April 6, 2020
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
New International Version (NIV)
                 Have you heard that they postponed the Olympics?  Not only do I love the competition and cheering for the athletes, but we had planned to send a team of missionaries to Japan to share the gospel with the nations there.  This is another loss we grieve in this season of losses related to the Coronavirus pandemic.

                This week my running shoe store, Fleet Feet sent me an advertisement saying, “Running has not been canceled”.  Thank God.  We can still run at the appropriate social distance.  Even Dr. Fauci does!   Here are the rules:  don’t run right behind someone so that you do not breathe their air.

                In Paul’s day the city of Corinth hosted the Isthmian games, a regional contest for the cities of ancient Greece.  Runners and boxers trained in the city.  Paul and his companions would have seen them.  Perhaps some of them were converted in Paul’s time there as a church-planting missionary Apostle.

                In his call to the church to use their freedom well for the sake of the gospel, he concludes by making an analogy to athletics.  Athletes compete to win.  Everyone runs, but one wins the gold medal.  In order to win that prize, the athletes train hard and watch what they eat.  All of this they do for a temporary prize.  In Paul’s day the winners received a crown made of flowers.  Soon the flowers would fade.  So also all the perishable things we pursue in this life will fade with time.

               Paul exercised self-discipline because he envisioned an eternal crown.  In his last letter to Timothy he longed for a crown of righteousness for himself and for all who await Christ’s return.  So he fought the good fight, he finished the race and he kept the faith.

               Years ago I waited in line at the Tower of London to see the crown Jewels of England.  They were impressive.  What kind of crown may we anticipate as followers of Christ?  An old gospel song asks, “Will there be any stars in my crown?”  In Revelation 2:10, Jesus told the church in Smyrna that they would receive  the crown of life as their victor’s crown for persevering through suffering.  The new NIV Bible captures it when Jesus says, “Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown".  This is what we are running for:  life.  We endure suffering in this life and we press on because at the end of this life our reward is actually life.  This promise of life cannot be postponed.  Not even by the Coronavirus.
Pray with me:         
Father, help us to live this day with self-discipline.  Through the disciplines of prayer and silence and solitude and meditation on scriptures, train us to be your disciples.  Help us to run closely behind you today, like we are running for our lives.  Because we are.  Draw us closer than we have ever been.  Thank you for the course you have mapped out for us.  Help us to fix our eyes on Jesus so that we do not make a wrong turn.  Thank you for the promise that this race has an end.  Thank you for the promise of life which you give us as a victor’s crown.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen. 
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 5:29-30
If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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