Prayer and Action

Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night. (Nehemiah 4: 9)

Have you ever seen a team huddle for prayer before a big game? Have you ever prayed before taking a test? Most Americans pray at least occasionally, yet I come across few who seem to truly understand it. One of my Bible heroes is Nehemiah, a man who worked extremely hard and achieved great success, and always saw the results as ultimately coming from the hand of God.

In 445 BC, while in Babylon, Nehemiah received a report from those who had been to Jerusalem. The walls of the city were still in ruins and Nehemiah was very troubled by this. After much planning and prayer, he got up the nerve to approach the king and ask to be sent to personally oversee the rebuilding of the walls. He was a very trusted member of the king’s court and the king granted his request.

Upon arrival in Jerusalem Nehemiah was greeted with opposition from the locals. He was mocked and ridiculed. He was threatened continually, but the work progressed. Here is a portion from chapter four:

So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. But when Sanballat, Tobiah , the Arabs, the Ammorites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat (v. 6-9 NIV).

Clearly Nehemiah was a man of action. He understood the relationship between prayer and hard work. But how many of us pray and then sit back and wait to see what God will do? Andrew Murray wisely stated that “Prayer is the power by which that comes to pass which otherwise would not take place.” This is very true indeed. If you look through Scripture to find examples of God granting requests of the slothful, you will look in vain.

Let us therefore be people of earnest prayer, but not of the type that make prayer an excuse for laziness. Come , take up a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. Together we shall be wall builders and, if the good hand of God is upon us (2: 8), we shall succeed! Rev. Jason Walsh is Youth Pastor at Whiting Bible Church is Whiting, NJ

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 2567-2590).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 23-25

Think About This: Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for. Dag Hammarskjold

Verses to Memorize: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Maybe Repenting Is A Good Idea?

“Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” Jonah 3:9 (ESV)

It’s funny how we see the name Nimrod in our present day thinking. We attribute it to someone who doesn’t have any good sense but in his heyday Nimrod was considered to be a great man…until he and his subjects decided to build a tower, the rest is history. But perhaps what Nimrod is best known for is Nineveh. And when we look at Nineveh in a Biblical thought process a lot of us would think Jonah!! Jonah was a proud, self-centered egotist: willful, pouting, jealous, and bloodthirsty; a good patriot and lover of Israel, without proper respect for God or love for his enemies …but the teaching we get from the OT book that’s bears his name is priceless.

Now without going through the whole story, we can safely say that most of us reading this knows the story of Jonah and might even agree that my description of Jonah almost sounds familiar to ourselves (well maybe that’s a stretch…hmmm). It’s what starts to happen towards the end of the third chapter I would like to focus in on. Jonah goes to Nineveh after Moby Dick spits him up and says, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” and that’s all it took!! Next thing you know, out comes the sackcloth and a day of fasting. This warning was so potent that even the king sits in ashes and makes a decree that all should do likewise, even the family goat gets the sackcloth suit…and then the king says, “let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.”

Maybe it was the appearance that Jonah had after three days in the belly of the beast that convinced them but whatever it was it made the Nivevites repent and turn. And then to say, “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish” knowing full well that his society has a reputation that would make Satan blush…leap of faith? John Gill had this thought, “This Heathen prince encourages his subjects not to despair of, but to hope for, the mercy of God, though they could not be sure of it; and it may be observed, that he does not put their hope of not perishing, or of salvation, upon their fasting, praying, and reformation, but upon the will, mercy, and goodness of God.”

But what about this moment in time? What’s it gonna take to get the world around us to repent and turn away from their wicked ways? I know you and I can say the Name, so take a breath with me and let’s say “Jesus Christ” together. The Great Commission commands all of us who name the Name that’s above all names to go out into this world and share The Gospel Good News with this ball of hate but this planet is wacked and sometimes we can feel just like Jonah. I just hope that what I described him as isn’t part of what we would think is our “good Christian character.” Dare I ask, do you think there is a little Jonah in all of us? Sometimes I think modern day Christianity wants rapture so that YHVH can wipe out the blight of His creation…grace and mercy can take a back seat until He is done.

So, maybe repenting is a good idea don’t ya think? I admit that I struggle with the notion that God should just wipe out the world that I came out from BUT it is His desire that ALL come to repentance and that none should perish. Who do I think I am to argue against that…Jonah? May it not be so. I wasn’t the nicest guy while I thought I could hang with Ninevites and I may still not be but because of the hope I have in Christ Jesus maybe His Father will turn and relent and turn from His fierce anger, so that I may not perish. Besides, I don’t like the sackcloth suit idea, I hear that fabric is itchy…but if I have to, I guess I have to. Amen?

