Are you alive? The question is not about your heartbeat or breathing, obviously! Let’s phrase it this way- are you just existing, letting day after day slip by without joy or accomplishment? The question of being ‘alive’ came to me as I watched some of the athletes at the Olympic games who had invested countless hours in conditioning and perfecting skills. Noah Lyles claimed the title of world’s fastest man yesterday, completing the 100 meter race in 9.784 seconds. Simone Biles, 27, is currently winner of 3 gold medals in gymnastics. She revealed a bit of the cost of her achievement in a social media post in which she said, “Let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”
Three years ago I stepped back from full-time responsibilities
as the pastor of a local congregation, gladly! It was time for a new face and a
younger generation to take the lead, but my retirement was not to sit on my
couch and wait for Heaven! I’m alive …
taking opportunities to serve, to love, to care … and loving it! Some have joking said, “Jerry, I thought you
retired but you seem to be just as busy as you ever were.” Not quite, but I am glad to continue to very
much a part of ministry and hope to do so as long as God gives me strength.
So, let me ask you again, are you alive or just existing? This Monday morning brings us to the edge of a new week, days full of opportunities to make a difference in our corner of the world. We may not write a best-seller, or speak on a stadium stage, or invent something used by millions of people. We are will walk alongside of people who need encouragement, have the ability to do what we do with excellence, and give God the honor and praise He desires. Will we do those things?
There are a hundred reasons we can use to just exist, to
shuffle through the days. There are
disappointments, those things we never anticipated being part of our experience.
There are moments of personal failure. There are the limitations of health and
age. They can be the excuse to turn on
the TV and retreat, or those things can be foundations for new choices, as we
make a fresh start. Those who are truly
alive do not spend much time with regret. They do not try to ‘get even’ with
those who have hurt them. They do not revel in yesterday's triumphs. They face
forward with hope, forgiveness, anticipation, and grace.
I love St. Paul’s encouragement, borrowed from the athlete’s world. It is likely familiar to you, but hear it again. “I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be,* but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:12 NLT) Noah Lyles leaning into the finish line is a vivid image for me as I read those ancient words - “I strain to reach the end of the race”
As long as the sun rises - each day presents us with new
opportunities to live out God's purposes, knowing His great love. Jeremiah,
an ancient preached who lived during some of the darkest days of the Jewish
history, wrote these wonderful words about God’s plans and his own
disappointments. He does not live in
denial or fantasy. Look at his words - "I
well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.” BUT, he chooses
life! “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the
LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are
new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:20-23,
NIV)
Celebrate that promise! On this Monday morning, take charge of your thoughts and throw out the self-defeating ones that would make you a captive of yesterday - whether good or bad. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow may never arrive.
Discover God's love for this day, His provision for a new beginning for you that exists right here, right now. Somebody, a wise person, said - "Opportunity knocks only once. Temptation leans on the doorbell!"
Answer the knock, take the opportunity that God gives you today - to forgive, to set a new course, to learn a new skill, to love someone, to let go of yesterday, and to grab onto this day for God’s sake.
The word from the Word keeps us focused on the right Person as we live in hope. Take this wisdom with you today. "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:4-6, NIV)
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(Video of this blog at this link)
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When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall
When the choices are hard
When we're battered and scarred
When we've spent our resources
When we've given our all
In Jesus' name we press on
In Jesus' name we press on
Dear Lord with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on
Dan Burgess
© 1983 Good Life Publications, Inc.
CCLI License # 810055
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