Run To WIN!

 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the game's exercises self-control in all things. So, they do it to obtain a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as [i]to avoid hitting air; 27 but I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Several times in Scripture we see believers compared to athletes. For Example, in 2nd Timothy 2:5 as Paul is encouraging Christians to live their lives in accordance with the commands of God he says " An athlete isn't crowned unless he competes according to the rules" Additionally in Hebrews 12:1 the writer compels us to continue to stive for our ultimate goal of entering the kingdom of God saying" Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" the Greek work used for (Race) here is the word (agon) which is where we get our word agony or agonize! In other words, the writers of holy scripture didn't sugar coat the truth of what price we would have to pay to pick up our crosses, follow Christ, and run the race he's set for us, it would indeed involve agony at times.

I have a very simple question for you, are you running your race with all your might? are you leaving it all on the field? Are you running to win? The passage of scripture i wanted to take a closer look at in regard to this topic is 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Paul is writing to the church specifically addressing the significance of setting aside certain freedoms and privileges, if need be, for the sake of the end goal, seeing people come to Christ. The Corinthians were emerging out of a culture that served false idols, and they were in the practice of sacrificing meat offerings to these idols and selling the same meat in the markets. This became an issue for the new Christians in that area because some of their consciences were bothered thinking that by partaking in the food in the markets, they were partaking in the pagan worship as well, while other, perhaps more mature Christians believed that they could eat what they wanted because they were clean in Christ alone and no kind of food was going to change that. It is this issue that Paul is writing to address and in this passage, he tells us that we should live our lives like a competitive athlete runs his race, we should run to win!

Paul begins by informing the Corinthians on how in his own personal race he had willingly gave up certain freedoms that he was entitled to have such as getting married and accepting financial assistance from the Church as an apostle, for the sake of the Gospel. Paul didn't want anything to hinder the message that he was proclaiming, he didn't want his goal of seeing people saved and entering the kingdom squandered because of lies of him being money hungry or in it for the wrong reason in general. On top of that, Paul didn't want to live a life contrary to what he was preaching and, in that way, disqualify himself from the race altogether, with his influence being lost for good. He encouraged them and he encourages us to adopt his mindset, to adopt the mindset of the athlete who's running his race not just for the sake of running, but for the sake of WINNING! winning athletes regardless of the sport, and regardless of the gender, all share the same mindset of self-control, sacrifice, diligence and discipline. Those that win all set aside certain freedoms and privileges for the sake of their finish line, for the purpose of prevailing over their opponents. You won't find champions in any arena eating whatever they like, partying whenever they want, or smoking and drinking recklessly in the late night. They all consider winning more important than consuming pleasures just because, all winners work tirelessly giving it their best effort in the gym, and in the kitchen, seeking to set themselves up for success. the question is do you?

Is winning the goal? First of all, what is winning for a Christian? obviously entering the kingdom of God and hearing " well done" by Christ is the ultimate WIN for us! but that race was won by Christ alone with his work on the cross, we aren't running to be saved, we are running because we are saved! It's sort of an oxymoron but it's true. Christ won our salvation and at the same time you and I are striving every day to finish the race and obtain the crown of righteousness.

There are temptations in our way, stumbling blocks, freedoms and privileges even that aren't even evil in themselves but unfortunately can prevent us from running with all our might. Are we willing to give it all for the sake of winning? I believe that a person's perseverance and willingness to deny himself is the fruit of a genuine believer. All of us have good and bad days it isn't about judging a person right where they are, but rather over the long haul, just like a runner in a cross-country race, it's not necessarily how you start, it's how you finish that counts. The assuring part for me in all of this is understanding that I'm not running alone, i have the indwelling presence of the holy spirit to strengthen me when I'm feeling weak and tired or running. All those who belong to Christ has his spirit as well and are supernaturally empowered to run and not just run but WIN! we aren't competing against one another however; Paul says we are to run to win, meaning we are to run in the same manner as the winner would run, with absolute dedication and effort with our eyes fixed solely on the finish line. I implore you today to run with passion and focus! what I've learned is that sacrifice is inescapable, it all boils down to what we value and prize! some will make the choice to forfeit the kingdom for what the world has to offer, and some will do the opposite .......What will you decide?

Jalen Perkins

Choices are free to make, but consequences COST!!!

Choices are literally the building blocks of a person’s life on earth, and we are our own architects, our lives are basically the sum of many choices added up over the years. They are easy to make but often times most of us don’t consider the effect our choices will have on our lives! Think about it in the realm of Finances, physical health, spiritual health, etc. if we take a quick inventory of these areas we would quickly see that the cause of our troubles can almost always be traced back to bad choices that were made either by us or by loved ones connected to us. I have 3 points that I want to quickly cover on this very serious topic of choices lets jump right into it.