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 21-22

Think About This: “You need to be more tender-hearted and compassionate toward the faults of others. Let everything that bothers you flow like water under a bridge. Live in the presence of God.”—Fenelon

Verses to Memorize: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Immeasurable Mercy

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

~ from Ephesians 2

Oh beloved, it is true.  We do indeed think too much of ourselves and our sins. Though most surely, our sins have eternal and cosmic consequences.  And the sins of some have caused enormous damage.  Even further, the sin of Adam has spread death to all men, for we are in him.

But G_d.

Now, just as surely as our sin is a big deal, G_d enters with something even bigger.  So much bigger, that even hyperbolic superlatives just fall short. Nothing can comprehend the true meaning and enormity of His great Love. Gargantuan terms like “rich in mercy,” and “immeasurable riches of His grace” strain to even begin to describe who He is, and just what He has already done for us – and in us – and through us.

And so, maybe it is easier for us men who have made such a huge mess of our lives to embrace and begin to understand just how huge His Love is towards us.  There was nothing that could:
fix the problems we had created.
heal the pain we felt.
fill the emptiness in our lives.
change the path we were on.
bring wholeness to the people we had hurt.
or set us free from the bondage we were in.
And He came in to us.  And in some infinitely powerful stroke of the most gentle Hand we had ever experienced, the problems that once overwhelmed us suddenly seemed really small.  Oh yes, they were still there.  But now they were in perspective, and we could see them through the Eyes which laugh at the impossible, and simply overcome it with immeasurable goodness, mercy, grace and Love.

Can we see it?  We have to see Him for who He really is to put our problems and our sin in their proper light.  G_d is really big.  He is really strong.  He is REALLY Loving.  And He really cares about our problems more than we do – and He is much more able to take care of them. The Love with which He Loves us has no end, for He simply gives us Himself. And the strength He provides does not wane, for the infinite never fails.

Perhaps you are one who thinks your “stuff” or “situation” or “failures” are too big for G_d to handle?  Then perhaps today is the day you abandon this illusion and let Him wash it all away into the boundless oceans of His mercy and grace.

Anyone for a swim?  Dive in beloved.  The Water is wonderful! – Makala Duolos is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and writes frequently for Freedom Fighter

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 18-20

Think About This: The cross is a confrontation with the overwhelming goodness of God revealed in the broken body of His only begotten Son. Our personal encounter, not simply the intellectual cognition, but the experiential awareness of the love of Jesus Christ, propels us to trust.  ~ Brennan Manning

Verses to Memorize: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

A Few Good Men

If I were to ask you “who would you call if needed a friend”? It’s amazing at the amount of selflessness a true friend will exhibit in times of need. I think about a big wooden chair I like to sit on in my back yard. There are storms that come and blow everything that is not held down all over the yard. But when the storm passes and all of the chairs on my deck can’t be found, I always see my big wooded chair, immovable and ready to comfort me.

The picture of the chair is one of those scenarios of when life’s storms come our way and when the dust settles our true friends are there to comfort. I can think of one of those guys up north who will be reading this. I’ll be getting a text soon full of encouragement, Hi John! One of the attributes of a good friend is someone who, when he gives you his word, he’s there. I shared in my last blog about our devotional time while away on our trip. The simplicity of Paul’s message of Romans 5-7 of the exchange of being slaves to sin (before salvation) and now being slaves to God (a choice). Romans 6:22 says “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life”. The teaching went on to say that although we have been set free we have a choice. The bottom line is this, ” Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16). Here’s what it’s telling me, when I get up in the morning I need to “present” my eyes, hands, feet, etc. to God. Getting back to “A Few Good Men” if I promise myself to God then when sin comes along to “borrow” me, I simply say “no way, I’m already spoken for”. And like a trust worthy friend, if I’ve given my word to God my members are no longer available,   capeesh (kuh-peesh, Italian for understand). “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” 6:13 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” 6:12 Now I know it’s not easy, and it’s something we need to do daily but don’t discredit the power of God. When we sin, it’s because we want to, not because we have to, Ouch … Rob Russomano is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and  is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 16-17 Think About This: Love is fundamentally a Person — a who, and not a what. —Winston Smith Verses to Memorize: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

All Things Work Together …

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV

I know I should have this figured out by now … you know … this Romans 8:28 thing. But I learn slow.

