A Marathon

On Day 3 of the fast, the lesson speaks of having our hearts prepared.  When you think about it in terms of preparing for a race, it is easy to understand that there is a process of getting in shape before taking on a 5k or 10k race (hope for you runners I said that right!).  Below is a portion of the scripture shared by Pastor Carl in the early morning prayer meeting today. The first part of it speaks of how God prepares us:

Hosea 6:1 "Come , and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn , and he will heal us; he hath smitten , and he will bind us up . 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up , and we shall live in his sight. 3 Then shall we know , if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."

 ...But the verse that stood out to me most (v.3), was a reminder to me that it is usually pretty easy in the beginning when we set out to do something inspired, or noble, or to please the Lord or improve on our lives; but it's the ".....if we follow on" part that is most difficult.  It is also where the prize is, as in running a marathon.

Let us be the 'body prepared for the race' and press on to obtain the prize!

Back to Basics - January Fast - Day 2

I guess during the January fast is as good time as any to get back on track with my Blog.  Rough start, but destined to get better.

Our church has carved out a plan that is somewhat different than prior years, and I am very excited about it. Especially Pastor Bob's direction not to focus on an 'event' at the end of the fast i.e. Vision Sunday . This will be a tremendous help for many along the way to allow and anticipate God's direction daily.

I am not surprised to see that the first scriptures that are standing out to me are very 'Basic' for lack of a better word. Christianity 101 (more or less). Like I mentioned, I got off to a rather rough start, and when I came into work the scripture that was staring me in the face from my daily calendar was Nehemiah 8:10 "The joy of the Lord is your strength."  Then, as I was following the guide handed out by the church, I found that all the scripture references given were verses that I have known all my Christian walk - very basic.  I know that the topic for Day 2 if supposed to be about being 'single-minded' and focused, but it all boils down to trust.

Hopefully, this is not preparation for some coming disaster, but rather God's infinite grace and mercy at work once again to strengthen my faith & relationship with Him!