Running

I have been running for as long as I can remember. Well that is not entirely true. If I think real hard and I count on my fingers I can think of when I started running. It must have been 5th grade. My Aunt Helen was a runner and I really liked my Uncle Darrell & Aunt Helen (well I still do like them, heck I just live down the block from them). They were my motivation for running. They even gave me a great running book that had a tracking calendar and everything. I even used if for a while. 

Running was easy when I was young because the subdivision that I lived in was a square mile. So all I had to do was run down to one end of the subdivision and back and that was two miles. Like I said easy. It was my goal when I was young to run around the entire subdivision (4 whole miles). I did it a couple of times and I was so tired when I was done. Now look at this year I ran in 3 half marathons and a 10k. It has been a good year. Anyway I just felt like writing about running for a while.

Devotion #1

Hebrews 10: 23-25

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

Hold, Spur & Encourage

This chapter in Hebrews where these verses are taken from talks about the Sacrifice that Christ made for us once and for all. It also talks about the assurance that Christ’s Sacrifice gives us in our faith. Reading this chapter brings us to the verses above where the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “Hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” and to “Spur one another on toward love and good deeds” and to “Encourage one another”.

 

Now I have never ridden a horse but when I read these words to Hold, Spur, and Encourage riding a horse is the first thing that pops into my head. Our lives are a lot like riding a horse. We need to make sure that we Hold on so we do not get bucked off. We need to continue to Spur ourselves on so we do not stand still and do not go anywhere. We need to have Encouragement from others so we do not give up. And that is all well and good. We could look at these verses and just take that away and move on. But there is more.

 

These verses were not written talking to one individual. They were written to encourage a group of Christians. So when reading these words we are not just Holding on for ourselves, Spurring ourselves on, or receiving Encouragement for our selves to not give up. We are to Hold on together to our hope in Christ’s Sacrifice for us. We are to Spur each other on to love one another like Christ loves us and in turn do the good deeds that this Love encourages us to do. We are to Encourage one another to continue to meet together regularly so that we all stay strong as the Day of Christ’s returning approaches.

 

So what does this mean? It means that we as individuals are one in Christ. We do not belong to a church just to show up on Sundays. We belong to a church to grow together in our faith. How do we do this? We meet regularly not only on Sundays but in our daily lives to study God’s Word and to grow in fellowship with one another. We are there for each other to push each other to love our neighbors and to do good things. We take the time in our daily lives to show Christ’s Love to everyone in this love lost world.

 

So remember you are not a lonesome cowpoke riding alone in this life. You are riding with all of the Christians in this world. Holding on together to the Hope we have in Christ, Spurring one another on in love to do good works, and Encouraging one another to meet regularly to strengthen your faith as the Day of Christ’s return draws near.

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father we pray that as believers in the Hope that you sent through your Son that we Hold on together to that hope. That we Spur each other on toward spreading your love and doing good deeds. That we continue to meet regularly so that we can encourage one another in the Love that you have for us. Heavenly Father guide us in your will for our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen