1 Corinthians 9:25

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 ~ 1 Corinthians 9:25


If an athlete will train to gain a crown of glory from the world, should we not train just as hard, or harder to gain the crown we will receive at the end of life? I think of my dog. I started to train her to fetch and drop. To reinforce this, especially the drop part, I would give her a treat. Now I find that she is less energetic and wants her treat after only a few romps down my hall. At first, she would run back and forth several times. Now she knows a treat is waiting for her, so why do all that running? I am wondering this morning if we are somewhat like that. We have been received into glory through the grace of God, and praise God for that beautiful gift! But, have we come to know that there is a crown waiting for us at the end of the journey of life, so we don’t need to put much effort into our Christian walk? Have we become lazy as Christians? I know that we have become biblically illiterate in our generation. If we do not know the word of God, how can we preach the Good News of Love? In our day when it is harder to speak Truth, we need to train by reading the word every day. We cannot fight this world, or the enemy of this world without the word of God. Start training people! Jesus is going to return! We need to be ready, and I want a crown, or many crowns, to cast at Jesus’ feet when I stand before him!

Pastor Julia

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