Run with Jesus! His Path is Clear for You

 

In our house there is a way for kids to run through the living room, dining room, kitchen and den and back again. Since our first granddaughter came on the scene 15 years ago, they all run the “run”. Even though we have now taken out the wall between living room and den, they still have a way to run through and around.

Stella absolutely LOVES to run! She walks in and says “run!” and goes. Often one or both brothers join her and they’re in a race to run together and outrun one another. Because Stella is such a lightweight, especially compared to her brothers, it’s real easy to knock her down when they pass her. She will fall and whine a little and then breathe out, “I’m ok”. She picks herself up and runs some more!    Every once in a while she decides to stay down. She may even try dragging herself along with her arms and hands. After a while she gets up and runs again. She never quits running. Every time she comes over, she begins running. Sometimes she hops and skips along with the run, but she’s always moving on.

God speaks to my heart. How we love to run this race of faith. We run headlong and we get to run beside others who want to run the race of faith.  Occasionally we get knocked down as folks run ahead of us. Occasionally we trip ourselves up. Either way, we find ourselves flat on our faces, prostrate before God.

The choice is there.  Do we whine and kick and try to place the blame for our fall? Do we get mad at ourselves because we let ourselves get knocked down?  Do we try to drag ourselves along and refuse to get up and keep going? We can give ourselves sympathy because someone ran on and left us in the dirt. Or we can pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, let God set us back on the mark and keep running. 

 

Will we keep running simply for the joy of running? Will we let God be our reason to run, the reason to get up again, the reason to keep going and especially the reason to have joy in the run? Will we run the race of faith simply for Him and because of Him?

 

Aren’t we blessed?  We don’t have to run for competition, to beat one another, to receive an earthly trophy or crown or title.  We don’t have to lie in the dust and remain motionless for the rest of our days, even if we got knocked down.  With God as our Coach, who speaks words of faith into our hearts and minds we can get up and continue this run of faith!

 

Oh beloved, God knows you were running so well. He knows you got knocked down by life’s circumstances. He knows you just want to lay there and let the pain overtake you. He knows you want to belly ache and grumble because others have run on without you.  But beloved, you are really just running your faith path with Jesus! Yes, people come and go from your path, but you aren’t going to focus on them. Yes, you fall, you get hurt, you’re wounded, tripped up and trampled. But you aren’t ruined, you aren’t sidelined, you aren’t done.

 

Put your hand in your Divine Coach’s hand – the Lord Himself -  this morning and watch as He cheers you on to run with Him! He still has a plan for you and if you will let Him He will give you a clear path to run the race and achieve His will in all you do.  Because He loves you and He’s for you and that’s why you will never have to lose the race, you just have to keep running!

 

Philippians 3:13-14 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,  I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

 

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

 

1 Peter 5:4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

 

Hebrews 10:36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.

 

Colossians 1:11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.

 

 

Fan or Follower?

We’ve read and shared the book, Not A Fan. It’s a very good take on the difference between fans and followers. I learned my lesson on this from of all things baseball.  I fell in love with the game and especially the Braves through spending time with one of my teenage daughters. I began to watch games with her. I was a fan, especially of some of the players. Mark Wohlers was one of my all-time favorite players. He had an arm like no one I’d ever seen- until he lost it. I watched the team try to keep him playing, try to help him get the pitch back and ultimately send him to the minors to try to help him recover. To my knowledge, he never did. Then there were the great players who would get traded to other teams. Then there were the players I didn’t know who came in to play for the team I enjoyed.

I found it hard to keep watching because the players changed all the time. Just as I had a favorite pitcher or hitter to follow, they’d be gone and another would replace them. I had just about decided I didn’t like baseball anymore when one of my cousins said, “you just have to pick your team and stay loyal to them because everything else is subject to change”. People come and people go. So instead of being a fan of a couple of players I became a follower of the team.

In the believer’s life, we are all on the same team – Team Jesus. But some of us are merely fans while others are completely committed followers. It’s hard to tell the difference in a fan and a follower until a real commitment is needed. When the going is tough, a fan will move on. When the thrill is gone, fans leave the stadium. When things don’t go their way, a fan will quit the team and begin to do their own thing. Followers look for a spot to plug into, while fans look for what makes them feel good. Followers are servants. Fans like being served.