POINT #1- We are responsible for our own choices

See Ezekiel 18 verse 20 "The soul that sins shall die", none of us will stand before God and blame the wickedness of our father as to why we CHOSE to go down the wrong path. None of us will stand before God and glean from the righteousness of big mama and Papa either! In other words, we all have personal responsibility!(Hebrews 9:27) (its appointed for man once to die and after this the judgment) 2nd Corinthians 5:10 ( we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ) Adam shifted the blame to Eve when confronted by God about his sin and the LORD didn’t give him an excuse. Instead he gave him the list of consequences for his wrong choice and he does the same for us. Knowing how critical our choices are and how we alone are responsible for them we should be extra careful to make the right ones…...but how?

POINT #2- Our choices should be filtered through Gods word- Psalms 119:11

the brain is the control center of the body and every decision we make is first conceived in our minds! Our thoughts must be filtered through the word of God, NOT our emotions, friends, media, music, T.V etc. Its really simple Godly thoughts contribute to Godly actions! If we want to live right we have to think right…( proverbs 23:7) as a man thinketh in his heart……….Matthew 6:22 The eye is the lamp of the body, if your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light, Romans 12: don’t conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your MIND…..

POINT #3 our eternity depends on our choices

Matthew 7:13 says enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many there be who go in it but straight is the way and narrow is the way that leads to life.……..Christ clearly lays out the situation at hand, every man has been given a choice to make when it comes to his salvation. Christ sacrifice on the cross is for all who BELIEVE……..the Thief on the cross who was condemned was no different than the one who believed other than his lack of faith they were both criminals in need of forgiveness, mercy and grace but the believing thief made 3 distinct choices- Luke 23:39 "one of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: Aren’t you the Messiah?, save yourself and us but the other criminal rebuked him saying “ Don’t you fear God? Since you are under the same sentence, we are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve, but this man has done nothing wrong…….remember me in your kingdom." take a closer look at the thief's statements that ultimately pushed the suffering Christ to extend the olive branch of eternal life to him

#1 He confessed his sin before Christ

#2 he acknowledged the person of Jesus and his authority to forgive him.

#3 he received his justification by faith

The criminal could've easily made the CHOICE to be silent as he threw himself a pity party about his wrong actions. Or he could've joined the other guy that was throwing insults at Jesus in a spirit of mockery, strife and bitterness, however even while on his (deathbed) essentially he obtained a salvation that many Pharisees and religious leaders would never grasp and it was all dependent upon the choices he made as he hung next to our Messiah.

take time today to contemplate your decisions with the hope of aligning your life to the will of God! even if you've already made horrible mistakes, you don't have to choose to remain in a horrible situation! God Bless

why the music you listen to is important!

A wise man once said that the human mind is the control center of the body, and I tend to agree with that statement. If you take a brief look at your life, you'll see that wherever you happen to be currently is the result of many different choices you made over time. Choices, are first thought bubbles in your mind, the order is simply this our thoughts come first which matures into us making decisions or choices with the end result of our choices leading us to a prosperous, desired destination or unfortunately to an undesired horrific place but in either case it all starts in the mind.

So you ask, what does that have to do with the music I choose to listen to? the answer to that is easy, what major labels, and people high up in the industry know is the fact that music is probably the most powerful medium in the world when it comes to shaping and influencing the culture and society. Just think about it, music starts trends, music can stop trends, artist down through the years have inspired political dialogue, groups like NWA voiced their disdain for the police lol Michael Jackson inspired unity and love with songs like "we are the world" and others. lets face it depending on the artist or i should say depending on how much influence an artist holds, he or she through the medium of music can change things drastically for the good or bad.

Going back to my point of our minds being the control center. Its important to remember this crucial fact as we go through life because the result would be you and me being more careful about what we allowed into our minds and spirits. The bible says in Philippians 4:8 " whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy THINK on these things" in other words we should strive to meditate only on things that are pure and clean …..why? because whatever we allow in our temples( mind, spirit, soul) correlates to the choices we make in life and also contribute to our peace, or lack thereof and ultimately our destiny. you are what you think! if a person spends all day viewing pornography and violence, should he expect to live a pure and God pleasing life? probably not. My encouragement for you today is to take an inventory of the messages you're allowing to enter your mind through music, but don't just stop there, what are you reading that might be contributing to you falling further away from God? what are you watching on T.V or social media? this is an everyday struggle, putting everything we consume through a filter to see if its good or bad for us spiritually, but in the end it'll be worth it and if you desire to grow in your relationship with God its a needed discipline.......God bless you on your journey I'm on the same journey i might add! so you ill pray for you as you pray for me!!