Something that is becoming more and more apparent about today's church - today's Christian - is that we are great sprinters, but we are lousy marathoners. We have adopted the fast and furious societal pace. We run here to there and back again. We flitter from one fad to the next. We do no pace ourselves. It is amazing how quickly our enthusiasm wanes. It is astonishing how fast we grow tired of things. It is astounding how quickly we grow weary of our ministries.

We are not called to be sprinters. We are called to "run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us." What is the race "marked out for us." It is not, as some suggest, a different race for each person, a particular life that each individual is uniquely called to live. The text is clear that it is "the race marked out for us." "The" identifies it as one race, while "us" clearly denotes that is for all Christians. There is only one race that God has marked out for us - holiness. God has consistently from the beginning said to His people, "be holy from I am Holy." Holiness is not only what we are to be, it is also how we are to live. The two go hand in hand. Through Christ we are made holy so that we can live holy. Yes, we are called to holiness and Jesus Himself marked out the race by running it perfectly -- right through death to victory!

We are called to "run with perseverance". That means that we are to run until God says stop. We are called to be marathoners... cross country runners. How can we change our method of running from sprinting to marathoners? Our Divine Head Coach gives His instruction through the writer of Hebrews. In the next several devotionals we shall listen to our Coach and learn about running the race marked out for us.

We are in the arena and the race is about to begin. We stand at the starting line with the other runners. We glance around at the great cloud of people in the stands. There is something unusual about these people. It is obvious that they are not mere spectators. Everyone of them is a "witness." They have run the race, finished the course, fought the good fight... they are the faithful ones. They stand as witnesses that the race can be run and the victory belongs to those who "run the perseverance the race marked out." They are "living testimonies" (now in the heavenly realms) to the fact that God can "keep us from falling" and enable us to run this race called holiness.

If we are to be good marathoners one thing we must do is learn from these witnesses. Having completed the race they have much to teach us. Is this not why we teach our children the stories of David, Joseph, the Apostles, and many other heroes of faith? We believe that in telling them these stories they will learn through their example how to live the holy life. It is no different for us. We would save ourselves many hardships and heartaches as we run the race, if we would learn from the saints of old. Their lives reveal pitfalls, as well as valuable lessons regarding right actions and decisions. The Apostle Paul puts it bluntly; "Follow my example."

The witnesses are a source of encouragement. When we see that they have finished the race, we are encouraged to keep running. When we grow weary their lives cry out in unison, "keep running; you can make it, we did!" (1 Corinthians. 11:1) They, by the very lives they lived are cheering us on with their faithful lives.

There is one witness, though, who forever stands in the forefront. In fact, all the other witnesses point to Him. That is Jesus. He too is a witness. He is our supreme example. To finish Paul's statement noted above: "Follow my example, as I follow Christ." Jesus is the one who was "tempted in all ways just like us, yet without sin." He was fully human and therefore is the chief witness. Peter emphatically noted in his epistle that Christ left us "an example, that you should follow in His footsteps." (1 Pet. 2:21)

Beloved, good marathoners in holiness learn from and are encouraged by the witnesses and ...

It is obvious that the writer of Hebrews is drawing upon the imagery of the Olympic games for this passage. In his time the runners ran naked. They wanted to be sure that nothing restricting them as the ran. They would go into strict training under the guidance of a judge. The judge directed every aspect of the training insuring the removal of anything in their lives that would hinder their training process. They had a strict diet and outside influences were strictly prohibited. They would literally, "throw off everything that hindered" to run the race. No sacrifice was too great. No task to demanding.

If we are to be good marathon runners in the race called holiness, we too must "throw off everything that hinders." Note that this directive is very open ended. It doesn't list the things that hinder. It simply asserts that we are to throw off "everything" that does. There are some things that hinder everyone, but there are an infinite number of things that may hinder a particular person. That is why there is not a list. God makes each of us aware of the things that hinder us. We then become responsible for stripping them off. The church, the collective conscious of God's people, have noted things that Christians are to avoid because experience has revealed that these things consistently hinder Christians in running the race. Don't take their instruction and wisdom lightly. Church guidelines and rules are not an organizational ploy to control our life. They identify "hindrances" that need to be thrown off. There are also hindrances which are unique in each life individually. These too must be thrown off.

