August 4 & 5

Read I Corinthians 9:24-27

This passage is written with the backdrop of the Isthmian games - the equivalent of our Olympics. This event was held every two years ten miles outside the city of Corinth. These games brought people from every part of the Mediterranean to compete or just watch. It was the sporting event of the year - drawing the empire’s best talent. Athletes would compete in foot races, broad jumping, discus throwing, wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, and equestrian contests. They would compete fiercely, each striving for the Isthmian crown - a wreath of wild celery.
Winners received a lifetime exemption from paying taxes and serving in the military. They would also receive free tuition at one of their universities. Statues of themselves would be erected along the road that led to the site of the games. But the real prize was the celery wreath, awarded to the winner at the end of the games.
There are seven keys to running well, and over the next couple of days we will concentrate on this passage and those keys. Today, the first key is to PROCEED. We must be willing to get going. Notice verse 24 “know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?” It is important to notice that “All the runners run”.
In order to run the race we must first begin. The great Nike slogan fits here – “Just Do It”. There is no way to win a race if you aren’t running. To win the race requires that you get in the race. We cannot serve God from the starting blocks. Winning starts when we dare to begin. The more daring we are, the more glorious the victory. It is impossible to be victorious without doing something.
The last three days of elementary school was always the best. It was track and field week. We were never in the classroom, but everyone signed up for five events they would participate in. I would always do the 50 yard dash (the 100 was wayyyyy toooooo long!!). I would also do the high jump because I enjoyed landing on the big foam pads. I won in every event. I would walk away with medals that made my classmates drool (alright, they really didn’t care much). There was one event that I could never win as hard as I may have tried. It was the 400 meter relay. It wasn’t because I wasn’t asked to be on some of the teams, or because I wasn’t fast enough that I never won. The reason I could never win that race was that I never ran in it.
Likewise, until we get in the race for eternal life, we will never have the opportunity to win it. Remember these words, “We cannot expect God to say, ‘well done’ if we will not first ‘well do’.”

“I believe that every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.”
- Neil Armstrong

August 5

Read I Corinthians 9:24-27

This passage is written with the backdrop of the Isthmian games - the equivalent of our Olympics. This event was held every two years ten miles outside the city of Corinth. These games brought people from every part of the Mediterranean to compete or just watch. It was the sporting event of the year - drawing the empire’s best talent. Athletes would compete in foot races, broad jumping, discus throwing, wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, and equestrian contests. They would compete fiercely, each striving for the Isthmian crown - a wreath of wild celery.
Winners received a lifetime exemption from paying taxes and serving in the military. They would also receive free tuition at one of their universities. Statues of themselves would be erected along the road that led to the site of the games. But the real prize was the celery wreath, awarded to the winner at the end of the games.
As I said yesterday, we want to look at the keys to running the race well. Yesterday we mentioned that you have to proceed, or get going first in order to possibly win. Today we want to deal with the second key. It is to pursue, or to keep moving.
Again in verse 24 – “So run, that ye may obtain.” This race isn’t over until we cross the finish line. If we want to win the prize we must pursue excellence in everything that we do. Paul is telling us that we cannot settle to watch from the sidelines but that we must be involved. We must be willing to take action. We must be willing to change our attitude. We must be willing to keep moving – even when we feel like giving up.
When I was playing hockey, I always looked forward to the end of the year banquet. It was at the banquet that everyone that made it the whole year received some kind of trophy. We started something and the guys that played and the coaches that coached and the parents that raised funds and drove us everywhere were able to see that child receive a reward. In biblical terms it is “I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)
The value of the prize was not monetary but symbolic. The prize for Paul was a sense of satisfaction that God was using him in ministry. It was that he had used all his energies and talents and gifts for God’s glory, for the good of the kingdom. He described that prize in… Philippians 3:14 - “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
When we run our race …whatever it may be, let us put on our faith or our NIKE gear, the gear of victory, and strive for the prize. We run to receive a crown of righteousness. It is not a crown of riches, but a crown that will carry a message to all who see it.

“You get very tired, and there was a certain amount of pain and you slow up. Your legs are so tired that you are in fact slowing. If you don't keep running, keep your blood circulating, the muscles stop pumping the blood back and you get dizzy.”
- Roger Bannister