Semper Fi - X

Al Unser: Finish the race!

I attended a conference today at Texas Motors Speedway where Al Unser, a four time Indy 500 champion and racing legend, addressed our group.

The main message of his talk was "before you can finish first, you got to finish the race". Anyone can shove the accelerator through the floor board ...but there is a lot more to winning a race then just making your car run fast. Most often it is the driver that is most skilled at braking, shifting and turning then it is the guy with the heaviest foot. In addition he has to have a well built machine and a first class pit crew on his team...they are there to keep you fueled and to try and prevent breakdowns. When breakdowns do occur, they get you back on the track faster then the next guy.  Yes...you have to drive fast...but you cant navigate the turns at maximum speed. You have to shift, brake and weave in and out of traffic avoiding accidents.

Is our Christian Walk a little like this. Hebrews 12 tells us to run with perseverance. Is God afraid we wont finish the race set out before us? There are numerous Biblical examples urging us on to victory in Jesus and at the same time warning us of the pitfalls that lie ahead.

Our Senior VP was a lot of fun to watch as he took one of the Legends cars out for a spin. He was trying to impress us all so badly he spun out numerous times and almost crashed head on into the wall at full speed. Needless to say he came in last in all three demo races he ran. Why? Because he went full throttle too much and it cost him needless down time as he had to regain control of his car time and time again. Guys going slower passed him up as they kept under control. He could have used some help in learning the skills of racing. You cant just floor board it all the time.

I did get to ride as a passenger in a hot yellow racing Corvette that will fly! Before they let you ride you have to get prepared. I crammed myself into a too small fire suit, put on a tight fitting helmet and they strapped me into the passenger seat so I could barely move. I thought.."They are sure trying to cover their bases so they don't get sued in case I was in a crash and got hurt". Then we took off with the engines roaring to life. What a rush! 140 mph on the straightaways and 120 mph around the banked curves, with the wall and other cars what seemed like inches away. The windows were open so I stuck my arm out to pump fist the crowd. Don't do that! It about bent my arm in two as the wind caught it at that speed. My arm still hurts three hours later.

Later I thought about that ride and how it relates to my Christian Walk. Someone helped me into the armor of God before I got started in the race...in fact...someone else actually drove and I just went along for the ride...enjoying and learning. I noticed though that while I felt uncomfortable with my "armor of God protection"... it wasn't just for me. My driver also had a suit and helmet and was strapped in tight. We often need help in our Walk as we start out...someone to invite us to a Bible Study, someone to teach us...someone to "drive for us"as we learn. The armor of God may seem a little uncomfortable at first but even the mature Christians wear it..they just have a more custom fit as they have been doing this longer and it feels good. In fact they wouldn't dream of going out into the "race" without the protection. A mature Christian is still in Bible study, worships regularly and stays in prayer and is very disciplined about maintaining his armor at all times. While I am protected in many ways as I live my Christian Walk...God still allows me to screw up and learn like when I stuck my arm out the window. It wasn't going to kill me...but it was a moment that I acted in a way that a more experienced driver would know better. I thought I have done that a thousand times in my Christian Walk as well...thinking I had freedom in Christ...I could do what I wanted...but every once in a while God sends me a message " Don't do that!" "Arms and legs in the car at all times stupid!" And I learn. And then someday...as I learn and mature...God will give me more and more responsibility until eventually he lets me race my own car! I am sure I will never be an Al Unser, a Billy Graham or a Senior Pastor at a Church...but thats OK...the Lord will have me racing around the track that best fits my gifts and talents in His time not mine.

Haven't we seen a lot of guys come on a little too fast out of the gate after experiencing salvation....only to burn out quickly? Did it happen to you maybe? Sometimes Satan crashes them into a wall or they don't have a pit crew to fill their tank. Regardless ..the car wont run anymore and they drop out of the race. Here today and gone tomorrow. But God is good ...with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, with faith, prayer, study and endurance he will have you back up and running the race again and you will be faster for the experience. If you have studied the life of the Apostle Paul, you realize he took off for about six years after his conversion to meditate, study and mature as a Christian before he started out on his Church planting mission trips.

OK...Gods has us here for a purpose and He has given us all precious gifts unique to each of us to spread the love and Gospel of Jesus and He doesn't want us being lazy about it...but He also wants to make sure that we finish the race with endurance, perseverance and to finish strong. In order to do that He has given us the Bible to study God's Word and to develop discernment, wisdom and to teach us how to follow Jesus. He gives us a pit crew....your Church community, your family and your Christian buddies to keep you encouraged and on the right track. To train you, to mentor you and to love you. To keep your machine well tuned and to keep you from running out of gas. We learn that the Christian life involves seasons of braking, turning, breakdowns and empty gas tanks. None of us will ever run the the perfect race...certainly Al Unser didn't win ever race he entered. No one has but Jesus. We press on to our goal of following Jesus and bringing as many along with us as we can with all the victories and struggles that come with the Christian race. 

You cant do that with the "pedal to the metal" all the time or you are guaranteed to crash and burn. After being saved...we are just rookies in the game and need some seasoning to mature before we jump off too quick and possibly lead someone down an incorrect path. When the time is right, God will put you in a position to "floor it" ... maybe after a few crashes to help you in your racing skills. But then when you get some new tires, a full gas tank and you come out of the turn after a close call with the wall...God expects you push the envelope and have faith in the Lord and take it down the straightaways full bore with no fear. But be prepared and aware of the twists, turns, breakdowns and dangers of crashes ahead. Keep your eyes focused on Christ, your heart open to the heedings and encouragements of your friends and the teachings of your Pastor and your Bible studies and get ready to finish the race....then in Christs name...Win it!

Equipped to serve...

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. - 2 Timothy 3: 16 - 17

For almost a year now, the Real-X-Men at our Church have talked about equipping our men to be disciples of Christ. Why? So men can enjoy Christ by knowing Him better, but also "so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Every man I know wants to give his life to a cause, to make a difference, and to do something with his life. When you disciple a man, he will eventually want to make that difference for the glory of God. He will then "bear much fruit" and do "good works that will last" (John 15:8,16)

Personally, I can tell you that once I experienced Christ as a true friend, a Savior & Lord and felt the grace of His forgiveness and the indwelling of His Spirit in my heart, I have come to the point where I am no longer happy unless I am serving the Lord. Many people that knew me before March 8th, 2003 do not understand that. They still want me to be "my-self" and revert to the old lifestyle of empty fun and games and to join them in running the rat race. But I am in a different race now and I feel more "real" and "alive" then I ever have...and I thank God for that.

Questions: Are you serving the Lord in every area of your life? If your heart needs to be fully focused on Him, ask the Lord to help you today.

Sharing the message of Christ.

Jesus said to her,"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26

Millions of men around the world grow up calling themselves a Christian because they grew up in a Christian environment and that is about it. They remember going to Sunday School and perhaps Vacation Bible School as a child. They understand the teachings they have heard over the years and they generally agree with them but don't necessarily follow them. A lot of these guys just happen to have grown up in a comfortable Christian surrounding, so they find it easy to be involved with the Christian traditions and everyone around them supports them and tells them they are good, religious men. I call these type of men...Cultural Christians. They go to Church, sing in the Choir and attend Sunday School in the name of their Faith and hope that these acts of service and discipline are good insurance policies for eternal life when they die. When they pray...it is usually for good health and material blessings or help in getting out of some mess they got themselves into. There is nothing wrong with that...but Gods Will and purpose are rare item agendas in their prayers. Often they claim to be a disciple of Christ without ever having made a profession of faith in Christ themselves.

I know all that because I was a Cultural Christian myself until March 8, 2003. Their story is my story..so lets not give up on them!

What is sad is that many of them would gladly receive Christ if engaged in a credible way...as I would have years earlier if I had followed the right people or the right people would have sought me out sooner. But I accept the fact that it was God's Plan to have me what until later in life to more completely follow Jesus...and His Pan is revealed to me one day at a time. Many think they have tried Christianity, found it wanting and rejected it, when in fact they never properly understood it it in the first place. They were led in their faith by a similar "Cultural Christian" and the result is like the blind leading the blind. I can relate.

Matthew 14:14 - Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.

A disciple is one who has believed in Jesus - His life, work, death and resurrection. The first task of disciples is evangelism - to call men to walk with Christ by grace through faith. Without this, nothing matters.

The good news in spite of all the Cultural Christians that fill our pews every Sunday Morning...is that they are there because of the prevenient grace of our Lord Jesus...drawing them in so that we can reach out to them. Thank you Jesus!

The United Methodist Book of Discipline (2004) defines prevenient grace as, "...the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God's will, and our 'first slight transient conviction' of having sinned against God. God's grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith.¹

Do you believe, both once-for-all and moment-by-moment?

How can you share the message with another man?

Teaching the Message of Christ

May the God of peace, who thru the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. - Hebrews 13:20-21

Picture yourself as the president of a 100 person law firm. For years you've recruited lawyers, but then left them on their own. Without training they have done more harm than good. Suppose now you go to your board and ask to hire another 20 lawyers. They would say, "Are you nuts? You haven't trained the lawyers we have. Why should we hire more? You're fired!"

A lot of people who reject Christianity see Christians and say, "If that's what it means to be a Christian, then I want no part of it." Isn't that a criticism too dangerous to leave unanswered? Could it do more harm than good to invite a man to become a Christian if you have no plan to help him truly know and follow Christ?

When you don't disciple a man who professes Christ, he will almost always become lukewarm in faith, worldly in behavior and hypocritical in witness. A vital task of making disciples is teaching - which will help equip them to live like Christ.

What has been the most important influence in helping you be equipped to live like Christ?

How can you equip others?