Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

2008 Shepherds’ Conference

by Pastor Patrick Cho

The most impactful lesson learned from the Shepherds’ Conference this year came from a seminar session taught by Rick Holland on “Preparing Your Heart for Preaching.” What is funny is that I was actually intending to attend the seminar taught by Phil Johnson but was in the wrong room. Thankfully, there are no accidents with God and what I heard in Rick Holland’s seminar was very much needed.

He didn’t teach on anything that I didn’t learn in seminary. It was going over the basics like praying for your sermon, meditating on your passage, and preaching from the heart. What was most convicting was how far I saw myself straying from these very basic principles. Rick Holland talked about how you can identify if you are being self-reliant by examining your preparation for preaching to see if you are not praying for your messages. This came at me like a stake through my heart.

I had a chance to thank him for his seminar later in the week and he was honestly surprised because I told him that his seminar was the most impactful thing for me from the week. I was glad that he also shared that much of what he taught on he received as a personal rebuke as well.

As pastors, it is easy to make excuses not to pray. The busyness of ministry sometimes drowns out the fundamentals that are vital. How could I possibly think I could preach week after week without depending on the Lord to teach His Word through me? No wonder ministry was becoming so burdensome! I’m so thankful for this year’s Shepherds’ Conference because it was like a soothing balm for my soul and in the Lord I found great refreshment. It is great to walk away with lessons that I am joyful in being able to apply.

Reflections on the Shepherds Conference (2008)

by Pastor John Kim

Attending the Shepherds Conference at Grace Church each year with members of our church is always one of the highlights of the year. Over 3000 men come together from all over the nation as well as around the world to hear Christ-centered preaching that upholds the Scriptures and promotes the kind of unique fellowship that occurs when like-minded men gather together to worship, to be equipped, and to stimulate one another with God-honoring conversations.

This year was no different as 13 men from Lighthouse went and enjoyed the preaching of John MacArthur, Tom Pennington, Rick Holland, Al Mohler, Steve Lawson, and Phil Johnson. There were a number of seminar sessions taught by various members of the Grace Church pastoral staff and the Master’s Seminary. The short breaks in between were filled with runs to the food stations starting from breakfast to afternoon snacks. The highlight at least from a meal viewpoint was when we got in line to receive our free books and then pickup an In-N-Out lunch. There were books, books, and more books – it’s probably the only setting where you see the majority of the crowd interested in books. Getting to meet people from all over is also a highlight as there were over 1000 first time attenders who came to the conference. Running into the sanctuary to get a front row seat is always fun to watch as it is such a contrast from most churches on Sundays where the last rows fill up first.

You can hear the message from this past Sunday on the website audio – it was pretty much a highlight of the lessons learned. But one thing that I am always convicted of more than anything is this – I need to really be on my knees and pray so that I might study the Word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit so that I might proclaim the excellencies of the One who has granted us the gift of the Scriptures so that we might know His heart and live for His glory. It is a humbling task and one that I am always reminded of that I am so unworthy to be a herald for the King of kings and Lord of lords. As a slave, I have no other recourse than to submit my heart, soul, mind, and strength to serve my Master and to point people to Him. Having the mentality of a slave changes everything. Most people, if not all, will take offense to that term. But if you have Master who has shown grace to you, who has shown the extent of His love by having His Son take our place, who has granted to us all the riches in the heavenly places, who has called us to the highest life purpose one can have, that is, to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness so that He might be glorified, there is really nothing more that I can ask for as it is the most magnificent and transcendent purpose one can live for in this life for it extends to eternity.

I hope that you would just get a little glimpse of what it means to follow the Savior. It is not because we are so perfect or because we do it the right way all the time. More often than not we struggle with our human frailities and we stumble due to our proclivity to sin. But by the grace and mercy of our God, we have been granted power from above to be His witnesses, from our home to the remotest parts of the earth and we can and we will be able to experience the work of God in us and through us as we simply deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let us fix our eyes on Him who loved us first and gave Himself up for us. Let us boast in nothing else than the cross, to know that the sacrifice made was the means by which we have been reconciled to God.

As we move to our new facilities soon, I hope that our excitement is more than just about a new facility. For sure, it is a tremendous gift from God. It is very exciting to have this opportunity. But even more so is the opportunity to love and follow our Savior each and every day as we know that God has promised to do abundantly beyond what we could ask or think. So let’s band together as a family and turn San Diego upside down with the gospel according to Jesus and see His Name magnified to all the peoples for His glory alone.

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #42

by Pastor John Kim

Greetings to the LBC family and friends!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #42
Resolved, frequently to renew the dedication of myself to God, which was made at my baptism; which I solemnly renewed, when I was received into the communion of the church; and which I have solemnly re-made this twelfth day of January, 1722-23.

In the book of Acts, we see that when an individual made a profession of faith in Christ, what immediately followed was baptism. This act of baptism signified both a public identification with Christ as Lord and Savior, but it also signified a public identification with His body, the church. While the act of baptism itself does not provide an merit for salvation, it does provide a significance in that there is a statement of dedication to God that is made public and unashamedly before God and others.

The principle of dedication to God is one that is profoundly simple. We are called to offer up our lives as living sacrifices to God. The Old Testament sacrificial system gave ample witness to the sacrifice of animals. It was a total dedication of an animal as the sacrifice called for a complete dedication. Yet in our salvation, the sacrifice has already been made through the cross as Jesus provided the atonement for our sins by taking our place.

We need to be often reminded of the call to be dedicated to God. It should be witnessed through obedience in baptism. Some of you have not yet shown your obedience in this way. As a slave to Christ as your Lord and Master, it really is not so much about you as it is about submitting yourself to identifying with Him through baptism. It is a testimony that you would give witness to His grace and mercy and that your confession to Him as Lord is true and affirmed through the act of baptism.

In joining the communion of believers, you show your dedication by no longer aligning yourself with the world, but by dedicating your life to the cause of Christ by naming the name of Christ in unity with all who have committed themselves to His Lordship. The true church is made up of those who have submitted themselves to the head of the church and it is an issue of dedication. Living out our calling as the church is seen through our practical commitment to the local church and here we see how dedicated people are to Christ through their participation in the community of believers.

There are also times of reflection when we need to in a sense “re-dedicate” ourselves, renew our love and devotion to Christ, for we often let it wane in light of other pursuits. I think Edwards gives a very real practical application to follow here, that we take time to renew our dedication to God and be reminded of our high calling to no longer live for ourselves, but for the One who died and rose again on our behalf.

Will you take time after you read this to pray a prayer of dedication? Maybe for some of you baptism is an issue. We will have a baptism class soon and if you have not yet been baptized, don’t wait any longer. Get baptized! If you are not yet a member of a local church, become one! Show your dedication to Christ. Don’t be wishy-washy dabblers who are convenience oriented rather than commitment oriented.

Be resolved to be dedicated to Christ alone. It’s the only way.

In His grace,
Pastor John

Greetings from the Shepherd’s Conference

by Pastor John Kim

Greetings from the Shepherds Conference at Grace Community Church!!

The elders and a number of our lay leaders from the church are up here in Los Angeles attending the Shepherds Conference and it has again been such a tremendous blessing through the preaching of God’s Word. In fact, if you have time, you can watch the sessions through a live stream video – here is the link:

https://www.shepherdsfellowship.org/SC/LiveStream.aspx

Friday’s sessions will consist of Steve Lawson in the morning, Phil Johnson in the afternoon, and John MacArthur in the evening so you won’t want to miss some great preaching.

As there is not much time here to do the regular things that I do, this is just a short note to remind everyone that we have our regular Bible studies this Friday:

  • College at Solis 104 (7pm) with Alex Ko teaching
  • Single Adults at church (7pm) – MSG/Soup and Sandwich Fellowship
  • Youth Bible study at the church (7pm)

This Sunday is Daylights Savings so put your clocks forward one hour before you go to bed (you lose an hour) or else you will end up coming late to church =)

Please pray for us that we would learn much from the conference and that there would be much fruit that would result in the life of our own church.

In His grace,
Pastor John

Book Review: Love Your God With All Your Mind

Book by JP Moreland

Review by Stephen Rodgers

Love Your God With All Your Mind may just be JP Moreland’s most didactic book yet-and that’s saying something. In this text, weighing in at a scant 200 pages (but a tad denser than you might expect), Moreland is a man on a mission. He has seen his students trying on the anti-intellectual attitudes of secular society, and like a man trying on a shirt with a too-small collar, he doesn’t like the fit. CS Lewis once remarked that “[Christ] wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head,” and it is in support of this premise that Moreland throws himself into the fray.

Caveat emptor: this is not the irenic Moreland from Kingdom Triangle. Rather this is Moreland-with-a-bee-in-his-bonnet discoursing on a topic that has apparently struck a bit too close for comfort. I do NOT think that his argumentation suffers as a result (it certainly isn’t a viciously-circular polemic as some Amazon reviews would suggest), but the man is certainly not dispassionate or shy in his presentation.

The book is divided into four main sections: why the mind matters in Christianity (history, Biblical support, and the role of the intellect in sanctification), how to develop a mature Christian mind (descriptive and prescriptive techniques), what a mature Christian mind looks like (emphasis on evangelism, apologetics, worship, and worldview), and guaranteeing a future for the Christian mind (closing comments on ecclesiology and some appendices which are fantastically useful).

It would, quite frankly, be impossible to give you a decent overview in this space in The Beacon. Suffice to say, you should read this book, your friends should read this book, and you should have deep discussions over ethnic food regarding what you’ve read. It’s a dense book, so order dessert.

That is NOT to say that I agree wholeheartedly with everything that Moreland concludes (I find his views on senior pastorship disagreeable); and I would suggest that it would be the height of irony to blindly accept the premises of a text devoted to rationality and logic without engaging in critical reasoning of your own. To that end, I’d like to suggest some topics for discussion (framed in a classical pedagogical style, in honor of the text in question) that I found to be of interest from throughout the book. What does it mean to “love God with your mind” and has the church betrayed this position (Chapter 1)? What are the implications of total depravity in regards to reason (Chapter 2)? What is the “empty self” (Chapter 4)? Should all Christians be logicians as well (Chapter 5)? How can we best honor God by reading (Chapter 8)? According to Moreland, what is the role of the senior pastor (Chapter 10)?

On the bright side, concluding with Moreland’s ultimate premise, it’s an open-Bible test.

Book Review: In Christ Alone

Book by Sinclair Ferguson

Review by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

In Christ Alone is a collection of articles that were first written by Ferguson in both Ligonier’s Tabletalk monthly magazine and Jim Boice’s Eternity magazine, each one displaying a different aspect of the foundation of what it means to be a Christian: a follower of the crucified Lord, Jesus Christ. This book is one steeped in love for the Savior by giving pastoral and theological insight into the Person and work of Christ. The chief desire of the Christian must be to know Christ, who He is and what He’s done, to die to ourselves and to live for Him above all else.

The book is cut up into six sections that deal with: Christ’s incarnation (Word become flesh), the work of Christ in His different offices while on this earth (prophet, priest, king), the Spirit who testifies of His glory, the blessings of grace that is given to every believer, wisdom that is harmonious with the glorious Gospel in our own lives, and encouragement to live on in this world where unbelief seems to run rampant. Each chapter is roughly 4-5 pages each, and should be read slowly and carefully to take in the Christ-centered thoughts and kernels of truth brought out from the Scriptures. It could be a great meditation not just for the new believer who is on the path to be captivated by God with new eyes, but also for the believer who has possibly lost sight of God and His weighty glory. Reading the ways of the Old Testament rituals continues to draw me closer to God, in that faithful Jews were so motivated by their glimpse of this Almighty God that they had great faith in the promised Messiah who was to come and deliver them from the bondage of sin that laid in every one of them. They did not know the Messiah by name; we do and yet are still not stopping to gaze at His wonderful face. We need the Christ-centered Gospel to break us again. Ferguson’s exposition of John 1 could not sit still without singing afresh psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Col. 3), placing many songs that would be an instrument for you to worship the risen Christ, who lives today as the Great High Priest. The cross should bring us to that point where our eyes are exhausted upon a continual straining to see Him in all His beauty, compassion, and unrivaled love. As CJ Mahaney writes, “This book is a feast that will satisfy both mind and heart, sharpening your thinking and deepening your devotion to Christ Alone.”

This book was written to call us to look fresh at Christ, and to be enthralled with what you see. It was not meant to be a work that involved your own opinions or musings, but a recognition that God was not silent and did reveal Himself through the ministry of the Word, by the illumination of the Spirit, to testify about Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, that we may truly be, as the subtitle says, living the Gospel centered life.

