Finish the Race

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Everything inside me longs to be able to say this at the end of my life the way that Paul did.  “I have fought the good fight!”  “I have finished the race!” “I have kept the faith!” Yet, daily I fail.   Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning! Paul failed continually also.  Romans 7 is proof of that, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” We will all stumble in this race of life.  It is getting back up and moving forward that counts.  What matters most is that we finish the race.

Hebrews 12 says that Jesus, “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” In other words, Jesus kept His eye on the prize, pushed through even though He hated the process, and finished the race!

What is your mind set on?  What do you think about? What are you living for? Colossians 3:1&2 says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” The words “seek” and “set” in this context are words that require a choice from us.  We must choose to seek and choose to set our minds.  God has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  He will not force an eternal mindset on us, but He has given us the ability to have one.  The ball is in our court.  Will we choose to die continually to our flesh, pull our head out of this world and set our eyes on things above, or will we give in and be swallowed up by the world around us?  When Jesus called Peter to step out of the boat and walk on the water through the raging storm, Peter responded immediately.  While his eyes stayed focused on Jesus, he walked on top of the water – above the waves.  The moment he lost focus, he was swallowed up by the raging water.  The same is true for us.  If we will choose to set our eyes on Jesus, the joy that is before us, we will be able to endure, and in the end, finish this race.

Where are you in this race today?  Are you running strong?  Check your focus.  Make sure you’re eyes are on eternity. Have you stumbled? Get back up, make the choice to set your eyes on Jesus and keep going.

Fight the good fight!

Finish the race!

Keep the faith!

Run with Endurance

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

Every Weight

“Lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.”  Weights and Sins – what’s the difference? A weight will slow you down.  When I first started running, I wore a pair of thick (bright red) sweatpants.  You wouldn’t think that a pair of sweatpants could make such a difference, but they did!  I would get worn out so fast!  My legs just felt so heavy.  The pants were a weight; they slowed me down and caused me to burn out quickly.  The author of Hebrews refers to sin as “ensnaring” us.  If something is caught in a snare, it is exactly that – caught.  It isn’t running at all – it is at a standstill.  So a weight will slow us down and sin can keep us from running at all.

Running with Endurance

I’ve always been a sprinter. Run fast, run hard, and get that race over with as soon as possible!  The same applies for how I lived the first half of my life.  For years the longest I held a job was a whopping 9 months.  I would quickly get bored and move on.  I didn’t want to do my senior year of high school, so I doubled up my classes and graduated a year early (not to move on to college, I just wanted out). I was even a sprinter in my friendships.  I typically had one friend at a time that I would be with night and day for a couple of months and then move on to someone new.  When I finally got married, I remember having this nagging fear in my mind that I would get bored a year down the road and then be miserable (praise the Lord, it’s been 9 years and we are still going strong!)  It wasn’t until I surrendered my life to the Lord (for about the 137th time because, remember, I’m a sprinter!) that things began to change.  God began to teach me about perseverance one difficult situation at a time.  I found myself in situation after situation where quitting was just not an option.  I got married; I served in ministry with my husband; I had children. With each new circumstance,  my level of endurance has grown, and it is continuing to grow.  I still get concerned to make long-term commitments, but “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

EVERY WEIGHT

How are you running the race that is set before you? Are you running with endurance? What are the weights in your life? What is slowing you down?  As I pondered these questions, I found that I had many weights in my life.  Weights are not sin – in and of themselves.  They are simply added things in our life that get in the way of running after Jesus.  They look different for all of us.  A weight to one person might not be a weight to someone else.  They are not causes to judge one another, but we should judge ourselves.  Take an inventory of your life.  What is holding you back from going 100% forward for the Lord?  One of the biggest weights in my life was simply staying up to late at night.  If I want to spend real time with the Lord and be prepared for the day, I need to be out of bed by 5am.  Staying up late at night and watching TV or playing games on my phone was a weight – for me, and it may or may not be for you.  My suggestion is that you ask the Lord to reveal the “weights” in your life that are slowing you down.  When He responds, obey.  Just obey.  Lay aside whatever He brings to your attention.  It feels so great to be free of extra weight!  The result is that you run a little faster and you can make it a little further.

