FAITH RACE< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Hebrews 12:1-24

The journey of life is a race of life. A race is often run under a cloud of witnesses and a great cloud of witnesses surrounds the one who is running for life. The race is not run-able by strength or by determination, but only by the grace of God. Hebrews 12:1, ÒTherefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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.Ó The race is already set and as a result, we have no choice but to run and to run requires endurance that cannot be generated by anything or anyone but by the grace of God. The race will not identify the first, second or third but it will identify those who run it from the beginning to the finish line. In the running of this race, every baggage weight should be laid aside because too much weight will slow any runner down. Slowing down will bring forth the temptation of abandoning the race. Abandoning the race will lead to eternal damnation which is eternal abandonment from Heaven. What kinds of weight are you carrying in your race? Unforgiveness, lying, deception, manipulation, keeping malice, fornication, adultery, stealing and all kinds of evil devices that frequents the baggage of believers are weights that will no doubt lead to termination in the race to the expected end. We do have a need for endurance to run the race knowing fully well that the race is not of determination. It is not of carrying any kind of baggage along that will build up the understanding in us for the need not to finish the race right. Running the race with endurance can only be set up by looking up unto Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who came to supply us the fuel that is the Blood, for effective running. The Blood of Jesus (fuel) never runs out neither would it ever be short supply and not be enough for all who are in the race. ÒLooking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) In the race of life, it is not affordable to look or attempt to look outside of the One who has been at the beginning of the race and will be waiting for us at the end of the race. It is only the one who you look up to that you can take all concerns and cares up to. When there is a failure to look up to Him, you will end up taking it up wrongly and it will turn around and become labor or a heavy laden upon you. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, petitions us Himself to, ÒCome to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Ó (Matthew 11:28) Be encouraged and donÕt be discouraged in this race of life. Hold on to Him by keeping your eyes on Him and He will see you through. It is only with Jesus that this race can be run while still being at rest and peace.

MAKE THE MOVE< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Genesis 6:8-22

By faith, go ahead and make your move. He has called you and you have answered, correct? If you have called on Him and laid it on Him, then you have no reason to doubt neither should there be a reason for you to exercise fear. Fear is not of God, but of the devil. Fear will sink you, but not raise you. Fear is the opposite of faith and faith is all that you need to move forward in all that you have called on God for. If God sends you, He will back you up. If God calls you to it, He will equip you through it. By faith, go ahead and make your move knowing fully well based on the understanding that you know because you know that God is more than able to see you through. If you believe that He called you and you have called on Him by laying all in His hand, ignore all the confronting situations which are surrounding the situation that is in the direction of your move. ÒBy faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.Ó (Hebrews 11:7) The catalyst in the move of direction toward God is faith and not fear. Noah could have ignored the warning and missed the vehicle of salvation. Noah had every justifiable reason not to move. There were tangible excuses for Noah to refuse and not move as commanded by God. In a region where it hardly rains in a year, how then could it flood so much that there would be a need for such a huge boat? Noah, being one who lived in that region and knew the weather pattern there, could have responded and built a smaller ark as compared to the one God called for. Noah knew the land very well and there will be no reason to move in the direction of what the Lord God called for. All obedience that is half obedience is a full failure to obey and it does not count before God. The Bible records, ÒThus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.Ó (Genesis 6:22) Are you still considering making that move? It is no longer just of consideration, but it is of calling on Him, counting on Him, and committing it all on Him. Then and only then shall you be set to go and He will back you up if He has called you. Please God with your move because it is a demonstration of faith in Him. Hebrew 11:6, ÒBut without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.Ó Please God not just today but consistently and He will release all that it takes for you to get to the expected end in your life.

SEEK AND SET< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Colossians 3:1-17

