Brown's Daily Word 8-10-09

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for His mercy which endures forever. His love never fails. John Wesley said, "Christians die well." I attended a service of death and resurrection last week for George Nickels, who was 89 years old when he went home to be with his Lord. He loved the Lord and he loved his family. He and his wife were married for 66 years. The service was filled with thanksgiving, praise, and testimonies to his rich life and legacy.
We also heard about the death of our friend Olga Mair McLaren, from England. She was 86 years old, and was married for 60 years. She and her husband, Dr. Don McClaren, were medical missionaries to Orissa, India. Dr. McLaren was a world renown physician and professor of medicine, who taught at the University of Edinburgh, at Cornell University, and in Beirut. Every time we visited England, we were offered warm hospitality by the McLarens. Olga was a sweet servant of Jesus. She was lively, vivacious, and full of fun.
Mary Nichols, mother of Nancy Henson, died Sunday morning in her sleep, at the age of 93. She lived by herself, in her own house, and she drove her own car. She loved the Lord and loved her family. I will be conducting the service for her this week on Thursday.
"For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!"
Our niece Jovita celebrates her birthday today. She lives and works in sunny, southern California.
Life is tied together by the great landmark events - birth, marriage, death. On Saturday I had the privilege of joining two young couples in marriage. They are Christopher and Jill Arnold, and Dekan and Laura Rosenbarker. Because Jesus is Lord, we do life well. Because Christ, who blesses marriage between one man and one woman, is alive and well we can celebrate the gift of marriage. We reaffirm and declare, "Whom the Lord has joined together, let no man put asunder."
As summer wanes towards fall, sports fans get ready for the NFL season. In our day thousands of athletes spend years training and sacrificing so that they could wear a crown or medal, that will not last. The flame will go out, the games will be over, the cheering crowds will go home. A few will be remembered and the wreath will fade away to dust. Can you believe the effort they put into it, for only a chance of receiving a crown that will not last? Can you believe the efforts that many of us put into training for some sport, to achieve a small piece of fading glory?
We who are in the church of Jesus Christ, are not in a race to win a crown that will fade away. The crown we run for is everlasting, it’s a crown of life eternal. That is what Paul focused on and that is how he stayed on the track as he endured great hardships. That’s how he finished his race, despite being beaten with rods 3 times, flogged at least 5 times, stoned, and persecuted by enemies and brothers. Many times he was cold, naked, and hungry and was about to make the ultimate sacrifice, to have his earthy life ended at the edge of an axe. YET THROUGH IT ALL HE HAD HIS EYES ON THE PRIZE. [II Tim. 4:6-8]
We must never lose sight of our prize; we must stay on the track and keep running. I know that sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes you may feel like you can’t even breathe, your legs are weak, you're tired, and it may seem easier to quit. BUT WE MUST NOT GIVE UP OR GIVE IN, but rather keep living the Christian life, keep carrying the Gospel torch, keep training even though our muscles ache. We must keep our eyes on the prize the crown of life, and not stop running until we cross the finish line. We must never quit. The Christian race is not a sprint or 100 hundred yard dash. But rather it is a life long marathon. We must continue to run; we cannot coast to the finish based on past glories and accomplishments. When we stop running we have quit the race. When we stop spreading his Gospel and running the race of faith we have forfeited the prize.
Satan and his demons will try to tempt us to quit, and try to get us to leave the track. Paul tells us that God will not allow them to tempt us, His children, beyond what we can handle. God protects the Christian and limits Satan’s power over them.
Some time ago I read the story of Bill Broadhurst. Bill Broadhurst was a great runner who entered a 10k race in Owahu, a race that Bill Rodgers would win in less than 30 minutes. Bill Broadhurst had a handicap; he was paralyzed on his entire left side from an aneurism early in life. But he still loved to run and for him to be in the same race as his hero Bill Rodgers was the greatest thing he could imagine.
The banners had been taken down, the traffic had begun to flow on the roads, and there was nothing left that would tell you that a race had been run, except one man Bill Broadhurst who was still running the race. 2 hours ago Bill Rodgers had finished the race and now Bill Broadhurst was nearing the place where the finish line was. A couple of kids on bikes road beside him and said, "hey mister are you still running the race, it’s been over for hours, someone’s already finished first and won, why don’t you quit, the race is over!"
Broadhurst replied, "I can’t, I have to make it to my hero at the end of the line". And he kept on running. As he approached the place where he knew the finish line would be, Bill Rodgers and about 30 people stepped out from an alley and they placed a banner up and strung a ribbon across the road. And Bill Broadhurst stumbled across the finish line. There stood his hero, Bill Rodgers, who took off the ribbon form his neck and placed it around the neck of Broadhurst, and he said, "you a winner because you never quit".
Jesus is at the finish line waiting for us. He wants to place the golden crown of life on our heads.
In Him,
Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je-wFV4M9MU