Note also that injunction speaks to "hindrances," not sins. This is important for there are things that may not be "sinful" but are nonetheless hindrances. There may be a relationship, a hobby, a type of music, a type of literature, a form of entertainment, an activity, a habit, that in and of itself is not immoral, but is clearly a hindrance to running the race marked out for God's people. We must "throw off" such things!

Excessive you say? Fanatical you think? Don't forget what were discussing here. I, as you, have watched people sacrifice many things to achieve their goals. That's why Jesus asks the penetrating question: "What does a man profit if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" We are talking about being marathoners in holiness. Is there anything more important than this?!

Beloved, good marathoners learn from the witnesses and throw off everything that hinders and ...

Our Divine Coach continues our training demanding that we get rid of "the sin that so easily entangles."

I once heard a sermon from this text where the preacher came to this phrase and asked; "What sin is it that is always tripping you up? What sin do you struggle with?" Wait! There is something wrong with this question. This verse speaks to the whole. It speaks about "the sin," which being singular clearly speaks about a particular sin, that easily entangles "us," which denotes each person that makes up the whole - us. The question to ask is; what sin is common to the whole, to each part of the whole? Scripture identifies this sin in many ways - "the flesh", the "old man," to name a couple. We call it carnality, inbred sin among others. Whatever its name, it is common to everyone. Whatever you choose to call it, it can be most easily understood as "self-rule" or "self-lordship". There are other biblical and theological explanations for our sin within, but self-rule is central to them.

As we run the race of holiness, we must run in as it is marked out for us. What entangles us is that inward propensity to run the race the way we want. The inner battle is over lordship. As long as that battle rages we are constantly entangled and tripping, being neither good sprinters or marathoners. That is why the writer of the Hebrews so emphatically entreats Christians to be done with this sin. We are not responsible for having this sin and we do not have any control over it, so how are we to be done with it? Take heart beloved, what we cannot do God has provided for!

Listen to God's Word: "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me." "Therefore, I plead with you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to present your bodies unto God a living sacrifice, wholly and acceptable unto Him, which is your reasonable worship, and be no longer conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to know and approve the perfect will of God." "May the God of peace Himself, sanctify you completely and completely. May you whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful and He will do it."

There comes a point in our running the race where we are confronted with our iniquity - our self-rule. At that point we must wholly consecrate ourselves by faith to God, dying out to self and living wholly unto God, having our whole spirit, soul, and body sanctified. Self is not destroyed. It is cleansed and brought under Christ's Lordship. Self-rule is crucified and our life is no longer our own, it is wholly God's through Christ Jesus. J.D. McClurkan states it succinctly: "There is a sinful self to be crucified with Christ; a true self to be realized in Christ; and a human self to be disciplined by Christ."

This is not the end of the race. We could call it our "second wind." We are already in the race in our conversion, our redemption. our new birth. But now we have been brought to terms with the entangling sin. God has provided and if we are to "throw off the sin that so easily entangles," we must give ourselves to God in complete consecration. We do not do the work. We believe. Consecration is faith in action, and faith is always action (it's a verb). God does what we cannot do, rids us of the entangling sin, and then empowers us to keep running, while He continues His prefect, perfecting work in us.

Remember, we are running with perseverance, and this work of God is the beginning of Spirit-filled running, but keep running we must! There will still be temptations to run it wrongly. There will still be "heartbreak hills" and long valleys to traverse, but now we do so under Christ's Lordship with our heart's desiring to do it no other way.

Good holiness marathoners, learn from the witnesses, throw off everything that hinders and are cleansed from the sin that so easily enables and...

In was my senior year in high school. The track coach had been asking me for three years to join the track team and be a high jumper. I concluded that this would be good training for basketball (my sport of choice), so I finally accepted his invitation. In the last regular track meet of the year the state's fastest 100 yard (as they called it then) runner wasn't running. Since he was on our team there was a spot open for someone. So, I ask the coach if I could run just for the fun of it. He consented and gave me some quick instructions on running the race. He showed me how to use the starting block and gave me a few pointers on the best running position. Then he fervently told me one more thing. He repeated it several times with ever increasing emphasis. He said, "Gerry, see the finish line down there. It will have a ribbon stretched across it. When you take your place at the starting block and look up, fix your eyes on that ribbon and look at nothing else. You concentrate on that finish line! Don't be distracted! You look only at that ribbon! Don't look left or right. Don't worry where anyone else is. You keep focused on that ribbon!"