Thank God by His grace for you have given your life to Christ as confessed by your mouth. As a believer who has accepted the grace of salvation and have died and risen in Christ, which position are you or have you taken? The apostle Paul pointed out in Colossians 3:1-2, ÒIf then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.Ó  As a believer, what you seek and set your mind on is what will make you up in the journey of life. In all your seeking, ÒSeek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.Ó  (Matthew 6:33) The word of God is true and never fails. When you seek the kingdom of heaven first, not second nor jointly with any other agenda, the result will be true to GodÕs word. When we seek Him, it should be with all diligence with all that He has given us. God did not ask for less or more and He will not accept less in our seeking Him. Further, God did not ask for what we cannot offer. He made us and knows us so He knows what we are capable of giving Him. Deuteronomy 4:29, ÒÉseek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.Ó Have you in deed and in truth given your life to Him? Seek Him with all your diligence and He will bring to pass all that He promised. What about setting your mind? Remember, it is about setting and seeking and neither can be separated from one  another. It is not possible to seek and not set; neither is it possible to set and not seek Him. A mind that is set on God will always wait and look up to Him for all answers from above. A mind that is set on Him will not be a stranger to peace. It is the setting of minds on things from above that will upset everything in the world of wickedness from having its way in the life of any believer who chooses to seek and set it all on Him. What a believer seeks or sets is where the mind is. If your mind is on the kingdom of God, you will live heaven on earth and if it is on the kingdom of this world, you will have no choice but to reap from where you seek and set. Isaiah 26:3, ÒYou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.Ó The position of a believer is in seeking and setting of the mind in the things that are above. As a believer in the word of God, there is only one place we should constantly dwell and that is in seeking and setting our all on the Lord. Seek and set it all on Him.

DWELLING PLACE< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

1 John 3:13-24

When the knowledge of God is not there in you, you are out there in the world at your own risk.  The word of God is the will for God. Do you desire for the word of God to have its way in your life? If you desire for the word of God to have its place in your life God will deposit it in you if you will pray for it. The apostle Paul prayed for the Colossians in the book of Colossians 1:9-11, ÒFor this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.Ó This is the kind of prayer you want to pray for yourself if there is the desire of getting to an expected end. The word of God is the will of God and to know God is to be in Him and Him in you. Also, the will of God is the commandments of God. Having been in the church for long or having the ability to memorize and be conversant in quoting the word is not a determinant of knowing Him. 1 John 2:3, ÒNow by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.Ó Keeping the commandments of God is a determinant of knowing Him; not by just talking about the commandments. Many talk about the commandments of God but only a few are demonstrating the life of one who keeps the commandments. 1 John 2:4-6, ÒHe who says, ÒI know Him,Ó and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.Ó  The word of God is true. God does not lie and He will not look away from the manifestation of His word. Keeping the word of God will cause you to walk in the Lord because you will be abiding in Him. Where do you desire to abide in this world of wickedness and challenges? Will you take to the word of God to believe and dwell in it? ÒNow he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in Him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.Ó (1 John 3:24)

NOT JUST SUNDAYS< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Judges 2:6-23

It is impossible to know God and not know and live in obedience to His word. A claim of knowing God does not necessarily mean knowing God. Knowing God that is having a personal relationship with God goes beyond the knowledge gain through a preacher. Preaching to people is not an indication of reaching the people. A believer can be preached to and not be reached. To know God personally involves after having been preached to, one has to be spending time seeking Him on a personal ground. Not knowing God and not knowing Him enough is equal to not knowing Him. Opening your Bible one or two times during the Sunday service and not getting back to it until the following week is not the way to seek and know Him. God is not far from us if we will reach out to Him through His Word. Knowing the word of God is to actually know God Himself. Imagine having someone help pick up your child at school without any written word from you. We all know that the child would not be let go. However, with a presentation of your written word, your child will no doubt be released because the school has received your word. God has given Himself to us through His written word that is alive in the pages of the Bible. Your written word is you so likewise; the written Word of God is God. Look at what happened to the children of Israel after Joshua had died: ÒNow Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. 9 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. 10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.Ó (Judges 2:8-10) How can we know the Lord if we do not spend time in His word that has been written? The Bible mentions that the later generation of children of Israel did not know God or the work of His hand. They failed to seek and know the word that would have given them life so life began to offer them what does not glorify God. As a result, ÒÉthe children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals.Ó (Judges 2:11) They did not just serve the Baals; they were lost in evil deeds because they had neglected the word of God. You cannot seek God in His word and not have encounter with Him. Also, it is the amount of time that you give in the word of God that will determine how much you desire God to carry you in your daily walks. For the feeding of your soul, it will never be enough to just get fed from going to church on Sundays and not showing up until the next Sunday. Whatever it is that is taking you away from spending time on the word of God, ask God to deliver you from it for His glory and He will do it. He is a faithful God if you will be faithful with what you want from Him. When you know Him, you will obey Him.