Preacher and theologian Fred Craddock tells the story of visiting his niece whose family had adopted a retired racing greyhound. The dog seemed happy and content in retirement. Finding himself alone with the hound Craddock took the opportunity to interview him:
“Uh, are you still racing any?”
“No, no, no, I don’t race anymore.”
I said, “Do you miss the glitter and excitement of the track?”
He said, “No, no.”
I said, “Well, what’s the matter? You got to old?”
“No, no, I still had some race in me.”
“Well, did you not win?”
He said, “I won over a million dollars for my owner.”
“Then what was it, bad treatment?”
“Oh, no, they treated us royally when we were racing.”
I said, “Then what? Did you get crippled?”
He said, “No, no, no.”
I said, “Then what?”
And he said, “I quit.”
“You quit?”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. I quit.”
I said, “Why did you quit?”
And he said, “I discovered that what I was chasing was not a real rabbit. And I quit.” He looked at me and said, “All that running, running, running, and what I was chasing, not even real.”
Think about your life for a moment and ask yourself the following question, “What have I been chasing lately?” have I been chasing money, my job, Children, Grandchildren, My health, My family, My church, Sports. What else have I been chasing? Let me ask you to think further. Are the people or things in your life bringing you closer to Jesus? Are you following the teachings of Jesus? Are you teaching others about Jesus's with authority? It's time to get real. Real with God. Real with each other. And real with what God has called us to do, which is. Why I believe. It's very important for us to seriously focus on our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Pray:
Dear Lord, help us to make Jesus Christ, Lord of our life. Drive out our unclean spirits. Set us free to experience your power and majesty. Help us to teach like Jesus with authority to bring joy into our life and the lives of others. This day and every day to come. In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Read: Mark 1:21-28
Apply:
Think about your life for a moment and ask yourself the following questions,
· What have I been chasing lately?
· Have I been chasing my money, job, children, grandchildren, my health, my family, my church, sports?
· Let me ask you to think further. Are the people or things in your life bringing you closer to Jesus?
· Are you following the teachings of Jesus?
· Are you teaching others about Jesus's with authority?
Yield:
I believe that when we begin to align our lives with the life of Jesus and His teachings, and more importantly, when we tell more people about this miraculous power of Jesus through prayer, miracles will happen, lives will be saved, and the world will be a better place.
Engage: Make it a point to share with one person this week the miraculous healing power of Jesus and pray with that person.
Remember. Keep a journal and write down where you have experienced the Good News of Jesus Christ and Celebrate all the good things God is doing in your life. Praise God!
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