This weekend was our Valentine’s Weekend at America’s Keswick and on Wednesday, listening to the weather forecast, I started to think that maybe I should look into Plan B.

I really didn’t want Plan B. I wanted Plan A. We worked hard at getting Walt Wiley from Winning with Encouragement back to America’s Keswick to speak.

As the weather unfolded, it was obvious that Plan A was unraveling, so I started thinking about “what are we going to do? if Walt couldn’t get here.

It wasn’t that Plan B was bad. My good friend Scott Jackson said he could speak on Friday and Saturday. I love Scott and trust him in the pulpit.

Well Walt and Patti were iced in. So Plan B it is.

And you are smarter than me, so you have already figured out where this is heading.

Plan B was far better than I could have ever imagined. God spoke through Scott in a MIGHTY way and almost every couple said, “I know why Walt and Patti didn’t make it. It was because of me!”

I wish I could say I rested and didn’t fret. I did. But God gave me a valuable reminder: He’s got it all under His control.

Many people left saying, “This was the best conference … EVER!” Abba Father longs for us to get to the place where we can say … “God, I don’t’ need to understand it all – but I trust you. You’ve got it covered.”

What are the areas of your life where you need to make this adjustment?

Going the distance with Jesus,

Bill Welte
President/CEO America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 14-15

Think About This: In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe, and enough shadows to blind those who don’t. Blaise Pascal

Verses to Memorize: The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

If you’ve never read books my Pastor Scotty Smith, you need to check out this one  — Everyday Prayers. They are awesome.

A Prayer About the Ultimate Romance

I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me. Song of Solomon 7:10

Gracious Jesus, it’s the day in our culture in which red hearts, overpriced cards, dark chocolates, and cut flowers abound—Valentine’s Day is upon us. For some, it’s a day of incredible kindness, sweetness, and gratitude. For others, it’s a day in which brokenness, loneliness, and emptiness are magnified. For all of us, it should be a day in which our deepest longings for intimacy and connection find their way home to you, Jesus, the consummate lover.

I praise you for your generosity, Jesus. You’ve given me incredible tastes of sensual wonder and joy in my marriage. There’ve been times when I’ve wondered how heaven itself could hold more joy than what I’ve known with my spouse.

I equally praise you for showing me, time and time again, that no one human being (or any number of them), no human romance story, no torrid love affair can possibly fill the vacuum in my soul that’s uniquely Jesus shaped. Even the best marriage is made of two broken people, two redeemed sinners who will ultimately not be enough for the other.

Grant me, no, grace me with a deeper and richer experience of belonging to you, Jesus. You’re the ultimate Spouse. I believe this, but I want to know it. One moment I believe you truly desire me, and the next I’m filled with disconcerting unbelief.

It’s in those times when I’m not alive to your pursuit of me, love for me, and delight in me that I place unrealistic demands on other relationships. Instead of being a steward, I become a user of others. Instead of being a servant, I take up a scorecard to measure them by my expectations. Forgive me and free me from all such nonsense.

Let me love as you love me, until the day my betrothal becomes the day of great banqueting—the day I long for more than any other—the wedding feast of the Lamb. I pray in your tender and tenacious name. Amen.

Smith, Scotty (2011-09-01). Everyday Prayers for a Transformed Life: 365 Days to Gospel-Centered Faith (Kindle Locations 1328-1344). Baker Book Group. Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 7

Think About This: Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean. Jonathan Edwards
Bible Memory: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Build Your Life on a Solid Foundation

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7: 24-25)

Someone once said that life is the sum total of the choices we make. We are the product of our decisions. In this concluding section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is pointing out that we have the option to make wise choices or foolish choices. He also made it very clear that our choices have consequences.

Are you building on a solid foundation? Will your life withstand the storms and trials that will come your way?

In the story before us, Jesus compared wise choices and foolish choices. The wise man built his house on rock. The foolish man built his house on sand. Each man had the opportunity to make a decision that would have a lasting effect upon his life. One man made a wise decision. One man made a foolish decision.