The Sin that Easily Ensnares

Is there sin that is keeping you from running at all? Are there specific sins that easily ensnare you?  Remember, we have NO obligation WHATSOEVER to do what our sinful nature urges us to do! (Romans 8:12) Simply repent.  (I didn’t say EASILY, I said SIMPLY) Fall on your face before God and cry out to Him without holding anything back.   Don’t waste any more time being ensnared. Practically speaking, if you are struggling with an ongoing sin, create a layer of accountability in your life.  Get involved in your church (make sure it’s a Bible teaching church), ask for prayer, confess your sins to someone who will pray with you and hold you accountable.  Steer clear of compromising circumstances.  We are more than conquerors through Jesus – We are VICTORS, not VICTIMS!  For more great resources on being free from sin in your life, click here.

Together, let’s throw off the weights, get rid of the sins, and run with endurance the race that God has set before us!

 

 

Remind Me

 This song has been on my heart all week, maybe even two! Anyhow, I thought it was fitting to share it in light of the fact that we had communion today. It is by Gia Lucid…

Listen here.

Remind Me

words and music by Gia Lucid

Take me to the place where my sins were forgiven

Show me the One who bore my shame

Take me to the place where blood and water flowed

The very blood that made my sinful heart white as snow

Remind me of Your sacrifice

When I won’t give my all to You

Remind me of the pain You bore

When I complain about all I’m going through

Remind me of Your nail pierced hands

When I won’t lift my hands in surrender

When I forget the reason I live

Remind me of the cross

It was my sin

That drove the nails

Into Your hands and feet

Still I manage to forget

But Lord, You’ve never forgotten me

– Lisa J.

Running ;-)

Good Times…

Running the Race

“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

None of these things move me

“None of these things move me” is a concept I like to think about when the sun is shining, my to-do list is complete,  kids are napping, and I’ve completed my exercise for the day.  At that moment, when I am removed from hardship, I feel like any amount of spiritual warfare can come hurling my way and none of it will move me… However today, I did my morning run in the rain after getting about 4 hours of actual sleep; it’s 55 degrees and cloudy out (in June!!!); my kids are antsy, and my refrigerator is void of anything even remotely tasty – any one of these things could move me! I find myself asking why these eternally insignificant circumstances have the ability to move me and dictate my overall disposition. Oh how I long to say, (in the midst of a less-than-ideal day) “None of these things move me!”

Nor do I count my life dear

The answer? I believe it is found in the next part of the verse, “nor do I count my life dear to myself.” Here is where I go wrong.  I often count the things in my life “dear to myself” – my time, my schedule, my appearance, my to-do list, my identity, etc. etc. When unforeseen circumstances affect my time or my schedule, (that I count so dear to myself) I am moved.  However, if I can surrender each of these things to the Lord, remembering that nothing can happen without His permission, (Lamentations 3:37) then when unforeseen circumstances arise (as they are sure to do) they will not move me.  I will simply walk down this new path that the Lord has laid before my feet.

Run your race with joy

God has given us each a race to run and ministry to serve in.  In order to run and serve with joy, we cannot count our lives dear to ourselves.  If we do, we will most certainly be moved as the bends in the road appear, and circumstances dictate the direction we are moving. However, if we remember that we are running the race and serving where God has called us to be, none of these things will move us.  We will simply continue running our race, serving where we are.  Jesus said, “whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)  When we count our lives dear to ourselves and fight to hold onto the things that make us happy and fulfilled, we end up being moved and losing our joy.  But, when we let go, surrender these things to the Lord and choose to not count our lives dear to ourselves, we are able to run our race with joy.  Isn’t that we all want in the end – to be full of joy?

What is the race that you are running today?  Are you a wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend, employee, aunt, mentor, babysitter? Run your race with joy!  Do not count your life dear to yourself.  Serve in the ministry that God brings your way today.  Look at the unforeseen changes in your life as God directing your steps.  Do not let these things move you.

