What Prize Are We Seeking?

What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. (I Corinthians 9:18,19;24,25 NKJV)

Sometimes people find themselves competing for something when they don't understand what the prize is. There are people seeking greatness and recognition, but not wiling to do great things. There are people seeking the starring role (in everything they do), yet they have no clue as what the role encompasses. And many others seek positions of authority when they have no respect for authority and then wonder why, they are not respected as an authority in any aspect.

Before anyone seeks the end reward, they should know what prize they are seeking--how much they will have to give of themselves in order to be considered--prizeworthy.

Paul understood this dilemma well. He knew his conversion from religion to relationship was worth the prize--a crown given by God at the end of his journey. He also knew the journey would not easy. In fact, while he was in religion, he was a person who had been given authority to persecute Christians--as an authority for the Pharisees. He was free to travel and do all the evil he wanted to do--in the name of religion. Now, as a convert--in relationship with God--he found himself a servant of the Most High, willing to sacrifice himself by preaching the Gospel so that all might have an opportunity to know Truth, knowing the risks involved. He understood what the prize was and how he would obtain and he was determined to accomplish his goal.

Are we as determined to accomplish our goals? Do we even understand what the prize is when we find ourselves competing (sometimes against ourselves)? Do we understand the rules of the competition before we begin or are we just concerned about winning recognition from others?

In the church and outside of the church, we have people who want to be in the spotlight, the star of the show, but they have no clue what it means to "earn" the position. People (men and women) claim God has called them into ministry and they want everyone to know--they have a word from The Lord, but when they open their mouths, those who know The Word, recognize the person speaking has not read The Word with understanding. And when these same people finish making a fool of themselves, expecting a standing ovation for their performance, they are disappointed when people sit on them and think there must be something wrong with the people.

At the same time, we have others who seek leadership roles without understanding and when they fall on their faces at every turn, refusing to seek guidance or scorn it when offered, they get angry because others are recognized for "doing good works" and not just talking about doing things.
If we do not have a servant's heart--a heart to please others--the prize we seek will always be just out of reach. In the pulpit--the prize should be a soul won or encouraged if all are saved.
Outside the church, the prize should be to make a difference in the lives of others, not in seeking greatness. God knows our heart and He knows who has a servant's heart and who is simply seeking recognition of people, rather than in pleasing Him.

Pleasing God means doing all things decently and in order--according to His Word. Of course, if we don't know His Word, it would be difficult to do things His way and achieve His results. With His results, we earn His prize--eternal life. In the world, if our goal is to stand in the spotlight--for all the world to see--we get the world's prize--temporary acknowledgement and when the spotlight falls upon others, we are soon forgotten.

Now think about it--will the prize sought be permanent or temporary? Eternal or temporal? From God or from people? I'm seeking the prize that only God holds--the crown of life and my goal--to promote the Gospel so as many who hear or read what I say, will be saved.

Our Great and Awesome God!

"Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God." (Deuteronomy 7:21 NIV).

How great is our God?
How awesome is He?
He who delivers His own
From the hands of those who hate.
He who is a strong tower of love,
He who never belittles or berates,
Those who hear, obey, and love Him.

How great is our God?
Great enough to defeat those who oppose,
How awesome is our God?
 Awesome enough to bless those who uphold,
His commandments--Love Him, Love All.

He sees through generations and knows what we'll do,
He hears every word and knows every thought
Before we think it or utter a word, He has already designed
The master plan and knows which paths we'll take,
And when we'll hearken to His voice, turning around,
Back to Him, seeking His face from dawn to dusk,
Knowing His wisdom is all we'll need for our nation
To be blessed, not cursed, powerful, not powerless,
Grateful for His love, not mocking or bitter
Waiting for His Return, living according to His Word,
Not reliant upon man's fickleness or godlessness.

How Great is our God?
How Awesome is He?
Great enough to move mountains into the sea,
Awesome enough to want to world to see,
Just how much He loves you and me!