What is a solid foundation? Jesus tells the answer to this question in verse 24, “whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them , I will liken to a wise man who built his house on the rock.” In Luke 6: 48a Jesus added, He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. The foundation that will withstand the storms of life is a life that is lived in disciplined obedience to the revealed Word of God. The foundation of a building is not the most glamorous or attractive part of a building. It is usually hidden from view and rarely receives compliments, but it is the most important part of the building. The foundation determines the strength and durability of the building. And so it is with life, we tend to focus on appearance and style and convenience rather than the less popular fundamentals.

If you desire a life that will withstand the trials and tests of time, then you must live a life of disciplined obedience to God’s Word. Jesus said any other choice will be classified as foolish, dull and sluggish. Or, as we would say today, the man who built his house on sand made a stupid decision. Be a wise Christian; build your life on the Rock. – Dr. Roger Willmore is a contributor to our devotional, Real Victory for Real Life 2 and will be teaching this summer at America’s Keswick

Keswick, America’s  (2012-12-13). Real Victory for Real Life Volume 2 (Kindle Locations 2379-2405).  . Kindle Edition.

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 5-6

Think About This: Part of what it means to be God’s children is to accept that He knows, and that He will bring what is best into our lives – not what we want every time, but what is ultimately best for us. Charles Paul Conn

Bible Memory: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Hey Naaman…Wait a Minute!!

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)

John Stott wrote this concerning the verses I am using today from Matthew, “It ought to be easy to decide which to collect, He (Jesus) implies, because treasures on earth are corruptible and therefore insecure, whereas treasures in heaven are incorruptible and therefore secure.” I would venture to think that you, like me, are under the impression that the stuff we work hard for should last as long as we live. There are some who would go even further to think that they will be able to pass this stuff to their next generations. HA HA!! The 2^nd law of thermo-dynamics is even getting a giggle outta that one. (This law pretty much states that everything will decay)

Jesus wants us to understand that the treasures we covet (yeah, that’s the right word there) corrodes and erodes, gets eaten by bugs and can be stolen by someone who covets more than you do. In our modern day we try to use insecticides, mouse traps, rust-proof paint, powder-coating and burglar alarms to protect our stuff. It wasn’t like that for the ancients, everything they had was fair game for everyone…nothing was, and still is, safe. That’s why Jesus wants us to keep our hearts heavenly minded and that’s what Pastor John Mol was explaining to us during our Wednesday night Bible study. So open your Bibles to 2Kings 5:15-27 and let’s talk about Gehazi.

His story really starts with the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian and through an imprisoned girl from Israel, Naaman meets a prophet named Elisha. Naaman washes in the dirty Jordan as Elisha prescribes, seven times, and is healed. Naaman wants to reward Elisha but he refuses the gift…enter Gehazi. Gehazi says, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” Basically saying…”well if Elisha won’t take the reward and Naaman wants to give it away, I think I’ll go get myself some reward.” So after a good gallop,  Gehazi decides to tell Naaman some lie so that he can justify getting himself some stuff…not good to have done!!!

Naaman didn’t understand the grace and mercy of a mighty God, after all in his land they were idolaters. But through Elisha, Naaman, with his two trailer loads of dirt, understood who YHVH was! And it should have stayed there, but the heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked, so off goes Gehazi to go get himself treasures that rot! And because of this of this exposure of heart condition, Gehazi inherits Naaman’s leprosy for generations to come. I can’t help to wonder how many times I went off to go after something, only to have the disease of it cling to me long after getting it. What a wretched man I am, who can save me from this body of death? Can someone say “Jesus can”…I can!!!

I remember a chaplain from The Colony of Mercy (Jim Freed) telling me the story of Naaman and his cure in the dirty Jordan. Now that I’ve gone back into that story and looked at Gehazi it has helped me understand what Jesus shared on the Mount that day. If we keep investing our heart into the things of this world, we will become spiritually leprous…that’s a certainty!! Keeping our focus on the prize that’s calls us heaven-bound gives us a hope that can’t be explained by any law of thermo-dynamics or scientific reasoning. The bottom line is explained by Jesus quite simply, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” In this there is treasure…Amen? – Chris Hughes is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 3-4

Think About This: “So treasure in heaven is secure. Precautionary measures to protect it are unnecessary. It needs no insurance cover. It is indestructible. There, Jesus seems to be saying to us, “If it’s a safe investment you’re after, nothing could be safer that this; it’s the only gilt-edged security whose gilt will never tarnish”—John Stott

Bible Memory: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Before we get into today’s devotional, don’t forget our February Men’s Fellowship Night at America’s Keswick this Thursday night, February 13th. Pastor Richard Van Heukelum, from Shawnee Baptist will be sharing a challenge from God’s Word. Dinner begins at 6:00 15 PM. Call for reservations: 732-350-1187

Who Not What

“Seek the LORD and his strength; Seek his presence continually!” Psalm 105:4

Guys typically have a “Fix it” mentality, I get that. The difficulty I have is seeing the problem with that. It doesn’t help that my career path has led me to work in maintenance where my job is to fix what’s broken.

