Finishing the Race

Time with Jesus - Sunday, 16 June 2013

Hi all,

The Olympic Games is surely the best known and most prestigious sporting event in the World. Athletes from all over come to compete against each other. At one time it was restricted to amateur athletes. That was changed when it became difficult to find out who was an amateur and who was a professional. The event was staged in London in 2012. I’ve deliberately used the word “staged” because, many of the athletes from some countries, came and participated in, what must be the biggest outdoor “stage” in the world. In a way it’s a bit like a Broadway show! The Olympic torch is lit on Mt Olympus in Greece. It is then taken to the host country, by literally thousands of men and women athletes. Everyone wants to see the “flame” lit in the Olympic Cauldron. with the “portable fire” from Greece. These days it is televised for all the world to see.

One of the most successful movies, which focussed on the Olympics, was “Chariots of Fire”. It centred round the 1924 Olympic Games. One thing it revealed was the huge difference between sport as it was then and what it has become. Somehow, those games seemed to be more “fun” for the competitors than today. It would be great to return to those days. That’s no longer possible.

In RSA we have had several good athletes competing. Perhaps the best remembered is Zola Budd, the barefoot athlete. She was highly fancied to win the 3000 metre race. Her chief rival was Mary Decker. Sadly, they collided on the track in the final. Decker failed to finish and Zola finished 7^th.

The tragedy for both athletes was, the only way to win was to finish the course. If you fall down before you reach the finishing tape, there are no prizes. Also, if you are assisted by a spectator or anyone else, you are disqualified.

It’s great to know that the Christian life is a bit like the Olympic Games. There is one major difference. The only other competitor in the race is you. The rules are slightly different. You are allowed to have people assisting you. Furthermore, you are not competing for a gold medal. You are in the race to win the Crown of Life from Jesus. Your time isn’t important. The objective is to finish. Note that the stands are packed with those who have already completed their race. They are cheering you on, encouraging you to get to the finishing line. There are no prizes for those who drop out. If you finish you get a “Well done, Good and Faithful Servant” from the King of Kings! He also wants you to finish. He wants this so much, at times he allows others to come and carry you when you are exhausted. If necessary, He will even carry you Himself. He hears your every cry for help and provides what’s needed.

There is only one problem for all of us. We must finish the race. If we quit, there is no prize. If we turn aside for selfish reasons, we won’t finish. There are no second or third prizes. It’s either the Crown of Life, or nothing. I must decide. You must choose. God has provided us with everything needed to finish the race. He will help us in many different ways. But in the final analysis, you and I must finish the race. There are no others prizes.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Sunday, 16 June 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	FINISHING THE RACE
Stick-ability. One of the most difficult things we face as Christians and as people is to keep on keeping on. Many of us are excellent starters. But then it becomes boring and we stop. Perhaps the best example of this is going to the gym. We go and sign up for a fixed period. Usually two or three years. Then we go along for the first time. It’s new and exciting. It’s a bit like the first bloom of love. Wonderful. We’ll do this forever. After a couple of weeks, the gilt starts to wear off the gingerbread and our enthusiasm wanes. After about three months, it gets a bit tedious. All that keeps us going is the fact that we’ve paid up front for two or three years. It cost us a lot of money and we don’t want to lose it. Then we don’t attend as often as we should. Then finally we get to the stage where it’s too much of a schlep! Perhaps we’ve paid lots of money. But the investment is forgotten and we pull out. Of course there are those who carry on to the bitter end. There are also those who have made a commitment and the gym becomes a regular lifestyle. Which type are you? Things are not a lot different in Christianity. Jesus’ parable of the sower, puts it in perspective. Today, things are little different. I remember the joy that overflowed in my heart when the Lord found me. Things somehow looked different. They were! But suddenly, I found that many of my former habits and beliefs were put aside. This was not a problem at first. Then after a few months, friends wanted me to do some of the things I felt were incompatible with being a Christian. It was a struggle to say “No!” Sadly, I lost many of these friends. At the time, I thought it was what the Lord wanted me to do. On reflection, I think it was more a question of putting on a Christian face for Christian people! I’m sorry now that I lost those friends. Within six months I only had Christian friends. It sounds very noble and right. But my former friends were no longer impacted for Jesus. I’d isolated myself from “ungodly influence” and was regarded as a freak. There was a movie on the circuit in those days called “Elmer Gantry”. I have it on DVD. It was the story of an unsavoury “evangelist” who had one purpose in mind. He wanted to corrupt the Salvation Army Lady Officer who was the heroine. How he did this and the way he “duped” people into giving their lives to Jesus, I found very disturbing. It still happens. Some men will do almost anything to corrupt a faithful and devoted young woman who wants nothing more than to serve Jesus. Why I mention this is that one morning I came to work and found that my wooden toolbox had been painted. Someone wrote “Elmer Gantry” in paint on my toolbox. It reflected his opinion of my Christian witness. It is 50 years since that happened. Hopefully I’ve learned one or two things in the interim. Even so, I recognise how unloving and objectionable I was back then. Perhaps the only thing I can comment usefully on from those days of objectionable arrogance, is that many men have made commitments to Jesus since then. Many of them are no longer even pretending to follow Jesus. My problem is I cannot quit. I’ve tried to do it, but the pain of being without Him, is worse than the pain of following Him. So now, all these years later for Phyllida and me there is no longer an alternative. He is our reason for living. Even so, Come Lord Jesus! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. Revelation 3:11 NLT 21 She thought, "If I only touch his clothes, I'll get well." Matthew 9:21 GW 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Him and knelt before Him. "Lord," the man said, "if You are willing, You can heal me and make me clean." 3 Jesus reached out and touched him. "I am willing," He said. "Be healed!" And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Matthew 8:2-3 NLT 20 He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20 ESV 35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Hebrews 10:35 NLT 12 My dear friends, you have always obeyed God. You obeyed while I was with you. And you have obeyed even more while I am not with you. So continue to work out your own salvation. Do it with fear and trembling. 13 God is working in you. He wants your plans and your acts to be in keeping with his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13 NIrV 28 The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. Mark 4:28 MSG 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3 ESV 12 From the time of John the Baptizer until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people have been seizing it. Matthew 11:12 GW 24 Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me--the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to His appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8 NLT	We talk of Christian giants and of faithful men of old. I’m sure they won’t agree with you; such comments leave them cold. We talk about Smith Wigglesworth and all that he achieved: But if he heard us speak like that, I’m sure he would feel grieved. We think he was “successful”; that he was greatly blessed. But if we go and ask him, I’m sure he’d have confessed; He only did his duty as His Master’s “worthless slave” “Well done My faithful servant!” is all he’d really craved. I think that D L Moody and Spurgeon would agree, That when their race was over, “The master came for me! It was no great achievement” is what they both would say. “The only thing I ever did was Jesus all the way!” We see the self-same attitude to Timothy from Paul. Some would say, “successful” But he’d say, “Not at all!” “Perhaps my best achievement was finishing the race. In spite of all the problems I was required to face! Just one thing kept me going; to run to win the prize. And see the loving-kindness expressed in Jesus eyes! I am no Christian giant. I don’t deserve a thing. I laboured for my Master. To Him, my praise I bring.” I’m sure no matter who you ask they’ll answer just the same. That everything they ever did was done in Jesus name. The woman got her healing through the tassels on His shawl. Then Jesus told her firmly, her faith had done it all. She knew that He could do it and she stretched forth her hand. Her bleeding stopped and she was healed by His inward command. He cleansed the man with leprosy; He raised men from the dead. He was the one who did it, just as His Father said. So let us all be honest. It isn’t me or you. It’s all the work the Father said that Jesus was to do. There are no Christian giants. There’s only you and me To do what He has told us, and be what we should be. We’re called to serve His purpose; to listen to His voice And do what He’s commanded, like it’s our only choice. We’re called to go the distance. To finish with a flair. To know, whatever happens, Christ Jesus will be there. To face up to our challenges and never ever quit. For those who do not finish, are certainly unfit, To go into His Kingdom. The Righteous crown we’ll wear, Only at the finish line. We’ve got to “hang in there”. So do not slip or stumble and put the race aside For if you do, you’ll surely find, you’ve been disqualified. Jim Strickland Written 16th June 2012