Eugene and Sallie Yang

by Jennifer Shin

If there are two people at our church who always wear genuine, heartfelt smiles on their faces, they are Eugene and Sallie Yang. Though they usually serve behind the scenes, those who know the couple know that they serve faithfully at church and joyfully invest in people’s lives. Sallie and Eugene have been married for over five years now, thanks to God’s sovereign plan for them and a little assistance from Sallie’s youngest brother, David, who attempted to set up a group ski trip for the two to meet. The plan didn’t go accordingly because Eugene wasn’t able to make the trip, but Sallie did get to meet him that weekend at church. The following summer, Sallie came to San Diego for an internship at Sav-On and the two got to know each other better and started dating before she left for school. Eugene and Sallie invested in this long-distance relationship and were married on September 7, 2002. Eugene stated, “When I reflect back on our initial meetings, I’m always grateful for David making the effort to introduce us. To have a guy to want to set me up with his sister – well – that was an experience I’ll always be thankful for. A few LBC folks were involved as well in the early days, like Jin and John Yi. Thanks!”

Through their marriage, they see how God has blessed them. Sallie mentioned that in being able to grow, be challenged, and learn – she now has someone to share these things with. “Eugene is such a great support, and he leads by example,” she stated, “We have a lot of fun together.” Eugene agreed, stating that it’s a tremendous blessing to have a lifelong partner by your side. “Sallie has been so supportive and encouraging,” he said, “Even when external circumstances are tough, it has been a source of great comfort knowing that I can return home to my loving wife.” Though there is a countless number of blessings that come with marriages, they admit that there are challenges that come with it as well, ranging from balancing work and playing out the role of being a wife to taking blessings in marriage for granted to fighting against focusing on themselves to reflecting on and investing in making sure their marriage is on the right track of honoring God.

It is an exciting time for this married couple as they are expecting their first child later this year. Sallie said, “I’m so very thankful and happy for this amazing opportunity to be parents. It still hasn’t fully hit me that I’m pregnant. But, I do love it. It’s exciting but also kind of scary as everything will be new for us. I know that my trust and dependence on God will greatly increase.” Eugene replied, “I’m excited too, but the reality of it hasn’t really set in yet. I still can’t quite comprehend what life is going to be like! I’m grateful though, for the example and support of the many other parents at LBC.” Let’s keep the Yangs in our prayers as they move on into the next stage in life and welcome the new addition to their family!

Fun Facts:

    Sallie on Eugene: “Eugene loves golf. So, with any opportunity he gets, he’ll start practicing his golf swings with his imaginary golf club. He’ll take a few swings, and then look for a reflection somewhere so that he can see his swings. I’m thinking this is common among golfers.”

    Eugene on Sallie: “In our bedroom, we have a ‘clapper’ hooked up to our lamp. You know, ‘Clap-On, Clap-Off…the Clapper!’ Well, the routine had been that right before it’s time to go to sleep, I would gaze at my lovely wife, and then clap twice to turn off the light. One day Sallie decided it would be fun to make faces at me while I was trying to turn off the light. So now, every night before the light goes out, I get to see a different funny face before it goes dark.”

Pastor John Kim

by Moon Choi

Pastor John Kim. Everyone at Lighthouse knows him. He’s the guy who preaches every Sunday. Twice. Though he is often seen yelling from the pulpit, he is actually soft spoken away from the pulpit. I remember being very surprised by it when I had a casual conversation with him and his wife, Angela, my freshman year.

You can pretty much figure out Pastor John’s upbringing and life story just from his sermons. But here’s a quick rundown: Pastor John grew up at Grace Community Church. After graduating from UCLA in 1988, he attended the Master’s Seminary. Then, in 1989, he and Angela were married. He served at Grace Community Church as a pastoral intern in the youth ministries and then as youth pastor at Valley Korean Community Church. After helping to establish a number of ministries there, he, Angela, and their daughter, Jenna, moved out to Baltimore, Maryland in 1993. After four years of ministry there, the last being especially difficult, they moved back to San Diego with another member of the family, Kara. Here, he and Angela, and two other families started a Bible study, eventually leading to this church plant known as Lighthouse Bible Church. In San Diego, Pastor John and Angela had two more daughters, Alyssa and Olivia.

