APR. 20, 2026

Keep running!

"O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!" Hab 3:2 NKJV

The Bible likens the Christian life to a marathon. The writer of the book of Hebrews said: "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured" (Heb 12:1-2 NKJV).

Paul wrote to the Philippian believers: "There is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me" (Php 3:13-14 NCV). Chances are you aren't at the starting line, nor are you at the finishing tape. You're somewhere in the middle. When running a race, the start is always filled with such enthusiasm and energy. And the finish holds such promise as we run the final stretch and reach our goal.

But the middle of the race-when we are long past the start and not sure how far away the finish might be-is what often tests us. That's why the prophet Habakkuk wrote: "O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!" It's in "the midst" or the middle of the race that we need encouragement, that we need our second wind, and that we need to refocus on the prize that awaits us. Those who have run before us have passed the baton through the centuries, from generation to generation—without dropping it. What are you to do? Take the baton, run, and keep running!

Keep running! Somewhere in the middle

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APR. 30, 2026

Spiritual pathways (5)

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." Ecc 9:10 NKJV

The activist pathway. When you're on this spiritual pathway, you have a high level of energy. This may be one of your favorite Scriptures: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." But one of the dangers of relating to God best through the activist pathway is that a big chunk of your motivation can be self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction. Hence Paul wrote: "Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church" (1Co 14:12 NLT).

When you are an activist, you love a

• fast-paced,
• problem-filled,
• complex, strenuous way of life.

At the end of the day, you want to be able to say, "I ran really hard. I used every ounce of effort and zeal at my disposal, and it's all for You, God." One biblical example of an activist is Nehemiah. When he heard that the walls of his beloved Jerusalem were in ruins, he wept, he prayed, he petitioned the king for the resources to rebuild them, and then he rolled up his sleeves and went to work. If you are an activist, you need a cause. Without it, your spiritual life will stagnate.

But here is a word of caution:Don't get so excited about your cause that you run over people or exploit them. And here's another word of caution: If you are an activist, you may have a hard time discerning God's true calling from your own strong impulses to action. If that's the case, take added time to pray and hear from God and have a qualified friend in your life whose counsel you trust.

Spiritual pathways The activist pathway

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APR. 29, 2026

Spiritual pathways (4)

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'" Ps 122:1 NKJV

The worship pathway. When you're on the worship pathway, you resonate with the Psalmist: "I was glad when they said to me,

'Let us go into the house of the Lord.!" Something deep inside you feels released when praise is given. Your heart opens up and you come alive. You find yourself in tears, sometimes in moments of deep joy, because God seems so close.

But here are two cautions if you're on this pathway:

(1) Don't judge people who are not as outwardly expressive as you. Some of them grew up in churches where no one raised a finger, let alone a hand in worship.

(2) Guard against an experience-based spirituality that has you always looking for the next "worship high." C. S. Lewis wrote about the fatal sin of saying, "Encore!" by demanding that God reproduce an experience or an emotion. He said that of all prayers, this may be the one God is least likely to grant because it can lead us to worship an experience rather than the God to whom our experience points.

Music, for instance, can be a great gift to worship. But because music affects our feelings so powerfully, we can grow dependent on it to produce a certain emotional response. In this case, you may need to spend some time worshiping God without music, so that your worship is based on who God is and not a matter of getting swept up in certain sounds. Also, you may need to engage more in Bible study so that your heart is deeply rooted in the knowledge of God.

Spiritual pathways The worship pathway

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APR. 27, 2026

Spiritual pathways (3)

"I thought about my ways." Ps 119:59 NKJV

The serving pathway. On the serving pathway, you find God's presence seems most tangible when you're helping others. You identify with the words of Jesus: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these...you did it to Me" (Mt 25:40 NKJV).

And you may find that you are uncomfortable in a setting where you don't have a role to play or a service to perform. An example of this would be Dorcas, whom the Bible says, "was full of good works and charitable deeds" (Ac 9:36 NKJV). Mother Teresa would be a modern counterpart to Dorcas. She said the primary reason she was so involved in serving was not that it was something she was supposed to do, but that it brought her joy. She often felt her own inadequacy when she was alone; but she never felt the presence of Jesus more strongly than in the presence of those she served. President Jimmy Carter has probably inspired more people as an ex-president than he did while he was in office because of his passion for servanthood through such channels as Habitat for Humanity. People on this pathway find that if they're just attending church but have no place to serve, God begins to feel distant.

