Running the Race

Running the Race

I was blessed to have had the opportunity to attend the 2014 East Coast Pastors Wives Conference back in April. This year’s theme was “Citizens of Heaven” which is taken from Philippians 3:20 where the Holy Spirit through Paul tells us that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I was very excited that the theme had been taken from one of Paul’s letters; Paul has always been one of my favorites! We all remember Paul’s life prior to his conversion; you couldn’t find someone that persecuted the church worse than him. The things he did to the body of Christ were horrible. This gives me hope. It means that any of us that think God couldn’t change us, or God couldn’t use or accept us because of what are pasts are like are wrong.  After the conversion on the road to Damascus Paul becomes a new person. Paul doesn’t just get a new name, going from Saul to Paul, but he gets a whole new life. This is how it works when you allow Jesus into your life. You are made new in Christ! Paul is now transformed into this man that has his eyes set on Jesus and Heaven; transformed into a man that not only runs the race, but runs it strong. (1 Corinthians 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:7)

How is your race going? Are you running well?

I ask myself the same questions. We’ve heard it before; we are pilgrims in this world, not settlers. Pitch a tent don’t build a house, this world is not our home. I’m sure we all have things in this life that we hold onto. Maybe it’s something the LORD has told us to let go of and we fight Him, not wanting to submit to His Lordship. We hang onto those things even when we know they are hindering us, why? The writer to the Hebrews tells us to “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 author and finisher of our faith,”

God’s goal is to transform us into the image of His Son, to make us like Jesus. Philippians 1:6 says “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  We are all under construction. The project end date is the day when Christ returns for his church. Don’t be discouraged because you’re not a perfect Christian, whatever that means. Paul wasn’t perfect by a long shot yet he accomplished and endured some pretty incredible things in the name of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The very same Holy Spirit that lives in you as a child of God! Paul goes on in Philippians 3:12-14 to say “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

We are also given the well-known verses in Philippians 3:7-8 “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.” This is truly challenging. Do I count all things as loss so that I may know Christ? Do you? He then tells us that we are to learn how to be content in whatever situations we are in, whether in abundance or in want, in plenty or in hunger. This can be tough, but if you struggle with the how, Paul gives us that in 4:13 “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” God isn’t going to lead us to a point where He tells us to let go of something without providing the ability to do so, or to be content with our lot without showing us how.

All these principals require perseverance, require practice, and require work. We must put the time in 

to build these spiritual “muscles”. I’m currently training to run a 5k obstacle course in September. I need to build endurance in order to finish the race. Halfhearted attempts in fits and starts will not prepare me to finish well. I certainly can’t expect to get out on the course that morning without any previous training. I need to prepare to run the race and such is our Christian life, we must put in the work to move forward. Take some time with John 15 to figure out how this happens.

Jean McClure told us that “What you put in now will come out when you need it.” This race requires endurance. The finish line of this race is Heaven, our home. We will experience times when we trip and fall along the way, but pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the race. Keep your eyes focused on the author and finisher of our faith, Jesus Christ! Press on keeping in mind the prize we have waiting for us when we get to see Jesus face to face and hear Him say “Well done my good and faithful servant.”

At the last session of the conference we found on our seats a small wooden cross inscribed with “Jerusalem” and a note that read “The Key to Heaven’s Gate” It was a fitting end to a wonderful conference, reminding us to keep our eyes on Jesus and the Cross.

I was challenged by a family member before I left to “be changed and come back so that we can be changed.” I saved that text message as a reminder of the conference and the things I learned.  We’re not meant to live this life alone and isolated. We need Jesus first and foremost, but we also need each other. Like someone training for a race, you make far better progress when you train with others. 

Take Paul’s examples and apply them to your life. Pray that we are changed so that we can go out and turn people to Christ.

With love,

Kelley

I had a conversation with a friend the other day, the conversation was convicting, encouraging and challenging all at once. Exactly the way it should be! During this conversation we discussed a few things and I would like to address one of the topics that we discussed.

Consistency, Interaction, and Honesty

Kelley and I have been privileged to be involved in a few different small group bible studies as have some of you. My belief is that small groups are not something to be taken lightly. They should be a part of every believer’s Christian walk. Corporate worship in a larger setting, like on a Sunday or a mid-week bible study is essential as well, but they are somewhat different in purpose and intent than a small group study. Consider the model Jesus left us. He had 12. Yes, we are given accounts throughout the gospels where Jesus is dealing with multitudes. He feeds them in Matthew 14, Mark 6, John 6, and Luke 9. He heals them in Luke 6, Matthew 12 and 14, Mark 3 and He teaches them. Probably the greatest teaching He gave is the Sermon on the Mount.

