BBD 03.28.07 Running - Part II

#1 · March 28, 2007, 1:04 am

Quote from Forum Archives on March 28, 2007, 1:04 am
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

Join the Burning Bush Prayer Group! Send and receive prayer requests and be
a part of a great ministry. More than 300 wonderful people make up this
group. To join send an email to: BBPG-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Be a part of the Burning Bush Community! Share prayer requests,
inspirational material, find help for addictions, and help others. Find out
more at the Burning Bush Community webpage:
www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=37647

Several devotional booklets are available for free download in PDF format at
the new site. Just click on the "Free Book Downloads" link.

The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 473 new subscribers since January 1, 2007!!

03.28.07

Running - Part II

.let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.. - Hebrews 12:1c-2a.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and
without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not comprehend it. - John 1:1-5.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. - John
1:14.

John Bunyan was the author of "Pilgrim's Progress" and several other books.
"Pilgrim's Progress" was written during a 12-year period of incarceration
for preaching without a license. How did Bunyan find the strength to write
such a wonderful book during such a dark time in his life? Bunyan says, "I
was never out of my Bible."

The great evangelist of the last half of the 19th Century, Dwight L. Moody
said, "This book (the Bible) will keep you from sin or sin will keep you
from this book." Moody was a great student of the Bible. The Bible says much
the same thing in Psalm 119:9-16, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By
taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You;
oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my
heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me
Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I
will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight
myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."

I like what Jack Hayford says about the Bible, "Consider the one thing in
this world which you and I can touch that has 'eternity' written into its
fabric. It's the Word of God. Every time I take a Bible in hand, I hold
eternity, because the life-force inherent in that Word exceeds all time and
space: 'Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not pass away.'"

To run the race of life across the finish line of eternity we are to be
".looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.." How do we do
that? Is it just the focus of our minds upon Jesus? Or, is there more that
is needed? I believe there is more that is needed. To run the race of life
successfully we need to look to Jesus and there is no better way to do that
than to read, study, meditate on, and memorize the Word of God. Jesus is the
"word became flesh." Jesus has always been in existence. "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Every time
you open up the Bible and begin to read, it is like looking into the face of
Jesus.

Of course, reading and studying the Word of God is not the only part of how
we are to look to Jesus. I would argue, however, that without the Bible in
your life in a real and vital way that you will never find the strength to
pray, attend church, or serve God in a meaningful way on a continuing basis.
Without the Bible, you will be unable to consistently live the Christian
life. John Bunyan had the formula for life, real life that every Christian
needs as he says, "I was never out of my Bible."

If you have been having trouble running the race of life it may be that you
have left out the Word of God. Or, it may be that you have not left out the
Bible completely but you have not enough of it in your life. George Mueller
read through the Bible some 100 times during his lifetime in which he cared
for thousands of orphans and in his later years became a world-wide
evangelist in a time of sailing ships. How many times have you read through
the Bible? In 45 minutes to an hour a day you can read through the Bible in
90 days (Nelson Publishing has a Bible set up to help you to do that - only
available in NIV.). How many verses of the Bible have you memorized? (The
Navigators have some excellent memorization tools.)

God has given us through Jesus all we need to run the race but it is up to
us to do the running. How is your race going?

Copyright © 2007. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

Prayer Requests: Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on
the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and
they will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am
always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org

Streaming Videos of some of my sermons are posted at:
www.theburningbush.org/fbcswvideo.html

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

Join the Burning Bush Prayer Group! Send and receive prayer requests and be
a part of a great ministry. More than 300 wonderful people make up this
group. To join send an email to: BBPG-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Be a part of the Burning Bush Community! Share prayer requests,
inspirational material, find help for addictions, and help others. Find out
more at the Burning Bush Community webpage:
http://www.theburningbush.net/pages.asp?pageid=37647

Several devotional booklets are available for free download in PDF format at
the new site. Just click on the "Free Book Downloads" link.

The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 473 new subscribers since January 1, 2007!!

03.28.07

Running - Part II

.let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.. - Hebrews 12:1c-2a.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and
without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not comprehend it. - John 1:1-5.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. - John
1:14.

John Bunyan was the author of "Pilgrim's Progress" and several other books.
"Pilgrim's Progress" was written during a 12-year period of incarceration
for preaching without a license. How did Bunyan find the strength to write
such a wonderful book during such a dark time in his life? Bunyan says, "I
was never out of my Bible."

The great evangelist of the last half of the 19th Century, Dwight L. Moody
said, "This book (the Bible) will keep you from sin or sin will keep you
from this book." Moody was a great student of the Bible. The Bible says much
the same thing in Psalm 119:9-16, "How can a young man cleanse his way? By
taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You;
oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my
heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me
Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I
will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight
myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word."

I like what Jack Hayford says about the Bible, "Consider the one thing in
this world which you and I can touch that has 'eternity' written into its
fabric. It's the Word of God. Every time I take a Bible in hand, I hold
eternity, because the life-force inherent in that Word exceeds all time and
space: 'Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not pass away.'"

To run the race of life across the finish line of eternity we are to be
".looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.." How do we do
that? Is it just the focus of our minds upon Jesus? Or, is there more that
is needed? I believe there is more that is needed. To run the race of life
successfully we need to look to Jesus and there is no better way to do that
than to read, study, meditate on, and memorize the Word of God. Jesus is the
"word became flesh." Jesus has always been in existence. "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Every time
you open up the Bible and begin to read, it is like looking into the face of
Jesus.

Of course, reading and studying the Word of God is not the only part of how
we are to look to Jesus. I would argue, however, that without the Bible in
your life in a real and vital way that you will never find the strength to
pray, attend church, or serve God in a meaningful way on a continuing basis.
Without the Bible, you will be unable to consistently live the Christian
life. John Bunyan had the formula for life, real life that every Christian
needs as he says, "I was never out of my Bible."

If you have been having trouble running the race of life it may be that you
have left out the Word of God. Or, it may be that you have not left out the
Bible completely but you have not enough of it in your life. George Mueller
read through the Bible some 100 times during his lifetime in which he cared
for thousands of orphans and in his later years became a world-wide
evangelist in a time of sailing ships. How many times have you read through
the Bible? In 45 minutes to an hour a day you can read through the Bible in
90 days (Nelson Publishing has a Bible set up to help you to do that - only
available in NIV.). How many verses of the Bible have you memorized? (The
Navigators have some excellent memorization tools.)

God has given us through Jesus all we need to run the race but it is up to
us to do the running. How is your race going?

Copyright © 2007. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

Prayer Requests: Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on
the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and
they will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am
always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org

Streaming Videos of some of my sermons are posted at:
http://www.theburningbush.org/fbcswvideo.html

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.