1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV
“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
INSIGHT
-The Ancient Olympics began in 776 BC based on inscriptions found at Olympia (a small town in Elis on the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, famous for the nearby archaeological site of the same name), listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. The Olympics games have since evolved and have been enhanced to allow for more diverse games and participants who compete for a common goal, to win. Paul therefore illustrates the walk of faith with a picture of the foot race known to the Corinthians as the Isthmian games which occurred every year and second in importance to the Olympic Games. As we celebrate the participants in the ongoing Olympic Games, we appreciate their commitment in promoting their talents and gifts that God has enabled them to expose first to themselves, then to the world. To themselves in their test of faith and to the world as the salt and the light of the world for others to see and celebrate Jesus. This being a perishable crown, each one of us is called to run his/her own race of faith and win the imperishable crown as he exercises self control leading to holiness through grace lest he is disqualified. Paul was well aware of the fact that even as he preaches he needs to bring his body to subjection lest he fails. Therefore even the one who thinks he stands, he should take heed lest he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).
PRAYER
We thank You dear Lord Jesus for Your goodness and love upon us. We love You dear Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us first. Let the earth rejoice, let the heaven give You praise for You have been faithful to us, our families and our nation. We thank You for Your mercy, favor, grace and love upon us. We thank You for enabling our nation to maintaining position one in Africa in the ongoing Olympic Games, we exult Your holy name. Lord we thank You and honor Your holy name. May You fill us with Your grace that we obtain our imperishable crowns together with our children and generations. May You grant us the gift of salvation and grant us the grace to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Dear Lord, You are Holy and You have called us to be holy because You are Holy, may You help us and save us. May You forgive us all our sins iniquities and transgressions and wash us with Your precious blood loving Savior. Lord Jesus You are Holy and Righteous help us to always obey Your will. Lord take all the glory and put away the shame in our lives. May You help our children to hear Your voice and follow Your divine will. Lord take all the glory and honor. Lord take all the praise. We praise You and honor Your name and it is Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen
Further Reading: 1 Peter 1:15-16, 1 Peter 5:4
Judges 7:3-7 NKJV
“Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.’ ” And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained. But the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water. And the Lord said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.”
INSIGHT
-This was a great test of Gideon’s faith when he summoned the Israel soldiers to a conquest against the Midianites. His army of thirty two thousand (32,000) men was already overmatched by one hundred and thirty five thousand (135,000) Midianites, yet God thought his army was too big, and He commanded Gideon to invite all who were afraid to go home. Those trust in their numbers, horses and chariots but those who trust in the Lord remained. Gideon was left with only ten thousand (10,000) men, most of whom were tested and lapped like dogs and were disqualified. The ancient Hebrew word for laps is yalok, used to imitate the sound a dog makes when lapping water. We undergo tests and temptations in our daily walk of faith. It is vital to always seek God’s guidance and strength so that we may be counted among those who obtain victory through Christ.
PRAYER
We shout for joy to You Lord our God and sing praises to Your holy name. How awesome are Your deeds in all the heavens and the earth. How great is Your power that Your enemies cringe before You. All the earth bows down before You, they sing praise to You praises of Your holy name. May You fight for us every battle dear Lord Jesus for the battle is not ours but belongs to You. May You go before us and break down the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron. May You level the mountains and give us hidden treasures, and riches stored in secret places. May You bless our children and enlighten their paths each day. Lord You are Faithful and Gracious, we honor You and bless Your holy name, and it is in Jesus Mighty name we pray believing and trusting. Amen
Further reading: Isaiah 45:2-3
Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
“Therefore 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, looking 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.”
INSIGHT
–This chapter proceeds from the events documented outlining the faithfulness of God evidenced through the hero’s of faith. Those who looked to the other side were convicted to focus on Jesus Christ for a greater purpose. Like in an auditorium filled with spectators, the hero’s of faith are not just cheering us up in our journey faith but their lives are living witnesses that speak to us and within our hearts to ensure that we are also triumphant in Christ. As we run our designated races as Christians, we are called to lay aside every sin and fix our eyes on Jesus our Strength even as we are seated with Him in high places and await in joyful hope for His second coming.
