I was talking to my son, Dan, last week and he was telling me that he was training again for another marathon. For those of us who only consider “marathon” as a place to get gas for your car, I would like to remind you that a marathon is a race where the competitors run for twenty-six miles! Ugh!

Can you imagine that? People actually train to run; it’s as though they like doing it or something. I don’t even run to the mailbox. The only time I think running would be desirable would be if I was running from danger, or to be first in the buffet line. Running, run, runs, ran; all of these words are associated with bad and uncomfortable things, so how could running a race be good? Ladies’ mascara runs, their stockings run, and getting the runs is no fun. Look at the folks who run for office. Oh, enough of all this silly talk about running –it’s starting to make me tired.

These marathon runners do have a purpose though. They not only compete against one another, but also against the race itself. The marathon is one of the most grueling, if not the toughest race known to man. The runner must have some sort of heart for the sport. There has to be some kind of desire to compete in this way. How else do you explain the extreme taxing of their physical endurance?

Why would anyone put himself or herself through the battle of their whole being like that, if they didn’t get something in return? Running a marathon doesn’t just put stress on the body, but the mind as well. There comes a point in the race where runners “hit the wall” and they want to just quit.

But each runner knows (and believe me, I don’t) that if they press on, if they stick it out, if they run through that invisible field of emotional attack –they’ll run through the “wall.” Once they are on the other side their energy levels increase and their determination is enhanced. They feel they could go all the way and sometimes their speed even increases. The finish line is in their sights and their reward awaits them. There are all kinds of “marathons” in life and I’m not just talking about foot races.

For instance, each born-again Christian is running a marathon Home. They began their race when they surrendered their lives to Christ and it won’t be finished until they kneel before Him and He puts the Crown of Life upon their heads. The race doesn’t go to the swift, but to him who endures until the end.
This marathon lasts longer than twenty-six miles but one thing is for sure –you don’t have to run it alone! In fact, it is not by might, nor by power that the Christian finishes this race, but by the Spirit of God. Which is a good thing, because God has a greater desire for us to finish the race than we do. This means that when you “hit the wall” you do not have to rely on yourself, but on Him who upholds you all the way.

Drawing near to God in hard times only enhances His Presence after you go through them. He renews your strength, you will run and not grow weary, you will walk and not faint! You will feel like “running your last mile Home.” May I remind all of us what the Apostle Paul told the Galatians. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Have a great week!
Pastor Jim

I know God. I know God to be the only wise, omnipotent, sovereign Ruler; who is King of kings and Lord of lords and who dwells in a light unapproachable. I know Him to be Savior and Shepherd, the lover of my soul.

He is the sun and shield of my life and the lily of my valleys. He is the song of my heart and the praise upon my lips. I know him as Teacher and Instructor, to counsel me in the way that I should go. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Namesake.

I know God to be the designer and Artist of this beautiful earth that I dwell on. He is the Creator of all things; things visible and invisible, whether they be things in heaven or on the earth, I know He created it all.

As St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury once said, “He is that, than-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived.” Abraham reminds me that God is my Shield, my exceedingly great Reward. God told Moses that He was an all consuming Fire. Isaiah saw Him as the High and Lofty One and David knew Him as the Ancient of Days, without beginning and without end.

But, just as Zophar questioned Job, “Canst thou by searching find out God?” I too, cannot know Him by my mind alone. In A.W. Tozer’s celebrated work, The Knowledge of the Holy, he quotes Nicholas of Cusa to show man’s insurmountable problem. “The intellect knoweth that it is ignorant of Thee, because it knoweth Thou canst not be known, unless the unknowable could be known, and the invisible beheld, and the inaccessible attained. If anyone should set forth any concept by which Thou canst be conceived, I know that that concept is not a concept of Thee, for every concept is ended at the wall of Paradise.”

This is one of the reasons why science and philosophy are so antagonistic of God; He refuses to be accountable to their inquiries. As Tozer says, “Philosophy and science have not always been friendly toward the idea of God, the reason being that they are dedicated to the task of accounting for things and are impatient with anything that refuses to give an account of itself.

The philosopher and the scientist will admit that there is much that they do not know; but that is quite another thing from admitting that there is something which they can never know, which indeed they have no technique for discovering.” Jesus has told us that no one knows the Father, except the Son and to whomever the Son chooses to reveal Him to.

When I gave my life to Jesus, when I became born-again twenty-four years ago, I learned on that day that God was my Father. It was only through Jesus Christ and His Spirit in my heart that allows my mind to know God. The declaration spoken to Jesus, “You are my Son, today I have become your Father.” is the declaration that each one of us can receive for ourselves.

The day that you surrendered to God was the day that He became your Father. This was the day that God was now able to reveal to your heart, the love that He has possessed for you. And this is when your heart was able to convince your mind that all that He has revealed to you about Himself was true.

You and I know all those things that I have written above, about God, because Jesus had revealed to us that God is our Father. Yes, He has given us the Spirit of Sonship and by that Spirit we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Listen, because of my Father, I can do all things, I am more than a conqueror, and nothing will separate me from the love that He has for me. I know that no good thing will be held from me and that He will work in all things, for my good. I know Him as the Father of heavenly lights, in whom there is no shadow of turning.

Because I have seen Jesus –I have seen the Father. Our Father who art in Heaven!