In a marathon you cannot see the finish line, but the concept remains the same. Marathoners picture the finish line in their mind and they run for that line. Our Coach instructs us to "fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith." We must fix our eyes on Him in the same manner that I was instructed to fix my eyes on the finish line. We must focus on Him, the originator and finisher of our faith. Look no where else, only to Him. Don't be distracted by other people, other ways, other ideas... look to Jesus alone! To run the race of holiness we must fix his eyes on the finish line - Jesus!

While volunteering for the special Olympics I met some other volunteers known as "Huggers." These people would stand at the finish line of every race, one in each lane that had a runner. When the runner in their lane finished the race they would hug that person and tell them what a god job they had done. I spoke to one of them and mentioned that it must be gratifying to give the runners such encouraging affirmation. The volunteered responded by telling me that this was only part of the job, and was not really the most important. Curious, I ask what the primary responsibility was. He answered, "we must catch the runner and tell him or her that's its time to stop running."

Did you know that there is only one place in the New Testament where Jesus is revealed standing in the heavenly realm. Every place but this one, He is described as "seated at the right hand of the Father". But, in this one place He is standing. The occasion is Stephen's stoning recorded in the book of Acts; "Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55). Its as if Jesus stood to catch Stephen, hug him and say, "Stephen, you can stop running now. You've finished the race. Victoriously!"

Good marathoners fix their eyes on the finish line and don't stop running until they reach it. Therefore, let us learn from the witnesses, throw off everything that hinders, have done with the sin that so easily entangles, fix our eyes on Jesus (the finish line), and run until He stands to catch us and says, "Okay, stop running now; You've finished the race. Enter into my rest."

I sat there in the quiet of my living room watching the 1982 Olympic women's marathon on my television. The winner had already crossed the finish line, as had all but a couple of runners. The crowd continued to cheer as the final runners came into the coliseum for the lap around the track to finish the race.

Suddenly there was a deadly silence that came over the crowd. All eyes riveted on the runner just entering the coliseum. Her body was twisted in pain. She was doubled over at the waist, her knees were pushed in with her lower legs thrust out. Her running looked like squatting crawl. Her face was contorted, mouth twisted up to one side, chin raised up high in the air, her head turned to the right, but her eyes forced down to see each step. You could almost feel her pain by looking at her. You wondered how in the world she was even standing, let alone continued to run. As she took her first step onto the track one of the officials went out to her to help. He reached forward to catch her, but quickly pulled back. She must have said something to him that caused him to step back. If he had touched her or helped her she would have been disqualified. It was obvious, she was determined to finish the race! At that moment the quiet crowd then burst into deafening cheers which grew louder with each step she took. It was a painfully slow lap, but she would not stop. Finally reaching the finish line she threw her body across landing into the arms of the waiting medical personnel. The crowd instantly rose to feet with an ovation unsurpassed in any Olympics. She had finished the race!

What caused this women to continue on? I do not know. But she taught me what it meant to run a race with "perseverance"! She saw beyond her pain, beyond the moment, to something greater for her. That is why if we are to be good marathoners in the race of holiness we must, like Jesus, look to the "joy that is set before us"! When we fix our eyes on Jesus, His life reveals this important part of being a good marathoner - "Who for the joy set before him endure the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

We live in a quick fix, instant gratification culture. We Christians have bought into it. We do not want joy that is set before us, we want it now. In fact we want it before now! It is no wonder that we so quickly fall, or stop by the side of the road to rest. We cannot see beyond our present pain, our present sorrow, our present crisis. We need to have an eternal perspective. We need to see beyond these fleeting moments to the "joy that is set before us." We need to look not at the "seen," but to the "unseen," for the visible is temporary, the unseen is eternal. We need to be willing to wait for the joy that is before us. Granted, there is joy in serving the Lord now. Yes, His joy is ours even in the midst of present suffering. Nevertheless, it will know completion, absolute fullness, when we reach the finish line. Just as Jesus was able to endure the cross, we can, by His Spirit, endure our present ("our light and momentary" Paul calls them) troubles, knowing that there is a joy set before us. The song writer penned it well - "It will be worth it all; When we see Jesus. Life's trials will seem so small; When we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race 'till we see Christ!"

Athletes will tell you that a crucial part of their training is learning from others. They will spend many hours watching films and video tapes of the greats in their particular sport. You can be sure that if there is one who is considered "the best", they have spent many hours watching that person.