Though we primarily know Pastor John as the head pastor, he also has other ministry responsibilities: leadership training, shepherding the church (including the elders and deacons/deaconesses), being the Grace Life and Single Life shepherd, and international outreach. When asked what he enjoyed about serving, Pastor John replied, “The greatest joy comes when I see people growing in Christ. I would agree with the apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20: For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the present of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”

However, ministry does present a lot of difficulties. Pastor John points out his own insecurities, particularly in dealing with people. Though he says that it is a “tremendous struggle to not bow to the fear of man.” Overtime, he has learned that in the midst of ministry, he can only trust Christ and were he not laboring for His glory, “then it would indeed be a burden that would never become joy.” However,
Pastor John praises God that He has sustained him, especially during the past several months. He exclaims, “God’s grace is not only sufficient, it is super-abounding!”

There were two ministries that Pastor John wanted to highlight: Sunday services and Lighthouse’s international missions to the Czech Republic and Argentina. He is so greatly encouraged and amazed by the hunger for the Word that people at Lighthouse have. He recalls, “I still remember the time that for some reason, we had to shorten the sermon due to other elements within the service. Afterward, there were a number of people who made the comment that they got short-changed.” Pastor John is also awe-struck with how “God has given us the privilege and honor, not only to go out and take the work of the gospel to other countries, but that He would bless us with situations that have grown into partnerships with churches that we have truly come to love. Meinolf and Martina Mellwig in Ostrava and Jorge and Norma Ahualli in Tucuman have become dear friends to our church family as God has given us a kindred spirit and heart to serve Him.” He noted how the summer missions trips give a unique and wonderful chance for members to not only grow closer and to work together but also to “come alongside with our brothers and sisters… to do the work of the Great Commission.”

When asked what his opinion on the state of the church was, Pastor John reiterated what he had said during his State of the Church address: “Our church has grown…a church that really has been blessed by God to grow both in depth and in breadth. There is much to be thankful for… But we also see the signs of complacency, complaining, and at times, even falling away of members… we all need to be reminded to go back to the basics of really loving Christ with all our heart as our first love, to humbly and selflessly seek first the kingdom of God, and to really be dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit to sustain us as we face the challenges ahead.” Pastor John also mentioned his excitement for the prospect of moving into new facilities. Lord willing, there is a certain anticipation of increased numbers, but Pastor John said, “As I learned from my pastor growing up, John MacArthur, he always shared how he would just focus on building the depth through the preaching ministry of the Word, and that he would trust God to grow the breadth.”

Though there are many difficulties and responsibilities in ministry, Pastor John is still so greatly encouraged by “the generous hearts of those who are here at Lighthouse.” No matter what affinity group, he notes how “there are many who have been so sacrificial.” He also mentioned how overwhelmed he was with thanks to God while reading through the messages in the scrapbook that he and Angela received. He is also encouraged by seeing members emulating the love of Christ with one another, “especially with those that are new or those who are kind of on the fringe.”

And the one challenge that Pastor John has for Lighthouse? “Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus and run the race with endurance, enthusiasm, and unity so that we might bring maximum glory to God in fulfilling the Mission, the Vision, and the Passion!”

Argentina/Czech 2008

by Grace Wu

In four months, Lighthouse will be sending a team of members to Tucumán, Argentina and another team of members to Ostrava, Czech Republic. With the missions applications out, we wait eagerly to see who God will call to fulfill the Great Commission in South America and Eastern Europe.

The trips, which are scheduled for July 10-24 for Argentina and July 30-August 14 for the Czech Republic, will have similar objectives as previous years. In Ostrava, LBC plans on partnering with the Mellwig’s church ministry. They will be holding an English camp and community outreach as an avenue to evangelize to the Czechs, many of whom have grown up in an atheist and Communist environment.

In Tucumán, LBC will be partnering with Iglesia Biblica Misionera, pastored by Jorge Ahualli, in door-to-door evangelism and neighborhood activities to evangelize to a predominantly and nominally Catholic population. Though the format this year will be somewhat similar to those of the previous years, there is a change in leadership. Eugene Park, who used to be just the team leader’s supporter, will now be taking on the position as Argentina team leader for the first time.