We must pray for our pastors. They are over a team of followers and fans. It’s a rough place to be. Pray for our churches, they are filled with followers and fans.  Pray – that you and I will always be a completely committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that no matter what and after having done all we will stand. Pray for one another – that God to keep us all from straying when the heat is on, when the stadium is empty, when the money is low and the commitment level is lower.

Oh beloved, God knows what you’re going through. He knows you may have been slighted, ignored or pushed aside. It may have been intentional or accidental, but God was with you when it happened. You may have talents you want to use, gifts you want to give, blessings you want to share – but always remember, even when your talents, gifts and blessings are low you are needed on Team Jesus. God doesn’t need your abilities, He just wants your commitment. He reminds you to look into His Word and see: Caleb and Joshua were the only two who stood with God yet they were powerful men who stayed on God’s team, even when everyone else quit. Moses stood on the mountain with God while the rest of the group made an idol to worship. Mary Magdelene let Christ change her life completely and she was rewarded by being one of the first to view the empty tomb! Rejoice, beloved, in your commitment to Him and watch as He takes you beyond your wildest imagination! He will fix what’s wrong, He will bless what’s lacking, He will minister to you in your deepest hurts and use you for His Kingdom and His glory! 

He loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth all your commitment forever!

Isaiah 26:4 So trust in the Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock of Ages]. (Amplified Bible)

Titus 2:14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

John 6:66-68 At this point many of His disciples turned away and deserted Him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.”

 

Sweet Spot to Tight Spot? God is With You!

For some reason, my name was chosen to lead praise and worship at church Sunday, like a name pulled from a hat. Not much rhyme or reason there. I can sing, but I’m not a singer. It’s just not my calling. I do play the piano, but an accompanist is not a leader. Our praise and worship leader was going to be out of town and he called out my name to our pastor. Really.




I was fretting about it for... several days. I did pray, but mostly that God would intervene! My pastor said if God told me not to he’d find someone else. Well, I never heard from God on that, so I fretted some more! Then right in the middle of my wondering about it, Danny just made a little suggestion. He reminded me that he had bought a praise and worship dvd a year or so ago at a greatly discounted price. We’d watched it once, but never done anything with it. After all, we don’t “lead” praise and worship, so why would we ever need it?



Well, that dvd was the icing on the cake of God’s making. I was relaxed and ready – how could anything go wrong when it was all laid out. I wouldn’t have to do much except share what God had spoken to me about praise and worship and let the dvd do its work.



Except our praise and worship leader was there! I thought for sure I was off the hook, but no, he said that I had prepared all week (he didn’t know what all I had done lol), so I needed to go ahead. Now it was worse – the worship leader would be PRESENT! With sweaty palms I proceeded. One of our elders asked me if I was leading the worship service and I so “no, God is!” I figured since God got me into this I’d just blame Him!



I got up and shared what God had shown me – that while I was not a worship leader, I was a praiser and a worshiper by nature. The dvd began, I stepped over beside the worship leader and then God did what God always does – He took over! I asked our song leader to lead and stepped into the pew by my husband. It was awesome!

We all have gifts from the Lord that are meant to be used to edify the church body. But sometimes God nudges out of our comfort zones. I’m not sure I know why, but I know He knew it would happen when He prompted Danny to buy the dvd. I know He knew the outcome while I was trying to prepare. I know He had a plan and I was allowed to be on it in some small way. Get ready, because God may ask you to get out of your sweet spot and into a tight spot so that His glory will shine through!



Oh beloved, God says to you this morning, Let Me use you! Let Me guide you! Know beloved, that even when others ask something of you that’s out of your realm of possibilities, God might just be asking you to let Him perform the impossible through you. Every opportunity given to share the Gospel, love on God’s people, serve Him in unusual ways or shine His light is from Him! Sure it might be a little uncomfortable, sure it might be beyond you, sure it might take great faith to proceed, but those are God’s working plans! He takes you beloved, out of your comfort zone and into His blessings. He promises always to use you, bless you and guide you so that you can grow in faith and He can be glorified! He loves you and He’s for you and that’s worth saying, “Yes, Lord, Yes!”



Matthew 14:29 "Yes, come," Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.



Philippians 4:13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.


Acts 9:10-16 (v.13 “But Lord! exclaimed Ananias…”



2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.



I Corinthians 2:5 …so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.