Yes, there are many times when Christ was with many. But almost as a rule when in these situations Jesus would turn to the crowd and challenge them in a way that would whittle that crowd down real quick. Jesus has such an occasion in Luke 14 where Jesus says to the crowd “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Imagine being in the crowd and hearing this! I imagine that this thinned the herd rather quickly, separating the fans from the followers. There were times where He would get in a boat and cross over to the other side to be alone with the 12. The point being that Jesus had his most intimate human fellowship with a small group of people.  

I believe we should use this as an example. Studies have shown that the average person has about 125-150 friends or acquaintances and in that context there are subsets of “friends”. For the sake of space and time I’m not going to break it all down, but at the top of this friend pyramid you will find primarily family, people you have weekly interchanges with, followed by people you have monthly interchanges with. All the groups need tending, all need maintenance, all need care or like an untended plant- they will die. The point being is that we are able to be more connected to people when we function in a smaller group. I am not advocating that you or I dispatch with weekly corporate worship and church attendance, we’re instructed to do so, but we also must supplement these things with a small group dynamic. Jesus knew this. He designed humans and our inbred need for community which cannot be satisfied in large group setting. Inherent in the triune nature of our LORD is community, fellowship and intimacy. He was well aware of the need for intimate relationships. Unfortunately the world and pop-culture have co-opted the words intimate and community for far too long. We think of intimacy and we typically think of sexual encounters. We think of community and more often than not that conjures up images of hippies sitting around a fire singing a collection of Bob Dylan tunes while wearing hemp clothing. Neither of these pictures are what Christ had in mind when he created these ideas. He gave us the model so that we should follow suit.

How do we have effective small group ministry?

Consistency: We strongly believe that one key ingredient to a flourishing small group is consistency. Jesus tells a man in Matthew 8 to “let the dead bury their dead”. Is Jesus saying that this guy can’t bury his father? No, He is telling this man to take a look at his priorities. Are you…am I, truly invested in following Jesus? Do we want to really put the effort in where it is required? Does this mean that life doesn't happen and we neglect a sick family member or a job in favor going to bible study? I don’t think so, but is there always something interfering with your commitments? If you desire to make meaningful connections with other brothers and sisters in Christ you must remain consistent. If someone only attended class once every week would anyone be surprised when they didn't get the material? I don’t think so.

Interaction: Jesus interacted with the people He ministered to on both the large and small scale. He got very close with those He healed; remember the spit in the eye healing, that’s close! He engaged people on the streets, in the temple and on the hillsides. He questioned people and got them to think and to respond. What does this accomplish? A couple things, first it cultivates an environment in which people are free to be part of the conversation. As people begin to interact and get involved in the process it encourages others to do the same. Second the idea of interacting almost forces you to stretch yourself and step out of that proverbial comfort zone we are all so well acquainted with. Anyone who has spent any time in a gym or a PE class knows that growth does not come without stretching and some discomfort, but both of these things produce great results if utilized properly.

Honesty: Honesty in any facet of life is necessary but in the realm of the small group it is typically only a by-product of practicing the first two pieces.  No one expects someone to come into a group and open up and share their life with people they don’t know immediately.  Some people are quicker to open up and let others into their struggles and joys, while others take time. Neither is wrong, they are simply different. And just because someone projects in a certain way may not mean that they are being genuine. Be sensible and use discernment, but be open to reality that the things you have experienced have been allowed for a very specific reason, and that is almost always for the benefit of others and for your spiritual growth.

There are many other pieces to the puzzle of small groups. Maybe we’ll write about some others later down the road but for now these are the main topics. Consistency, interaction and honesty. If we all applied ourselves, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to these things in our small groups we would be amazed at what we see the LORD do. Obviously this has been written with The Bridge in mind. Please pray for The Bridge. Please consider these things and use this post as an instrument by which to measure yourself. As Paul encouraged us in 2 Corinthians 13, examine yourselves!

Please be consistent in your walk with Christ. Please interact with Him on a regular basis. Please, over all, be honest with yourself about the state of your union with Christ. 

Grace & Peace

Chris & Kelley