“My worry is being an adequate team leader. Every year… decisions have to be made on the fly. I hope that I would make wise decisions that would honor God. In a sense it’s been easy these past couple of years because I just focused on being a support to the team leader. My goal was to support them…because I know it’s stressful being the leader,” Eugene said.

As stressful as these trips can be, members from the teams from past years have been blessed by the experience. Teddy Yu, who went to the Czech Republic in 2007, is reapplying for the Czech trip again this year for a number of reasons, one being the natural longing to fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ in Ostrava.

However, beyond the sentimental reasons many people wish to reapply for Argentina or Czech trips, there is also a greater calling. “I want to be involved in missions overseas… while it is not a sin issue whether or not people do overseas missions, there is the Great Commission, and with regard to how I will obey it as a sender versus goer, I know God has blessed me with a heart to evangelize and also minister and encourage the church in Ostrava,” Teddy said.

As Lighthouse prepares to send the two missions teams out, remember to be mindful of the importance of prayer for these trips and the financial needs of financing these trips.

For the Love of the Game

by David Ahn

Over the past 3 months, the sports world witnessed two of its marquee stars signed to record-breaking, long-term contracts. In baseball, the Yankees signed Alex Rodriguez to a 10 year, $275 million dollar contract in December. Just a couple months later, the hockey world watched the Washington Capitals sign Alexander Ovechkin to a 13 year, $124 million dollar contract extension. While it might be easy to get caught up with the mind-blowing salaries, allow me to draw your attention to the lengths of the contracts as well. 10 and 13 year contracts! To gain some perspective, Lighthouse Bible Church has not even been around for 10 years. 13 years ago, I was in the middle of my fifth grade; 13 years from now, I will be in my upper thirties, hopefully practicing as a full-fledged doctor and supporting a family (Lord-willing). It is amazing to think that these sports franchises consider it a worthy financial investment to commit to one player at such a high price, and for such a long amount of time.

Obviously, these lengthy contracts aren’t given to every athlete that walks into the clubhouse. They are reserved for the most consistent players who have shown a dedication to the sport that will not fade after the check clears. If these athletes were doing it solely for the money or for the celebrity or for a comfortable life, they wouldn’t spend hours on end in the off-season training, or in the film rooms studying their game, or on the field/ice honing their skills. Why can certain athletes be trusted to put their all into every game and every practice, even after the security provided by a long-term contract? It’s because, for some of them, the money is not their primary motivation. Instead, their desire is to be able play their sport at the highest level, in hopes of achieving as many accolades and trophies as possible. They are being paid to do what they enjoy, what they truly love. It’s because of their love of the game. Now, you might be asking, why is this article in the LBC newsletter and not on ESPN? It is because, for those of us that are genuine Christians, WE have been given a contract of infinite value that is guaranteed for the length of eternity, by God’s grace and through Jesus’ death on a cross. After the point that we have dedicated our lives to Christ and genuinely believed the truth of the gospel, we now have Christ’s righteousness standing in the place of our sinfulness. The question is, how do we respond to this?

Unlike A-Rod or Ovechkin, we might find ourselves dragging our feet, hesitant to put forth any effort or sacrifice that might be required to grow in the process of sanctification. Some of us might struggle with the most basic of disciplines, looking to expend the minimal amount of energy to just limp into heaven, content with the security of our salvation. Maybe some of us ran hard initially, but over time have grown complacent with just maintaining our spiritual knowledge and level of commitment.

But this is not the biblical picture of a Christian. Rather, we are called to “work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), to “lay aside every weight and sin,” and to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). How and why are we to do these things? The writer of Hebrews continues in verse 2: “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.”

For those of us that might find ourselves struggling to run hard, we must remember what we are running for! We must fix our eyes on Christ. We must remember the cross and the immeasurable grace that we, deserving of absolutely nothing, have received. Left to our own will, we would be continuing further and further on the path to destruction, but God loved us so much to sacrifice His own Son to pay the penalty for our sin. This sacrifice on our behalf should cause us to love Christ and treasure Him all the more. Comparing sports and the Christian walk is not something new. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

Sports stars might strive for the perishable wreath of the Pennant or the Stanley Cup; we strive for the imperishable “prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:14) They aspire to be in the record books and the Hall of Fame; we aspire to be in the Book of Life and the Halls of Heaven. They do it for the love of the game; we do it for the love of Christ. We can not and must not allow ourselves to lose sight of this.