Have a great week!
Pastor Jim

It wasn’t very long into my Christian walk when I heard a sermon from the Scripture found in the Song of Solomon; “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.” Song of Songs 2:15

The message was directed toward those little things that were in our lives that hindered the Spirit’s work and made the grace of God of no effect in our lives. These “flies in the ointment” hinder the sweet fragrance of our lives that ascend up to our Lord and God. They are those things that we desire to get out of our lives because they stop us from realizing God in our lives.

I can’t list anything specific because God deals with each of us on an individual basis –one’s man faith only lets him eat vegetables and another man’s faith allows him to eat anything. But, be assured of this one thing; these little foxes are there and they keep coming no matter how long you’ve been a Christian, or how spiritual you may be.

Jesus told us that it is God’s will that we bear fruit in our lives, much fruit! But this is one of the most neglected priorities within Christianity. We look at the monies we give to charities, the ministries that we are involved in, the songs we sing for Jesus and the sacrifices we give for the Church. But if we do all these things and have not love…

Let me see if I can point out one of those little foxes. I know one - impatience. Yes the impatience in my life is a little fox that hinders the Spirit and at times causes problems in my witness for Christ. In other words, if someone notices my impatience and knows that I am also a Christian, they may come to the conclusion that I’m a hypocrite or at least, not a very good Christian. So, it behooves us to capture all these little foxes and make sure that they don’t ruin what we have worked for.

This takes me to the commitment of completing all those small chores in our lives that will aid us in capturing those little critters. For the sake of brevity, let me make this little illustration: During the autumn months I have a lot of little chores that I have to do around the home in order to be prepared for the harshness of winter.

Some of these little jobs mean nothing more than covering something with a piece of plastic. It may seem insignificant in and of itself, but in regards to the whole, this little chore can mean warmth, comfortability and even our safety. One thing about small chores; I like to put them off! One time I put off closing off the crawl space vent and my water pipes froze! Ugh.

Again, how can I be specific in naming these small chores –we’re all different. But categorically, these chores are those things that we have considered mundane, drab and even dull. Maybe, you don’t think it is important to meet with Christ first thing in the morning, but that is a little chore that we can’t go without. (Please don’t think, I think, that my prayer time is a chore –I don’t. )

The point that I am trying to make here is this: Not only do we have to capture the little foxes that hinder us but we have to do the small things that aid us. What is it that God requires of us Church? “He has showed you, O, man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah6:8 To do this we not only have to disentangle ourselves from worldly passions but we must also make a conscious attempt to keep in step with the Spirit, no matter how small that step is.

Have a great week!
Pastor Jim

I was only seventeen years old; that was my excuse. I was with my girlfriend and another couple leaving Canton heading home. I had to be home by eleven o’clock or I was going to be in trouble. I convinced my girlfriend that I should drive her car because I knew how to get home fast. We were to travel north on interstate 77 and bear west on Rt. 224. I missed the turn and we ended up somewhere near Cleveland! We were lost momentarily and when we finally reached home it was somewhere around 1:00 am. Ugh!

Needless to say, I got into trouble and was grounded for the next couple of weekends. I didn’t like being lost. I didn’t like the feeling of not being sure where I was, or where I was going. Road signs meant almost nothing, exits for cities and other routes were “shots in the dark.” I was constantly thinking that maybe this should work, or maybe I should try that. One thing was for sure, I needed to let the people in the car believe that I knew where I was and where I was going. But after an hour of questions like, “Shouldn’t we be there by now?” I finally had to admit that I was lost and I needed some help getting back to Norton, Ohio.

I think, sometimes, that this is what happens to Christians along their journey Home. They take a wrong turn somewhere and it is only later, sometimes much later, before they either realize it, or want to admit it. Oh, they can put up a good front and even look as though they’re not lost, but inside they feel dead. They haven’t felt the Presence of God in weeks, months, possibly years. They may still smile and shake hands at Church, they can still quote a Bible verse or two, but deep inside they know –something is not right. Somewhere, at sometime, they somehow, took a wrong turn. They feel alone in a crowd; they are sad but not sure why; the joy they used to experience is hampered with the proverbial “looking over their shoulder” for the trouble that soon follows it.

So, what’s a Christian to do? What is the course of action one should take when he or she finally realizes, or admits, that they have taken a wrong turn? Well one thing is for sure –don’t keep heading in the direction that you’ve been going! Don’t think that you can find the solution all by yourself.

Oh, sure there have been times that I was lost and I just happened to come upon a road sign that was familiar and I was able to “save face” and the passengers in my car were none the wiser! AHH. But that was taking a wrong turn on asphalt. We’re talking about our souls here; we’re talking about our eternal Home! Abraham, took a wrong turn one time and he landed in Egypt. But when he finally got it together, he went back to the land that God had taken him to before. He went back to the place where he first called upon the Lord.

When someone finds himself or herself in that place, where they thought they never would be, that place of dryness, wilderness, and wandering around looking for that “thing” that will bring the Presence of God into their lives, they need to go back to where they first called upon the Lord. Jesus told the Church of Ephesus that they needed to remember the height from which they had fallen and start doing again the things that they did at first. Sometimes the only solution is to go back to the beginning and start all over.

Find out where you took the wrong turn and head in the opposite direction. I would rather admit that I was wrong and save my soul, than try to save face. God leads us in paths of righteousness for His namesake. He is more than willing to bring us back onto the right road and get us heading back in the right direction. Remember Solomon said that we shouldn’t try to lean on our own understanding, but acknowledge God in all our ways, then, He would direct our paths. There is a path to this journey and there is joy when one is on this journey.

Have a great week!
Pastor Jim