A Devotional Look at the Book #530

A Devotional Look at the Book #530

by Jesse Abel

A Devotional Look at the Book #530

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

Someone has said that the length of any golf course is only six inches and located between the ears of every golfer. Yet golfers have a very large playing field containing roughs, fairways, traps, hazards and out of bounds. Golfers also have a set of rules that govern play, etiquette and dress. Yes this is a physical game that demands skill in playing. Most golfers cannot score a seventy two which is par for most courses and it is said that of all who play the game only ten percent can score between ninety and one hundred and of that ten percent, only ten percent of these can score below ninety. And of those ten percent only ten percent can score below eighty and so on. I do not know if you have given it much thought, or even if you think it worthy of thought. However; the Christian way of Life in Christ is much like the make up of a golfer’s outing. The fairway is the proper place for both the golfer and the Spirit filled believer. The rough, traps, hazards can incur penalty, both on the golfer and the saint. Then if that discipline fails to keep the participants in the fairway; there is the out of bounds that place where both the golfer and the believer lost rewards of precious things. Also; just as the golfer keeps coming back to the course for another round; so too does the believing saint, refresh him or her self for another Spirit filled encounter with life in Christ. The golfer, cleans the clubs, buys more golf balls, and refreshes their skills by practice. The saint, cleans up his or her soul, studies his or her Bible and refreshes his or her walk with the LORD. Yet one of these events is JUST A GAME; while the other is a VITAL RELATIONSHIP with his or her LORD. The apostle Paul says it this way. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Various Scripture

In August of 2008 China hosted the Olympic Games and like all of the other countries in years past these games included the 26 mile foot race that is traditionally the final event of every summer Olympics. With no exception; if you had the opportunity to see the finish line as people crossed it; like all who did, you saw many arms raised in happy exultation. Also, you saw some full of pain and with anxious hearts, but even so these folks had completed the race thus each who did understood this as victory in a personal moment in time.

Most of us never have the opportunity to run one mile; let alone twenty six of them, but we all are on a race. It is the race of time and each of us are allotted a section of time to complete the race. One of the problems (if there is ONE) is that many of us have lost sight of the start line and the finish line which is like the parable found in Matthew 20:1-16. The reward is the same for all which is a good thing since it is ETERNAL and will not perish.

Most people today are living for the moment and the moment has NOTHING to show for it. This emptiness causes mental and physical failure. Verse 16 of this Matthew 20 passage sums this thought up; the first and the last have an eternal reward that is far greater than any perishable labor of religious works.