Vignettes

I watch HGTV. I confess. I watch a lot of HGTV, Curb Appeal, Fixer Upper, Love It or List It, House Hunters etc. Many years ago, I was watching a show where a home designer staged a home for resale. The word for the hour was “Vignette”. vi•gnette noun \vin-ˈyet, vēn-\ : a short written description : a short scene in a movie or play : a picture or engraving in a book. When I saw him put together “vignettes” here and there, I thought, what a fancy word for just a bunch of “stuff” put together in random places. But, it got me thinking.“My life so far”, I thought, “has been like vignettes grouped here and there, forever engraved in my memory.”

When I take a healthy look back on my life, I see milestones and setbacks, heartaches and blessings. I can recall-as if it were yesterday-how I got angry, or laughed, when I cried or yearned, when I mourned for someone that I loved so dearly. The difference between living through these “vignettes” –which have given my life it’s shape and form-and looking at them now, is that I see the hand of the Father at work. God promises us in Isaiah 43:2-5, that when we go through deep waters and great trouble, He will be with us. I’ve been a builder and designer since 1981. I’ve built homes, additions, kitchens and bathrooms. I’ve been in holes and dug deep for footings and foundations. I’ve climbed ladders and roofs. I’ve used a sledgehammer to smash up cast iron tubs and bust concrete. I’ve itched from insulating walls, hung cabinets, wired light fixtures, tiled floors, and landscaped yards. I’ve lugged lumber and blue board, painted and wall papered rooms. After 30 years in this line of work, I’ve pretty much done it all. It is exhausting work, but at the end of all the labor, deadlines, inspections, sore bones and raw knuckles, there is a brand new or restored structure now standing in the place of something that was once beat up and worn out. Sounds a lot like salvation to me. Jesus did the ultimate hard labor. He willingly met the deadline of going to the cross; He was inspected unfairly by those who despised him, and He endured far worse than sore bones and raw knuckles. Any laboring I’ve ever done with my hands to restore or build a structure pales greatly in comparison to the Lord’s. Any “vignettes” that I have journeyed through and collected in my mind, were just a way to grow closer to Him and develop a heart to serve others for his glory. I want to serve the Lord with greatness. I have an obligation to use what the Lord has done in my life to help others. Jesus came to set the captive free. I thank the Lord that my mindset has shifted from “victim stinking” to “victor thinking”. Living a life that thinks you’re always the victim stinks. The Bible says that we are more than conquers, set apart and set free. We are victorious because of what Christ did for us. He took the beatings, nails, spit, piercings and mocking for us. Isaiah 52:14 says, “As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” Let’s see, I’m embarrassed to say that as of late, I’ve complained about a crushed finger, broken toe, no sleep, menopause and mosquito bites. Yup. Mosquito bites. Thank you Lord for being patient with me. Where I am clearly weakened, you are so clearly strong.

Almost 5 Ingredient Pizza Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients

1 large spaghetti squash

1 pound italian chicken sausage

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 cup pizza sauce

1 tsp dried basil

Salt and pepper,  to taste

3 eggs, whisked

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400

Cut spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise.  Place spaghetti squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the skin of the squash gives when you press on it.  The reduce oven heat to 350.

Once squash is done cooking, remove threads and place in an 8×8 greased baking dish.

Place a large pan over medium heat. Add sausage and onion.  Cook until pink no longer remains in the sausage and it is broken up into pieces.

Add pizza sauce, dried basil, salt and pepper.

Add sausage mixture and mix well with spaghetti threads.

Lastly, add whisked eggs to the baking dish and mix everything together until you can no longer see the eggs.

Place in oven and bake for 1 hour or until the top of the mixture forms a slight crust that doesn’t give when you press on it in the middle of the dish.

Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

-Michelle

All Things

Sweet Potato And Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

5 sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder (I use fresh garlic)

6 tbsp hot sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup bacon, cooked and cut into pieces

1 cup green onions, sliced

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400

In large bowl, combine together the olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, hot sauce, salt and pepper

Add the sweet potatoes and chicken, stir to coat

Empty the bowl into a casserole dish

Bake for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes

Add green onion and bacon to the dish and place back in the oven for another 5 minutes to let all the flavors combine.