They need to be "plugged in." Two dangers faced if you are in the serving pathway are:

(1) You will be tempted to judge others who don't seem to be serving as much as you do.

(2) You can get caught up in being God's servant and forget that you're His beloved and redeemed child.

Hence you have to stretch by learning to receive love as well as to offer it.

Spiritual pathways The serving pathway

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APR. 27, 2026

Spiritual pathways (2)

"Make me walk in the path of Your commandments." Ps 119:35 NKJV

The relational pathway. People who follow the relational pathway find that they have a deep sense of God's presence when they are involved in significant relationships.

Jesus' words, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20 NKJV), makes perfect sense to the relational type. If you are on the relational pathway, you may feel guilty when you hear other people speak of long periods of solitude with God and think: "Solitude wouldn't be so bad if I could just bring a bunch of other people along." You have often experienced key spiritual moments, such as being convicted of sin or being encouraged to persevere, as God speaks to you through other people.

You are much more apt to practice prayer or acts of servanthood when you can do it in a relational context. When you are on the relational pathway, you tend to hear God speak to you more in a conversation than from a book. And you stagnate spiritually to the degree that you feel isolated. But there are two dangers you must guard against. One is superficiality-getting spread so thin relationally that no one gets past your external self to know you and love you and challenge you deeply.

The second is becoming so dependent on the thoughts and counsel of others that you don't develop the sensitivity and ability to hear God for yourself. "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left" (Isa 30:21 NKJV).

Spiritual pathways The relational pathway

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APR. 22, 2026

Raise the bar.

"Jonathan..David's brother, killed him."

2Sa 21:21 NIV

After David killed Goliath, four other men, including his nephew Jonathan, killed giants that rose up against the Israelites. "In still another battle, which took place at Gath, there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot— twenty-four in all. He was also descended from Rapha. When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him" (2Sa 21:20-21 NIV).

David had raised the bar. Witnessing the defeat of what others had previously deemed impossible gave them the strength to overcome their own giants. Until 1954, no one had ever run a mile in under four minutes, and most people assumed it was virtually impossible. But on May 6, 1954, at an Oxford University track meet, Roger Bannister completed the distance in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had slain the giant. Two months later, Australian John Landy broke Bannister's record, proving that the four-minute mile was as much a psychological as a physical barrier. In the first half of the twentieth century, many people attempted to climb Mount

Everest and failed. It was the unconquerable giant in the world of mountain climbers. On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, were the first humans to reach the summit. Since then, over seven thousand climbers, ranging from age thirteen to eighty, have completed the expedition.

David, Bannister, and Hillary all conquered giants of their day and inspired others to match and excel in their feats. You do yourself and others a disservice when you run from your giant. You need to stop being afraid to tackle hard tasks and remind yourself, "If God did it before, He can do it again, and if He did it for others, He can do it for me."

Raise the bar Stop being afraid.

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APR. 23, 2026

Always acknowledge your dependence on God.

"Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us." 2Co 3:5-6 NLT

In his classic book called Prayer, Dr. O.

Hallesby wrote: "Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only those who are helpless can truly pray...Prayer therefore consists simply in telling God day by day in what ways we feel helpless. We are moved to pray every time the Spirit of God...emphasizes anew to us our helplessness, and we realize how impotent we are by nature to believe, to love, to hope, to serve, to sacrifice, to suffer, to read the Bible, to pray, and to struggle against our sinful desires." Now let's be clear: Feeling helpless is different from feeling hopeless or worthless; it's simply acknowledging our total dependence on God. Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5 NKJV).

God will never give you an assignment that does not require His input, His favor, and His enabling grace. Every action of God in your life is designed to increase, not decrease, your dependence on Him. If you can do it without God, you should stop and ask yourself, "Is this truly of God?" Paul wrote: "We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us" (2Co 3:4-6 NLT).

David enjoyed all the privileges of being a king, yet he wrote: "I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer" (Ps 40:17 NKJV).

So, the word for you today is - never, ever, lose your sense of dependence on God.

Always acknowledge your dependence on God Total dependence on God.

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