Notes From Pastor Anthony’s Desk;
Imagine
for a moment that you are running a race that is ten laps long. And let's
just say that you are in first place for nine of those ten laps. Not only
are you in first, but you are creaming the competition. So when you come
to the tenth lap, you think, "What's the point? I'm obviously the
winner here. I'm going home." Guess what? You don't get
first place, second place, or even an honorable mention. You don't get a
gold medal, silver medal, or bronze medal. You are disqualified because
you didn't finish the race.
In
the same way, it isn't enough for you to do well in the first five years or the
next twenty years of your Christian life. You have to cross the finish
line. That is why the apostle Paul, when he was leaving the elders of
Ephesus, said in his departure speech, "But none of these things move me;
nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy,
and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel
of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
That is what we should all be aiming for. The apostle Paul wanted to win
the spiritual race. We should want to win it as well. And that is
why this is not the time to be easing up. This is the time to pick up the
pace. This is the time to pour it on.
This
past Friday night I was given the opportunity to speak to a group of Middle
School aged children that had played for one of our Communities traveling
Baseball Teams. Another speaker at the banquet was the Middle School baseball
coach. He began to encourage the kids to not only set goals for themselves but
also when those goals are met to keep on setting more goals. In other words,
“Never quit, never give up, keep on keeping on.”
“I
mean to go right on until the crown is won; I mean to fight the fight of faith
until my life on earth is done. I never more turn back, defeat I shall not
know, For God will give me victory if onward I shall
go.” Charles Naylor;
In
my prayers,
Pastor
Anthony
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Updated: May 24, 2007