Baby You were Born to Run!

I get asked a lot about running. People ask, "how's the running going?"

Others will ask, "Did you really run 26.2 miles?"

"How do you train for that?"

"Was anyone chasing you?"

"How big were they?"

I enjoy talking about running. Lately when it comes up, I say I'm a runner. But the more I think about it, that's not true. I haven't run in about 3 months or so. I'm not a runner. I am someone who used to run. There's a vast difference.

There was a time in my life and maybe you've had one in yours, when someone asked if I was a Christian. I said yes. Maybe you did too. But truthfully, the answer was no. I wasn't a Christian, I was someone who used to be a Christian. I used to run the race but at that time I was definitely not running.

Maybe you're in that same boat. You used to be "running the race" but now you're just a spectator who can talk about "running". What I had to realize and you have to as well is, to be a runner, you have to run. To be a Christian, you have to live like Christ.

If you find yourself a former Christian who can only talk about your past, today is a new day. There is plenty of new road to run, you just have to lace up your shoes and hit the road.

Hebrews 12:1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

The Wild Lion

He is not a tame lion. He is not safe, but he is good. C.S. Lewis penned these words in his book, "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe." This story, and the other parts of the Chronicles of Narnia, are loose parables of God and His dealings with man. Sometimes they are mirror images and other times the mirror is a little more cloudy. Nonetheless, Aslan the Lion is a picture of Jesus Christ.

In the book, one character, upon hearing that the often mentioned Aslan is a lion, asks another, "is he safe?" The reply is the quote at the beginning. "He is not a tame lion. He is not safe, but he is good." That is an excellent description of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! He is not tame, He is not safe, but He is GOOD!

You can't just casually take Him and leave Him, nor turn your back on Him. You must keep Him as the center of your focus. You must give him your direct attention just as you would a lion in the zoo into whose habitat you stumbled. The overwhelming difference in Jesus and a wild lion is His goodness. He is ferocious, yet loving. He is powerful enough to rip us apart but compassionate enough to be ripped apart for us. He is the prime example of power restrained, but do not take his meekness for weakness.

When He returns to claim His own, we will see Him with fire in His eyes. Where once He breathed His last, He will be breathing a two-edged sword when He returns! So until Jesus splits the sky, lets keep our eyes and heart focused on the Lion. Do not become too relaxed with Him, do not take Him for granted. He is good, but He is not tame.

What more does he need to do?

I hate hearing bad news.  I hate bad news about christians.  I hate bad news about myself.  Far too often I hear about another brother or sister who has failed miserably and more often than that, I look in the mirror and see how terribly I fail time and again.  No matter who the culprit is, I have to ask myself, "What more does he need to do to make you (me) love him?"  

Why do we believe urban legends, myths and folklore and yet live like the blood-bought gospel is a fairy tale?  My soul cries out because of our unbelief.  We know all the answers and say all the right things except NO!  We give in to sin and temptation so easily when we have every reason and opportunity to resist.  God, you are greater than temptation and your love covers over a multitude of sins.  May the sacrifice of the cross become enough to sway my heart to love.  Come Lord Jesus.

Jesus: Yay or Yawn?

Ripping down 6 foot street signs, jumping over fires, climbing trees.  All ways to celebrate a national championship.  It makes perfect sense.  I don't know about you, but when my team wins something I want to rip something down.  That was the scene a few weeks ago in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  The Tarheel faithful, along with yours truly, were celebrating on Franklin St. soon after North Carolina demolished Michigan State for the National Championship.  I hadn't planned on being there, but some friends and I were in west Raleigh for a meeting that night and were watching the game.  As soon as it ended we said, "Let's go!"  That's all it took, 6 guys jumped in a van and took the 20 minute trip to Franklin St.  The scene was unbelievable.  It was pretty tame compared to the violence that happens at some championship celebrations, but the jubilation was unparalleled.  People leaped over fires like Jack jumping over the candle stick.  I have to admit, that was one I got in on.  People were climbing trees.  They were on rooftops, store fronts, and traffic poles.  One guy was surfing a six foot Columbia Ave. sign being carried by a stumbling mass of college students. 

Everyone was excited, dancing, giving five, cheering and just all out celebrating.  Nearly everyone had the same purpose, to let the world know who they loved!  As we waded through the sea of people, it hit me like a ton of bricks, "why doesn't the church get this excited about Jesus...ever?"  I know it may be a little much to ask that we all stay that excited all the time, but how about every now and then?  There are times that call for true quiet reflection and reverence, or even righteous anger, but couldn't every couple of months or so, throw in a little joy and jubilation?  I know why the joyous moments are too few and far between for me.  Maybe the same reason rings true for you as well.  I don't get too excited with the Jesus that we've created.    The savior who demands just enough to save us from hell, but not enough to change the world or shake up my daily life.  The Jesus that says more in trinkets and t-shirts than from my lips.  And I definitely don't get all hot and bothered by the Jesus who is little more than a community organizer and doesn't scream from the cross, "It is Finished!"  

Maybe its time that I and maybe even you get reacquainted with the Savior from the Word.  Who knows, things might get a little rowdy.