Unto us a Child is Born

In my School of Biblical Studies, we finished with the book of Matthew. Prior to that, we had spent 6 months going through the Old Testament. The book of Matthew is FILLED with Old Testament scriptures and prophecies that are fulfilled through the coming of Jesus. Many times studying the Old Testament I had moments where I thought, "Man, I miss Jesus!"...then we'd study passages in places like Isaiah and he seemed to jump out of the pages. All of the OT is in anticipation of Jesus.

The Christmas story is something that we can dull our hearts to. I know I have. This year it took on a new reality. When I was finishing my school, we read the book of Matthew outloud and i got to chapter four when it says Jesus went out preaching "Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand." I used to listen to that phrase as a harsh statement kind of like that "turn and burn" type preaching. But as I read this outloud this time, tears welled up in my eyes. The kingdom of God was made available because Jesus came as human being. Until then, it was a shadow, it was a distant reality and something that men fell into sin because of their impatience to wait for it and hope for it.

The kingdom of God, the place of acceptance and love and hope and peace, it's available only because the supreme ruler, creator and magnificent and all powerful God of the universe became a child. He suffered human maladies, limited himself to the human body and experience, and suffered death and rejection by the very people he came to save.

Christmas...what a beautiful event. Our God, became one of us, so that we could be with him. Such a simple truth, and yet such a profound one. I hope each one of you takes a moment to meditate on the meaning of this holiday and the implications for your own life. Allow truth be be profound in your own life and stir your heart.

Running the Race with Endurance

Well, it's been awhile hasn't it?

Sadly, the prophets never made it to my blog. This season of life studying the Bible went by faster than I anticipated. I savored every minute, but many of those minutes didn't make it to blog-land.

Much of that is because these last few months, my extra time was spent training for the Taipei half-marathon which I just ran on Sunday, Dec. 19, two days after I finished SBS and the day before I flew back to the US for Christmas.

I only started running in January of this year. My exercise routine in Afghanistan consisted of pacing my courtyard, jumping rope, and workout videos. When I hopped on the treadmill at the gym in January I could barely run 5 minutes at a time without needing to stop. On Sunday I ran 13.1 miles in 2:38:12--not a super fantastic time, but my Personal Record considering it was my first half-marathon.

But, this time training for my marathon has really got me thinking about some things and I feel it parallels the life lessons I've been learning throughout SBS. Hebrews says it this way:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-2 emphasis mine)

If I had just shown up at the race without training, I never would have crossed that finish line. If I had not started out slow, I would not have had the endurance to push through the 13.1 miles. I've been thinking about this concept of endurance. I believe I hadn't taken endurance into account in my Christian life, in missions and just in my personal well-being. I beat my body and my soul into the ground very quickly over the last few years. And I've been having to make choices and alter my lifestyle to live in a way that runs with endurance. I think too often we can tackle things as if they were a sprint--"I'm gonna get up at 5 am EVERY MORNING and pray for 2 hours." "I'm gonna lead this outreach team without taking a break because if I don't people are dying and going to hell" "I'm going to say yes to this ministry or this commitment because no one else is doing it and I want to serve others. It doesn't matter I'm already struggling to keep up with what I'm doing."

One thing that really struck me is that in training and building to endurance in running, the rest days are just as important as the days of 10 mile long runs. Without the rest days, the muscles don't get a chance to recover and remain weak and could even lead to injury. I believe this is the way God wants us to live our lives. This is why he was adamant about Sabbaths for the people, for the animals, and even the land in the OT. God designed us to rest, so that we could run further and faster.



The half-marathon was an epic way to finish SBS. For the past four years that I was unable to really run, it was freedom to me, both body and soul. For the physical discipline I was able to commit to during hours of study during SBS it was a life saver. And for the ways that God spoke to me, it was a priceless experience. Plus, I accomplished something that less than a year ago seemed like an impossibility.....and I'm even contemplating a FULL marathon this next year.

So, keep running....but with endurance. Take your rest days, slowly build up the miles, don't expect something out of yourself that you just can't deliver on, but don't give up...you may be able to do it in the future. And in our spiritual journeys, God wants people who will endure, who are committed to the long-haul, who will put in the early hours and the long distances so that when race day comes you can run with a smile on your face.