-1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Holman Christian Standard Bible
My hometown of Houston this
weekend will host the Aramco Half Marathon, the Chevron Houston Marathon, and the time trials for Olympian Marathoners. So, I've been reading articles like a fan! This, with some help from friends, has inspired me to run more lately. When
I think of running, sometimes I turn to encouragement to hang in there to stick with it. Today, in these verses, God reminded me about perseverance in the faith. The Holy
Spirit gives believers courage to keep following Him and sharing what Christ has
done for the world.
As I think on this, I'm wondering, how can we be a living
testimony of who God is? This is a part
of what Paul was saying, I think, when he said, "I discipline my body...so
that after preaching it to others, I myself will not be disqualified" – from
reading the chapter, I think he meant that he wished to live out the gospel
that he believed. He doesn't continue living the faith because he fears losing his salvation, but he does it to honor God. God gave him this desire to keep sharing
the good news that Jesus Christ came to die for all we've done against Him.
God's grace is incomparable, and I pray we share it with others (Acts 20:24). It can be an encouraging reminder, since we are not perfect, that we can trust in His power to help us follow Him.
We can count on the Holy Spirit and God's Word in the Bible to give those who believe in Him the strength to live out and share their faith. It's my prayer that we keep our trust in Him, our Redeemer.
(photo of Nick Arciniaga by Photo Run, found on runningtimes.com)
