Skip to main content

Fresh Start Devotionals

Finishing the Race John Stephen Akhwari ran in the 1968 Olympics representing Tanzania. Akhwari injured himself in the competition, as a result he finished the race an hour after the gold medal winner. After he crossed the finish line, a reporter asked him, “Why didn’t you retire from the race, since you had no chance of winning.” Akhwari looked confused at the reporter’s question. After a pause, he said, “My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race, they sent me here to finish the race.” But what happens when we fall? No one is perfect, everyone stumbles. So what do we do? We don’t let our failures shatter our faith-we get back up! With only two laps to go in the 1,000 meters short-track finals at the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City, Utah, Apolo Anton Ohno made his move and in first place heading for the finish line and a gold medal. He was still in the lead going around the final turn. That’s when it happened. China’s Li Jiajun tried to pass on the outside, but Ohno wouldn’t give any ground. At the same time, Ahn Hyun-Soo, of South Korea slipped to the inside of Ohno trying to edge his way past the American skater, resulting in four skaters crashing. Steven Bradbury, of Australia, went from last to first to claim the gold medal. Ohno had the presence of mind to get up and stick out his left skate across the finish line to claim second place. He won the Silver medal because he finished the race. Paul wrote, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23 KJV) Yes, all have sinned, but some sinners, get up after they fall and finish the race, and then can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;” Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Furnishings of the Tabernacle

Furnishings of the Tabernacle . ‎The book of Exodus details the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. As Yahweh’s sanctuary, the tabernacle served as God’s dwelling place among the Israelites—the expression of the covenant between Yahweh and His people ( Exod 25:8–9 ).
Post a Comment
Read more

A Threshing Floor

A Threshing Floor In the ancient world, farmers used threshing floors to separate grain from its inedible husk (chaff) by beating it with a flail or walking animals on it—sometimes while towing a threshing sledge. Sledges were fitted with flint teeth to dehusk the grain more quickly. Other workers would turn the grain over so that it would be evenly threshed by the sledge.
Post a Comment
Read more

Modern Mount Calvary

Modern Mount Calvary ‎Great authorities are marshaled in favor of both claimants—the church within and the mound without the walls. For a long time, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was the only traditional spot pointed out as the place of burial. But with the growing influence of the Grotto of Jeremiah, the modern Mount Calvary, a picture of which we give, increased in favor. This whole discussion as to the place where Christ was crucified, and as to the tomb in which His body was placed, turns upon the direction which the walls about Jerusalem took at the time of the crucifixion. If the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was outside the wall at that time, as Dean Stanley thinks it might have been, the chances in favor of its being the place of crucifixion and burial are increased. If, however, the site of this church was inside the wall at that time it is sure that the place of burial and crucifixion was not there, for Christ was crucified outside of the walls of Jerusalem. And ...
Post a Comment
Read more