Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ... Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of song and lyrics from the group Sidewalk Prophets singing … Live Like That … powerfully singing of how we, as Christians, need live our lives … following the example of how Jesus lived His life.
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Highlight Verse[s]: 1Corinthians 9:24 [NKJV] ... 24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
… The Apostle exhorts fellow Christians (and that’s us too) to run the race of life in such a way to win God’s prize of eternal fellowship with Him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: 1Corinthians 9:19-27 [NLT] ... USE THIS LINK ...
… We are commanded by God’s word to run the race of life to win the prize of God’s eternal fellowship.
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Reference Passage : … Philippians 3:13-14 [NLT] … 13 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, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
… Paul saw himself as preparing for and running the race of life to in God’s heavenly prize of an enteral life of fellowship with His Lord.
Reference Passage : … 2Timothy 4:7 NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… At at the end of his life, Paul, declares that he has run the race of life with faith in such a way as to get the prize God would have for him in glory.
Reference Passage : … Hebrews 12:1b-2 NLT] … 1 … And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
… We run the race of life, keeping our eyes on Jesus, Who will lead us to the finish line and the prize of eternal life He has waiting for us.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Kirsten Holmberg, uses a a literary comparison to make the point that we need to run the race of life with purpose and discipline rather than on a whim as did Forrest Gump. … The ODB author wrote: In the 1994 fictional movie Forrest Gump, Forrest becomes famous for running. What began as a jog “to the end of the road” continued for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours. Each time he arrived at his destination, he set another one and continued to run, zig-zagging across the United States, until one day when he no longer felt like it. “Feeling like it” was the way his running began. Forrest says, “That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.”
And unlike Forrest Gump in that book/movie, who ran because he “felt like it,” we Christians are called by God’s word, especially by the Apostle Paul [see Scriptures above], to run the race we call “life” with the purpose and discipline of a well-trained runner so that we can win the prize which God has waiting for all who do; and that is his crown of eternal life and fellowship with the Lord. And I’d say that’s a worthy prize to prepare for and to run for, wouldn’t you?
So, what are we doing to focus on this marathon we call LIFE? Are we disciplining ourselves for the run ahead. What are we doing to get in shape and keep running so that we can finish as Paul felt he had finished his life race (see 2Tim. 4)? Because if we are, we will finish by winning the crown of glory God has for us as we cross the finish line of life. And that’s where I certainly want to finish; as I pray any reading here do too.
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My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh Abba Father, ... thank You, Lord, ... for holding out Your prize of glory when we finish the race of life.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... I pray, Lord, that all reading here will join me today, to prepare for and to run the marathon of life for the prize God has waiting for us at the finish line. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.</ span>
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