Your race can be Amazing!

Last weekend was all about racing for me.  I went to the drag races because it was the last races they were holding at the drag strip before it closes.  And then I spent Sunday evening watching one of my favorite shows "The Amazing Race".

The Amazing Race

I was reminded that we are all in a race.  Sometimes the race can get hard.  Obstacles get in the way.  Sometimes we take on heavy loads.  (On one episode the contestants had to haul a huge bag of hay and an unruly goat.)  Some runners want to give up when the race gets hard, but we must keep running with our eye on the prize.  For us, that means, following after Christ. 

1Cor.9:24  NIV

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

One of my favorite episodes of  "The Amazing Race" involved a giant slingshot and a watermelon.  The contestant was to use the giant slingshot to launch a watermelon and knock over a suit of armor.  They had been airing a teaser for the show for weeks.  When one team got to this "Roadblock" in the race, they struggled, but they weren't giving up.  On one of many attempts to launch the watermelon, it reversed direction and hit the woman right in the face.  It knocked her down and she lost feeling in her face.  I think I may have quit at this point, but she kept her eye on the prize (half a million dollars) and they made it to the pit stop without being eliminated.  (I'm adding the YouTube video below)

Sometimes the race can knock you down, make you numb, or leave you battered and bruised.  We have to put aside everything that would try to hinder us. We have to have endurance. Other people run have run this race, others are still running it, and some are running at the same pace we are.  That should be encouraging for us.
Heb.12:1-2  ESV
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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.


And even if we do get tripped up at times (or hit with a big watermelon), we need to keep pressing on toward the goal because there is a finish line before us.
Phil 3:14  ESV
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

So the best we can do is run the race, stay focused on the goal, fight the good fight and make sure we finish our race. You have probably heard the statement, "It is not how you start the race, but how you finish". It is never too late to start, and we can finish strong for Jesus.  Your race can be amazing.  We may not win a half a million dollars for our race, but our prize is much greater. 
2Tim.4:7 ESV
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

What path are you on?

Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (ESV)

I just finished reading The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley. This is a book that everyone should read. The book talks our path in life and how it is directly affected by the direction we take. Here are some quotes from the book that stood out to me:

“People come to believe the popular notion that as long as their intentions are good, as long as their hearts are in the right place (whatever that means), as long as they do their best and try their hardest, it doesn’t really matter which path they take. They believe somehow they will end up in a good place. But life doesn’t work that way.”


“Direction__Not Intention__Determines__Our Destination.”


All good Christians are taught to believe as long as we are doing "good" and trying hard that good will come out of it. The reality is that everyday we are faced with choices that can change our direction. I pray that each day the choices I make keep my on the right path. That I am gaining wisdom; not just natural wisdom, but spiritual wisdom as well.

So, we are to number our days, because every day we are given, we have opportunities to make decisions that could put us on the path to something great that will bless our lives. Or we could decide to choose a path that leads to something that is disastrous and unpleasant for our lives.

Remember… Direction__Not Intention__Determines__Our Destination. What path are you on? Who is guiding you?

John 16:13
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (ESV)