Winning the race

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The end is nigh - or is it?

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The end is nigh - or is it?

It’s happened yet again.

I had just finished teaching a course last month on the book of Revelation. When I teach on eschatology (events of the end times), I always make a point of mentioning how many times the return of Christ has been mistakenly predicted or “prophesied” by people.

Even if the predicted event does not occur, which it never does, two things can be predicted with absolutely certainty. First, no one will ever apologize for getting it wrong. Second, the name of the Lord will once again be brought into disrepute.

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The runner

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The runner

There are a lot of things that intrigue me about running.

For one thing, why do so many people enjoy doing it? It lacks all the fun and fellowship of team sports and can be a lonely pursuit.

Though running is often done alone, it can be quite competitive. If you don’t believe me, just get around some runners talking about their personal bests or posting their latest times and running routes on social media.

I took up running as a young man partly because I was pretty uncoordinated and not great at other sports. It was something I could do to get into shape. At one point, I ran quite a lot and was reasonably good for my age. Less so lately, though I haven’t given up!

But what really interests me is that the Bible says some significant things about running.

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Preparing - but for what?

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Preparing - but for what?

Yesterday we walked past a recently closed diner. In the window was a sign with these words: “Prepare to meet thy God.” Hmmm. Was the food really that bad?

Then I talked with my friend Stuart, living in the eye of an epic hurricane in Houston. I asked him how he was preparing for the storm.

We did a lot of things to prepare for our move. The list seemed endless, and we just had to work our way through it. I’m glad we did, because now we are reaping the benefits of our preparation.

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The great morning of God

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The great morning of God

Last week I talked about moving and the challenge of change. You have to pack everything up, live in a state of upheaval for weeks, if not months, and then hope you can actually make it from one place to another with your stuff and your sanity intact. With the sacrificial help of a great bunch of friends, we did.

If you’re smart, you give away a lot of stuff, and take note of how we accumulate way too many possessions, especially for those of us who profess to follow a man who owned none.

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Why Archippus is important after all

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Why Archippus is important after all

Archippus was commanded to complete what he had begun. The Greek verb means to “discharge fully.” A job half-discharged is of no more use than a gun half-discharged.

It’s important to finish if only because that’s what God does. We are to carry his character. It’s also important to finish because it shows we are people of our word. We will do what we have promised, no matter what the cost. And it’s important to finish because God gave us a full destiny, not a half one.