Should we do less in running the race called holiness? Surely not! There is more here than learning from the "witnesses" which we noted earlier. You see, we have one who ran the race perfectly. That's right, "Perfectly!" He is the one we are to "consider!" Don't take this imperative lightly. The word "consider" is a very strong word. It is far more than a causal glance, a momentary look, or even a short study. It denotes an concentrated, constant, careful, examination of this person and His life. This person ran the race alone. He ran the race perfectly. He ran it for us. He ran it with unequaled endurance. He ran it against fierce opposition. Opposition of the kind that we will never have to run against. He ran it victoriously. Yes, we are to consider Him, not only because He is the supreme example, but because He is the author and finisher of our faith. Only when we honestly consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, will we "not grow weary and lose heart" as we run the race. We are able to endure, because He endured, and when we consider Him, we will be able to keep running when we feel like giving up. Beloved, we must Consider Jesus!

Considering Jesus is different from fixing our eyes on Him. Fixing our eyes on Him is necessary to consider Him, but the two are not synonymous. Considering Him involves quiet mediation upon Him, conversation with Him, and careful study of Him. Considering Him is the deliberate shaping of our life according to Him, by the power of His Spirit.

Note also that we are to consider "Jesus." If you are not careful, we will miss a crucial part of this directive. We often use Jesus, Christ, and Lord interchangeably when referring to the Son of God. This was not true of the biblical writers, especially the writer of Hebrews. He carefully selected which name he would use in each case when referring to Jesus. When he used the name "Jesus," he was clearly referring to the man - to Jesus' humanity. Remember that He was fully God and fully man. Here we are admonished to consider Jesus - the man!

Have you ever caught yourself saying, "Yea, but He's Jesus!"? We like to use this excuse when our lives don't shape up and someone confronts us with something like; "Would Jesus have done that?" Let us not forget that Jesus was fully human. He was the second Adam. He faced the opposition with the same tools and power that are available to you and I. That's right! The same that are available to us. Granted, He did not have the sin nature for He was born of God and not man, but He never used His Godness for Himself! He faced the opposition with the same resources that are ours in Him. This is some of what Paul meant in Romans he said that we are "co-heirs" with Jesus. Beloved, consider Jesus, so you will not grow weary and lose heart.

There is another important element necessary for us to be good marathoners in the race of holiness. It is found in the verses that follow the ones we have been discussing:

"And have you forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplines by his father. If you are not disciplines (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are not legitimate children..."

Good marathoners recognize and submit to discipline. In the time that this passage was written Olympic runners worked under the guidance of a "judge" or trainer for years before the event. They would follow the trainer's instructions to the letter. The trainer would take the athlete to a training camp where his entire life was ordered for him. Today's athletes know this kind of demanding schedule and training.

Discipline involves many things. It is more than punishment, though, as is noted in the passage, punishment is included. Discipline also involves rebuke. But discipline should be understood as the whole of God's shaping and molding work in our lives. Discipline is not the most welcomed aspect of our lives, but it one of the most essential. That is why we are not to make light of it, and why we must to submit to it.

These verses point out that God uses hardship as His discipline. Note, that it doesn't say He creates or causes the hardship. He uses it. We struggle with these concepts today. We want the Christian life to be the elimination of hardship and pain. We want God to be the benevolent grandfather who loving spoils us by giving into our every whim. We don't want to train to run the race. We want a stretch limo to drive us around the track. But you see, God isn't interested in making us happy. He's out to make us holy. He's out to make us victorious marathoners in the race of holiness. Therefore, He will at times be rough on us. And, the effectiveness these times of discipline depends largely on our attitude and submission to His way of working. That is why we are to "endure hardship as discipline."

We usually look at hardship and respond with "why me? I don't deserve this!" Or "why do bad things happen to good people like us?" Or "God must not love me or this wouldn't be happening." Or...

How should we respond? Endure hardship as God's discipline. Our suffering and pain is not an indication that God does not love us or that He is not at work in our life. Quite the contrary. It is an indication that He does loves us and that He is using the hardship and pain to do His prefect work in our life. As verse 11 says: "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Always remember, though God's work on us is sometimes painful, it is not harmful. Hurt and harm are not the same thing. Pain and hardship in God's hands are healing and productive in making us holy and whole.

Beloved, let us not resist God's discipline. Rather, let us, in and by His Spirit, submit to it with understanding and attitude that it is evidence of His love and work in our lives.

Keep running and remember, good marathoners in the race marked out for us:

Keep Close To Jesus
Pastor Gerry