The Best Moment



Saturday, I ran in the Shamrock 8K race in VA Beach, VA. There was a record crowd of runners; 8, 000 of us. The weather started at 35 degrees so I had a sweatshirt, sock cap, and gloves along with shorts (hate running in long pants); the sock cap came off at mile no. 2 and the gloves came off at mile no. 4. I saw a few people that work at Dollar Tree but no one from my department (10 of us registered). As usual, I zoned out about 20 minutes before the start of the race and started focusing on the race which means I turned on my I-pod and relaxed my mind and didn’t pay attention to the people around me. The 8K was easy because I run longer on my normal Saturday morning runs so I was focusing on my pace; wanted to run 9 minute miles and I did. I finished in 45 minutes and 8 seconds. That was third place for the Logistics Department. Not too bad since most of the runners in my department are 10 to 12 years younger.

I can think of two good moments of the race. One was seeing a man running with a large American flag flying in the wind. It brought a tear to my eye and I thanked God for our country. But the best moment was when the Casting Crowns song “Praise You With the Dance” came on my I-Pod and I was running on the wood walk. The wind was blowing and to my right the waves were rolling on the beach. It was an awesome moment. I couldn’t help but worship my God as I ran this part of the 5 mile course. Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face. That was an awesome moment.

Another Race



Tomorrow is the first race of the season for me. It’s a shorter one; 8K (less than 5 miles). I learned back on Thanksgiving’s Day that running to 35 to 45 degree weather isn’t that bad if you have the right clothes so I’ve been running throughout the weather. This race is a little different for me. A few of the managers in the department I work in have registered and it will be neat to see if I can beat them. They are all 10 to 11 years younger but I am in better shape. My goals are to keep my pace at 8 to 9 minute mile and beat the younger managers. It will be fun; the temp should be upper 40’s and sunny.

Tomorrow’s race will be a warm up for the Swamp Stamp next month. The Swamp Stamp is a half marathon through the Dismal Swamp State Park. I’ve heard it’s a little easier than the Rock-in-Roll Half Marathon because the route is all flat and is the old Rt. 17 so it’s all on ash fault which is better for the joints.

It’s amazing what only one year can change. This time last year, I just started back at running again after 12 years of no running. The 5K (3.14 miles) race in May was my first race. Since then, I’ve run in 2 5K races, an 8K Mud Run, and a half marathon. My goal for this year is to do one triathlon. We will see.

Worldview



Yesterday, I received an e-ail from Barna Group with an article on worldviews. The article dealt with how Christians view the “Biblical Worldview.” Below is a small portion:

For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.

Varying numbers of Americans embrace the different aspects of biblical worldview thinking. The survey found that:

• One-third of all adults (34%) believe that moral truth is absolute and unaffected by the circumstances. Slightly less than half of the born again adults (46%) believe in absolute moral truth.
• Half of all adults firmly believe that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches. That proportion includes the four-fifths of born again adults (79%) who concur.
• Just one-quarter of adults (27%) are convinced that Satan is a real force. Even a minority of born again adults (40%) adopt that perspective.
• Similarly, only one-quarter of adults (28%) believe that it is impossible for someone to earn their way into Heaven through good behavior. Not quite half of all born again Christians (47%) strongly reject the notion of earning salvation through their deeds.
• A minority of American adults (40%) are persuaded that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life while He was on earth. Slightly less than two-thirds of the born again segment (62%) strongly believes that He was sinless.
• Seven out of ten adults (70%) say that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing creator of the universe who still rules it today. That includes the 93% of born again adults who hold that conviction.

Rest



Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him--Psalm 37:7a. Newton’s first law of motion was the law of inertia: All objects in the universe tend to remain at rest or continue in motion until acted upon by an outside force. In other words, nothing stops or starts randomly or by accident. If we bring Newton’s law to spiritual life we might say that rest and activity occur as a result of choice. The biblical rest that the psalmist spoke about in Psalm 37 is not the same as laziness or is it the absence of spiritual activity. This kind of rest means to stop striving in our own strength and depend on the Lord. When we think of rest we think of ceasing physical actions. When we rest in the Lord we cease things too, like: worry, anxiety, tension, and fear. When we rest in the Lord we also increase some things like: trust, faith, and submission to the will of God. And what about increasing these too—prayer, Bible study, and consulting with a trusted mentor. Don’t forget while we rest, God is awake!

The Next Great . . .



Over last few years I have come to terms with who I am in Christ. I’m not the smartest, best looking, or edgy person; I’m just me. I remember attending Baptist Bible College and hearing the stories of Jerry Falwell and what he did while at BBC. I heard men who wanted to be the next Jerry Falwell. Don’t get me wrong, I feel God used Jerry in his life but there is (or was) only one Jerry Falwell. Now that Billy Graham is not doing as much as he has done in the past, people are looking to brand the new Billy Graham. Rick Warren’s name has been thrown out as a possibility. There is only one Billy Graham and there is only one Rick Warren. God put things together to develop these men into who they are (or were) so that He (God) could/can use them in the way God has determined.

In the gospels, Jesus didn’t heal blind people in the same way every time. There are seven times that Jesus healed a blind person and each time, He used a different method. As you read the Bible, you can see the different types of people God used to bring Him glory. God didn’t use the same type of person but used a great assortment of personalities, temperaments, and backgrounds. I believe God likes to use variety and not just the same old same old.

In my years of following God, I’ve learned that the ones to who seem to have it together truly don’t. They either fall to sin or just don’t accomplish much for God. The ones who seem to achieve much (in my opinion) for the kingdom just don’t seem like much in the eyes of man. But when you see how they rely on God and see what God does through them, it’s just amazing.

Instead of trying to be the next Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Rick Warren, or whomever just be the best you God has made you to be. For every Jerry Falwell or Billy Graham there are hundreds or thousands of unknown men and women teaching and preach Christ that we do not know about. As David wrote in the Psalms, God knew us before we were even born and has established our steps. God has put us through the things we lived through (good, bad, or indifferent) to mold us into who we need to be to bring Him glory. Our sole purpose is to bring God glory and to give Him honor. Instead of trying to be the next great pastor or have the next great church, we should just be the best us God has made us to be.

Think about.