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Tuesday, October 15, 2024
"Keep Running Well!"
Message summary: May the Lord help us all to continue to run well and one day be able to declare like Paul "I have finished the race". If any of you realize you were running well but have gotten off course identify what is hindering you and get back on the right course!
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"You were
running well.
Who hindered
you from
obeying the
truth?"
(Galatians
5:7).
There are people we associate with regularly such as those we see in our churches, classes and small groups. But there are also those we see only periodically, perhaps only every two or three years.
In
a caption
yesterday I
mentioned
Daryl Leisey
whom I met
right after
moving to
Lancaster
County in
2001. He
worked as
a Human
Resource
manager in
a company we
served as
chaplains and
for
a short time
we saw each
other
regularly as
we shared our
mutual faith.
It seems I
recall praying
with him in
his office.
But
within a few
years we both
no longer had
that company
association so
we only see
each other
periodically.
As I watched
him MC the
event the
other night I
considered the
blessing of
running well,
that is,
staying
faithful in
our obedience
to Christ over
the long haul
of life.
In
many years of
writing these
messages
(since 1996)
we have often
referred to a
Biblical
illustration
of living the
Christian life
as "running
the race".
It's all
through the NT
such as "let
us run the
race with
perseverance"
in Hebrews
12:1 or "So
I do not run
aimlessly"
in 1
Corinthians
9:26.
Today let us
consider a
somber text
from Galatians
5 in which
Paul also
alludes to
running.
"You
were running
well".
We have often
considered the
start, the
course and the
finish of the
race but
today's
passage has a
four letter
indictment: "You
were
running well".
What
especially
jumps out is
the word
"were", the
past tense of
"are". They
had been
running well
which implies
they had been
doing well in
matters of
faith and
obedience. The
specific issue
here is a
doctrinal
matter in that
they had
fallen for a
false
doctrine. We
know people
who were
running well
but fell for a
false doctrine
contrary to
the Holy
Scriptures.
We have also
seen those who
were running
well but fell
in regard to
obedience such
as a moral
failure. As I
type these
words several
people come to
mind, some who
have repented
and went back
to running
well, although
often still
dealing with
sin's
inevitable
consequences.
Sadly, others
have dropped
out of the
race.
"Who
hindered you
from obeying
the truth?"
In the next
verse he
states, "This
persuasion did
not come from
Him who calls
you". In
this context
Paul is
speaking of
specific false
teachers and
the devil
himself. We
all need to be
on our guard
against
anything that
would hinder
us from
obeying the
truth,
including the
false teachers
of our age and
"our
adversary, the
devil, who
prowls around
like a roaring
lion, seeking
someone to
devour" (1
Peter 5:8).
May the Lord
help us all to
continue to
run well and
one day be
able to
declare like
Paul, "I
have finished
the race".
If any of you
realize you
were running
well but have
gotten off
course
identify what
is hindering
you and get
back on the
right course
with much
greater
resolve and
accountability
so that the
enemy does not
throw you off
course again!
Be
encouraged
today, Hebrews
3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, we
learn
throughout
Scripture that
it's not the
one who runs
the swiftest,
nor the one
who runs for a
day, but the
one who
endures to the
end that will
be saved. Even
for those who
endure there
may be a fall
along the way,
yet the
Psalmist
assures us
that we are
not cast down
for You uphold
us with Your
righteous
right hand.
You never let
us out of Your
sight, but
watch over and
gently woo
us back
through the
working of
Your Holy
Spirit. Keep
our eyes on
the goal of
living for
Christ and our
feet planted
firmly on the
righteous path
before us in
His name we
pray. Amen.
One of the
common burdens
we hear in our
chaplain work
is a parent's
heartache
regarding
wayward
children,
which of
course also
includes grown
children. I
consider a man
I visited with
for a number
of years whose
grown son had
a longstanding
addiction
battle. He was
back in rehab
again and
again. At
various times
during our
discussions he
had been doing
better which
was so
encouraging to
his hopeful
parents.
In my
observation
there are
often a lot of
ups and downs
in fighting
and overcoming
addictions to
alcohol,
tobacco and
drugs. That's
why we
encourage
people to
avoid using
any substance
that provides
a "high" (what
a word!),
since you
don't know
what substance
may in due
time ensnare
you.
In our
lifetime many
in the church
have developed
a more
permissive
attitude on
matters
concerning the
"moderate" use
of alcohol and
now marijuana,
especially
since in many
cases
recreational
marijuana is
now legal.
But being
legal does not
make something
moral or
advisable.
We have no
regrets in
practicing and
teaching
abstinence
from these
three
substances,
however
old-fashioned
that may sound
in this more
permissive
generation.
After nearly
50 years of
ministry and
both coming
from families
with alcoholic
relatives
we've chosen
not to dabble
in
intoxicating
drinks or
drugs. We have
seen much ruin
over the years
and have never
seen
intoxicants
make someone a
better person.
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources
"Finish Well" Listen on YouTube Karen Peck & New River
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
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