Our God is Awesome, Awesome, Awesome!
There's no need to fear what others do,
We just live and love, for Our Awesome God is here!

Great Is He!

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit." (Psalm 147:3-5 NIV)

For those who have heard the disdain in the voices (or the printed words) of those who don't understand God, take heart! No matter how many times or how many ways, the unbelieving attempt to undermine our faith, we know--Our God is great!

If having a broken heart from a broken relationship or the loss of loved ones led to our deaths (naturally), the world's population would be at a deficit--for all who are compassionate. When we feel as though our hearts are shattered, He comes in like a flood, washing away all the hurt and pain, and overwhelming us with His love (if we allow Him to do it). Sometimes, people are so hurt behind the death of a loved one, especially a child or parent, they feel they simply cannot go on. But we can continue to move forward, appreciating life and the time we have on earth to do great things--in memory of those we have lost.

When we incur injuries that need to be bound to contain blood lost, the tighter the binding--bandage, wraps, whatever it takes, the greater the likelihood, we stem the flow of blood until we can get medical attention. God does the same thing for our emotional wounds that others cannot see. He binds them tightly, stemming the flow of anguish and bitterness until His love seals the wound and makes us whole again. 

Since we know He cares enough about the stars to know their number and names, how much more can we expect Him to care about us? He knows our thoughts before we think them, He knows our desires before we speak them, the very hairs on our head are numbered by Him, and He cares about everything that will keep our focus off Him. His love is amazing and His mercy endures beyond our individual lifespans from generation to generation.

When He delights in us--there are no limits to what we can do when we do all to glorify Him. He is our Father and like any loving parent, He only wants what is best for us. And since that is the case, sometimes, He has to deny our requests that will distract us or harm us. So, when we don't always get what we want, we must remember--He knows best, and He will always provide our needs.

Great is He who loves us beyond measure!

How Great Is our God!

"O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep" (Psalm 92:5).

Sometimes, we just need to concentrate on thanking Him for being an awesome God!

How great is our God? If a list was created, the world would not be able to contain it. If everything He has done was the result of someone's bucket list--it would not be a speck in the bottom in the bucket.

His works--are beyond mere human comprehension. His thoughts--while certainly not our thoughts--are deeper than all the seas and oceans combined. While we "think" we have comprehended, even a microcosmic perspective of the world in which we live, we have not even begun to understand His greatness or the vastness of the universe He has created.

When we think we have reached a conclusion about His Word, He opens our minds and hearts and takes us deeper--into understanding His intent--for His Word so we can rid ourselves of our own limited perspectives. That is--He can, when we reach the understanding that no matter how much we think we know--there is so much more to know.

The only living person who has ever been privileged to know all that He knows is sitting at His right hand. We are not Him, and the sooner we realize that God has not revealed "the totality" of His Word to any of us, the greater the likelihood we'll understand we need one another.

This does not mean that God is not revealing Himself to us--He knows that if one person or even a handful had deep insight to Him--even greater chaos would reign because of pride. And so, we are humbled with the knowledge that no one--no not one human being on earth--has been given exclusive insight into His Word or His Character. What He reveals--He reveals for all to know--one measure at a time, so we can absorb what He wants us to know.

Nothing is too difficult for Him--not healing all disease and sickness, not creating wealth for all who obey, not giving wisdom to all who will ask, not preparing the way to promote the Gospel for all who will seek Him, not loving the unlovable because He is Love! Nothing to difficult for Him and because He is our awesome--we are blessed recipients of all He has to give!

How great is our God? With all we do know--we still don't know it all, but we can imagine! Our God is so great and awesome that we'll just have to keep on living (until the end) to know just how great He is!

Working on Greatness!

Today is Make-it-great Monday!  This is an 11 year-old's attempt at greatness.  He's working on it.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiR6DjWKFZ4.