Finishing the Race
Pastor Josh Slatten
Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Indianapolis Colts said, “I love coaching football, and winning a Super Bowl was a goal I’ve had for a long time. But it has never been my purpose in life. My purpose in life is simply to glorify God. We have to be careful that we don’t let the pursuit of our life’s goals, no matter how important they seem, cause us to lose sight of our purpose. I coach football. But the good I can do to glorify God along the way is my real purpose.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith.”
When you were saved, you entered into a race. Every race has a finish line. God has a plan and a program for your life that He desires for you to complete. The issue is not how well you ran last year. The issue is finishing. Are you a finisher or have you stopped before it is over?
All of us have many things that we choose to fill our time each day. The writer of Hebrews tells us to “lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us.” We need to discard anything in our lives that could trip us up spiritually and prevent us from running the race well and finish strong.
So if you get tired and your weary in running the race God has set before you remember what the writer said, “keep your eyes on Jesus the source and perfecter of our faith. It is always encouraging to know that we have someone alongside us to keep us going because it enables us to run farther and longer. Never lose sight of Christ he will help you to persevere.
Remember there is a prize to attain and a crown will be given so we can lay it at Jesus feet. Paul had his eyes on the prize. Paul said In Romans 3:14 “I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” God wants to be able to say to you “Well done, My good and faithful servant” not because your were perfect, but because you finished the race.
Paul told Timothy in 2nd Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, and I have kept the faith.” Fix your eyes on Jesus and finish the race he has set before you.
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