Finish The Race!

 I read an article last week from NFL player Don Beebe about finishing the race. He was talking about a play in Super Bowl XXVII. The game featured the Buffalo Bills vs. The Dallas Cowboys. The play being talked about was a fumble by the Bills quarterback late in the game. A linemen for the Cowboys picked up the ball and headed for the end zone for an apparent sure touchdown. Little did he know that a speedy receiver by the name of Don Beebe was in the process of chasing him down. The linemen got close to the end zone and instead of just running it in and finishing the play, he decided to stick his hand out with the ball in it. Don caught him at about the one yard line and knocked the ball out of his hand preventing a Cowboys touchdown. The Cowboys were running away with the game and preventing that touchdown would not have helped the Bills win the game. But Don refused to give up. He had to pursue that linemen a long way to prevent that  touchdown, but he did. While Don was talking about this play so many years ago, he kept emphasizing "finish the race". If that linemen would have just kept going he would have had the touchdown. He decided to celebrate a little to early and that cost him. Didn't cost the team anything as they won the game handily. But it cost him. He received death threats. All kind of derogatory mail, calling him names. No matter how good of player he was, he's still remembered for that one play.

As I read the article I kept thinking about God and the race that He sets before us. He sets us on a path to run. It's not a sprint, but a marathon. God wants us to enjoy the race until we cross the ultimate finish line, to spend eternity with Jesus.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 The Message

7-8 This is the only race worth running. I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is the shouting—God’s applause! Depend on it, he’s an honest judge. He’ll do right not only by me, but by everyone eager for his coming.

Sure we'll stumble and fall from time to time. But God wants us to get up and keep pressing on to the finish line. He wants us to remain humble and not to show boat as we approach the end of our race.

1 Corinthians 1:31 New Living Translation

31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

I am not going to brag about all the things that I think that I have accomplished. I am going to brag about what God has done for me. He gets all the credit, not me!

So I encourage you tonight to finish your race. Finish strong. Don't let the enemy get in your way or knock you off course, because trust me, he will. He would like nothing better.

So keep running towards Jesus and I'll be there cheering you on every step of the way!

God bless you all!

Killing The Beast!

 When you hear the word "Beast", what do you think of? Do you think of a creature that is big, strong and powerful? Do you think of the movie 'Beauty and The Beast'? Does King Kong, Godzilla or even Big Foot come to mind? I know when an athlete in any given sport does something epic, he or she is considered a  beast in that sport.

I know for most Christians, when they hear the word beast, they almost automatically think of Satan, the Devil or Lucifer. He certainly is strong and powerful. But, my God is bigger, stronger and more powerful than the Devil.

One of my favorite bands has a song titled "Killing The Beast". It is by the band 'Bloodgood'. They sing about conquering and killing the devil, aka. the beast! It's a very good song!

One of our jobs we have to do at work is unload tuna from an over seas container. The product does not come on pallets, they come on slip sheets. We have to unload them and then palletize them. It is a painstakingly, not easy to do job. I call it "unloading the beast."

My co-worker and I were working on a couple of these loads this past week. Both days he was just zipping through the loads no problem. I thought of the song and said to myself, "wow, he is killing the beast".

Then that started me thinking about our lives. What kind of beasts do we need to kill? How many are lurking around still rearing it's ugly head in our life?

How about the Beast of Regret? Things that we wish we would have done differently. 

Philippians 3:13 Living Bible

13 No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

The Beast of Anger? The things that I get angry about are really trivial in the long run, if you think about it. How many times I have flown off the handle to only be made to look like a fool.

Proverbs 14:17 The Voice

17 Quick-tempered people make fools of themselves, and evil schemers make many enemies.

The Beast of Sin? Probably the biggest and hardest beast to kill. No matter how hard we try, we are all still sinners.

Romans 5:8 The Voice

8 But think about this: while we were wasting our lives in sin, God revealed His powerful love to us in a tangible display—the Anointed One died for us.

God wants us to kill them all. There should be no regrets, anger, or sin, or any other beast in our lives. Get rid of the beasts that are standing in our way of living for Jesus!

Galatians 2:20 New Living Translation

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[a] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So I encourage you tonight. To do what the chorus of the song says, "killing the beast, killing the beast, killing the beast." No matter what they are or what shape they take. Kill the Beast!

God bless!