Lord. At the end, we will be able to say as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7-8:

    “7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

    The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.