I just got home from a missions trip where we put a new roof on a building used for education. The trip was primarily a working venture that took up most of our day. I had an opportunity to work with a team of men that was an experience I’ll never forget. A group of men that never worked together, and it was a “finely oiled machine” which accomplished the job ahead of schedule, praise God.

The highlight of the trip was the devotion time at night. We watch a video series about Romans Chapters 5-7. In chapter 7 Paul goes through the infamous “what I want to do I don’t” routine. The thing that grabbed my attention is the question Paul asked at the end of his query. “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” I have to admit when I’m in a jamb my first thought is “what” not “Who”. I sometimes think I have gotten to the dangerous point of self-existence and I’m thankful for the reminder that my first thought should be “Who”, than the “Who” will direct me to the “what”.

At Keswick, when I am working on fixing a problem, my first thought is “what” tools and materials do I need. Sometimes the “what” doesn’t do it, so in cases like that I call on the “who”, and in most cases I yell, Henry!

I know the primary context of these chapters is dealing with sin, and it is rich in ways to help us understand our position. I want to touch on some thoughts I have in future blogs but for this morning I wanted to share some practical ways we can keep ourselves on tract.

Let’s not get so caught up in the horizontal vision that we forget the vertical. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”    Rob Russomano graduated from the Colony of Mercy and serves full-time at America’s Keswick. He is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: Numbers 1-2

Think About This: Once we realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake. Oswald Chambers

Bible Memory: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Let Us Lay Aside Every Weight

Before we get into today’s devotional, don’t forget our February Men’s Fellowship Night at America’s Keswick this Thursday night, February 13th. Pastor Richard Van Heukelum, from Shawnee Baptist will be sharing a challenge from God’s Word. Dinner begins at 6:00 15 PM. Call for reservations: 732-350-1187

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

The 2014 Olympics are in process right now, and my guess is that at some point you have tuned in watch your favorite competition of the Winter games.

I have never been an athlete, and right now the thoughts of even just getting back on the treadmill are enough to cause me angst. But I need to – big time!!!

The writer of Hebrews exhorts those of us in this race called life that we need to do several key things if we are going to “finish our race with joy.”

The first imperative command is to “lay aside every weight …” Years ago when I served as a summer staff member at Sandy Cove, our Dorm Dad, Jim Steele was a runner at Bryan College. He had competed in numerous competitions and was quite the athlete.

One day I was walking into the guy’s dorm room and Jim was shaving his legs. What in the blazes was he doing? I thought just girls shaved their legs!

Jim saw the puzzled look on my face and then shared with me that for a runner, the littlest things can slow them down. For him, his hairy legs where impeding his speed.

Dr. Warren Wiersbe in his “Be Confident” on the book of Hebrews tells us that athletes used to use training weights to help them train for the competition but they would never wear them for the actual race. Why not? Well they would invariably slow down the athlete to keep him from winning the race.

Dr. Wiersbe suggests to us that “weights” are anything and everything that will hinder our progress. “They might even be ‘good’ things in the eyes of others. A winning athlete does not choose between the good and bad; he chooses between the better and best.”

That hit me right between the eyeballs. Yes, there are many “good” things that we could be doing – but they might not be the “better or best” things that GOD has marked out for us on our race.

For those of us on the second half of the journey, we are realizing that the clock of life is ticking and we need to be very careful that we are doing the things that will count for eternity.

Dr. Richard A. Swenson, author of the classic work, Margin, reminds us that “how we live our lives influences how we die, and misplaced busyness leads to terminal regrets.” Ouch!

We’ll talk more about the “weights” next Monday. Can you indentify the things in your life that might be slowing you down? What’s good – but not better or best?

Going the distance with Jesus,

Bill Welte
President/CEO America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Leviticus 26-27

Think About This: God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. —J.I. Packer

Bible Memory:  For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11