Welcome to "Tuesday Morning"—one of the better resources for living a victorious, vibrant Christian life. Don't you wish that everyone read this piece each week?

 

In his book, Traveling Light, Max Lucado made some excellent observations based on the opening words of Hebrews 12: "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

 

He spoke about his being an amateur runner, and specifically about how he deals with the pain that accompanies his morning discipline of running.

 

"Things hurt. And as things hurt, I've learned that I have three options. Go home (Denalyn would laugh at me). Meditate on my hurts until I start imagining I'm having chest pains (pleasant thought). Or I can keep running and watch the sun come up. My trail has just enough easterly bend to give me a front-row seat for God's morning miracle. If I watch God's world go from dark to golden, guess what? The same thing happens to my attitude. The pain passes and the joints loosen, and before I know it, the run is half over and life ain't half bad. Everything improves as I fix my eyes on the sun."

 

Change one letter and the meaning becomes even more personal: "Everything improves as I fix my eyes on the Son." That's what "looking unto Jesus" means. I like Lucado's conclusion: "Hope is a look away."

 

This week's epistle is entitled, "Be All You Can Be." It's based on an Army slogan from several years past. Read on whenever you are ready to run. It will help the rest of the week become winnable.

 

Tom Barnard

A Senior Encourager

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Be All You Can Be

Tom Barnard

 

he United States Army has a new recruiting slogan. It’s part of a $200-million-a-year advertising campaign to introduce the Army’s latest theme: “Army Strong.” Personally, I liked the former slogan: “Be All You Can Be.” It reminds me of a story about a mother whose teenage son was not performing well in school. She obtained a bumper sticker at the Army Recruiting Office with those words on it. She edited it and posted it on her son’s bulletin board in his bedroom. The revised version read,

 

“Be All You Can Be, or You Will Be in the Army.”

 

I think the Apostle Paul would have embraced the “Be all you can be” concept. He personified it in his own life. Listen to what he wrote to his friend, Timothy (2 Timothy 4:6-8):

 

“The time of my death is near. I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness that the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that great day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his glorious return.”

 

While we at the threshold of a new year, Paul was at the threshold of a new life with God in heaven. Reflecting on his past life as a Christian, Paul did not waver in his testimony. This is what he meant:

 

     “I have fought for good and important things in my life. I did not waste my life on non-essentials.”

     “I have finished what God helped me to begin years ago. I have completed the tasks he gave me.”

     “I have been faithful. I did not fail God. I have remained true to the end.”

 

All Christians would like to be able to duplicate Paul's testimony at the end of their lives. The question is,

 

In the new year ahead, what can we do to be all we can be?

 

Be Focused.  In his letter to the church at Philippi Paul said that he was not yet perfect, but that he was pressing forward “toward the goal to win the prize for which God (had) called (him) heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) He had one goal above all other goals. And he was pursuing it.

 

Be Patient. Isaiah wrote in 40:31, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Patience is giving God the time it takes to prepare us for the tasks he has in mind for us.

 

Be Persistent. In Hebrews 10:23 are these words: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess….” In the motion picture, Ben Hur, actor Charlton Heston was involved in a very fast-paced chariot race. Heston spent four weeks learning how to drive a chariot, but he was never comfortable with it. He was struggling with the challenge of keeping his chariot going in the right direction. Winning a race was not his top priority. He went to the film director with the problem. According to legend, the director told him, “Stay in the chariot until you finish the race. In the editing room we will make sure you win it.”

 

Be Prayerful. Paul was clear on this subject. He said: “Pray without ceasing.”  (1 Thess. 5:17). I have discovered that my spiritual growth is primarily dependent upon two things: the time I spend in God’s Word, and a vital prayer life. There are no substitutes for these two disciplines. Everything else we do for God flows from these two disciplines.

 

Be Faithful. In his first letter to Timothy (6:11-12) Paul wrote: “But you, man of God, flee from all this (the obsession with gaining wealth—v. 9) and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith.” The legacy I want to leave to my family is the memory of a husband, a dad, and a granddad who was faithful to God, to himself, to his calling, and to his family.

 

God has a clear message for all of us at the beginning of 2008: Be all you can be! Begin today!