The Christian Life is Like a Marathon

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” —Hebrews 12:1 Everywhere you go today, people are jogging. Everywhere you look people are pounding on the pavement. And that’s good because we need to have healthy bodies and temples that glorify our God. But what I’m really fascinated by is concerning those great athletes that we call marathoners.  Those men and women, who run 26 miles, 385 yards. This isn’t just a little jog in the park; but this is a competitive race. The Christian life is a marathon too.  It is not a 100-yard dash.  The Christian life is not to be lived in spurts and jumps and stops and starts, but it is to be lived like a great racer running to the finish line. Too many people think of the Christian life as being a dream.  But rather the Christian life demands discipline.  So often in our convenience society, we look at the Christian life as a blast, when the Bible tells us that the Christian life is a battle. We’re in a war; we’re in a race and the bullets are real and casualties are high.  I’m not talking just about the entrance into the race, but I’m talking about the endurance that is required to finish the course and to run the race. The Bible says to run that we might win.   WE’RE NOT COMPETING AGAINST EACH OTHER, BUT WE ARE TO RUN THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US.

Giving up When You’re Winning

Thursday, March 28, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”

Hebrews 12:3–6

At the highest levels, chess is as much about managing the overall event strategy as much as which piece to move where in a single game. Still the chess world was stunned during the 2018 World Championships, when the defending champion, Magnus Carlsen, ended the final game by offering his opponent a draw despite having a marked advantage that meant he had a good chance to win. Carlsen apparently feared making a mistake that would cost him the game, and knew that his position in a tiebreaker would be stronger. This proved to be the case, and he retained his world title. But many experts and other players criticized Carlsen for giving up and accepting a tie when he could have won an outright victory.

That sometimes happens in our spiritual life as well. We accept less of a victory than God has provided because we would rather give up than fight. There is no ambiguity about the promise of God. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”(James 4:7). The reality is that many Christians are living in close proximity to the devil and temptation rather than watching him run away—not because God’s promise is untrue, but because they are not willing to resist and remain in the battle. Each time we yield to temptation we are losing a battle that could be won if we were willing to fight and win.

Today's Growth Principle: 

Do not settle for less than the victory God has promised because you are not willing to fight the devil.