PRAYER
We praise and bless Your name dear Lord Jesus from this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting Your name Lord is to be praised. Lord You are high above all nations, Your glory is above the heavens. Who is like You Lord our God in all the heavens and earth, Who dwells on high, You are highly lifted up above all the dominions, powers, rulers, principalities, thrones and kings. You are above all and rule forever. We look to You Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. You who is faithful is able to help us, fight for us and bless us in every aspect of our lives. May You search us O God and know our heart, try us and know our anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in us and lead us in the way everlasting. As we run the races assigned to us, may You help us loving Savior to run faithfully and finish our race, keep the faith and fight the good fight for the glory and honor of Your name. Amen
Further Reading: Psalms 139:13-24, Ephesians 2:6
2 Timothy 2:1-7 NKJV
“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.”
INSIGHT
–Apostle Paul outlines the vitality of the power of grace in winning the race set before us. This enabling power comes from our relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul gives three analogies for Timothy to follow, one a soldier who wants to please his commander, two an athlete who follows the rules of the game and three a farmer who works-hard. Paul narrows down the quest for a prize to having discipline leading to trustworthiness, dependability, faithfulness, and a good soldier of Jesus Christ. In the same breath, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 reminds us that we are called to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God, and therefore we should be found faithful.
PRAYER
Lord You formed our inward parts, You know us by name, we praise You for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works and awesome are Your deeds our Lord and God. How precious also are Your thoughts to us O Lord. How great is the sum of them. If we should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. Lord You are near those who are broken hearted and save such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but You Lord delivers us out of them all. Lord You redeem the souls of Your servants, and none of those who trust in You shall be condemned. We declare that every dry bone shall live now in our lives, lives of our children, families, marriages, our businesses, jobs, leadership, purpose and talents, nation and the entire world. May You open double doors and level every mountain in Jesus. May You keep us and our children safe from any harm deliver us from every evil dear Lord Jesus. May You bless our generations that they may be mighty in the land. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forever more. Amen
Further Reading: Revelation 2:10, 1 Peter 4:10
Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
INSIGHT
-Paul’s goal is Christ’s goal for him, and Christ supplies the resources for Him to press on towards the goal. Not being sueded into the former sinful nature like Lot’s wife who turned back and became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26), but focusing on the new that Christ is doing. Isaiah 43:18-19 reads, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!..” Our Lord rewards those who believe and wait on Him with the prize of everlasting glory. As we run the race, let us endure to win the prize by focusing on Christ, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.
SUMMARY
The origin of the Olympics is shrouded in mystery and legend, one of the most popular myths identifies Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games. According to legend, it was Heracles who first called the Games “Olympic” and established the custom of holding them every four years. The myth continues that after Heracles completed his twelve labor’s, he built the Olympic Stadium as an honor to Zeus. Following its completion, he walked in a straight line for 200 steps and called this distance a “stadion” (Ancient Greek), which later became a unit of distance. The most widely accepted inception date for the Ancient Olympics is 776 BC, this is based on inscriptions, found at Olympia, listing the winners of a footrace held every four years starting in 776 BC. Based on this foundation, apostle Paul sensitized the Corinthian brethren to run their own race with discipline having hope of winning an imperishable crown (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). Further, a letter to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:1-7 saying that if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. He gives an analogy of a hardworking farmer who must receive a harvest. Later he wrote a letter to the Hebrew brethren that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and should lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, as we run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). When we focus of Jesus, Who finished His Race and did the will of the Father, we too remain victorious in Him. The purpose of running is to win the race. If we therefore pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness, and fight the good fight of faith, laying hold on eternal life, to which we were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses (1 Timothy 6:10-12), we will triumph. We are also called to trust in the Lord, have confidence in Him and not be afraid, for He goes with us and fights for us against our enemies, to save us (Deuteronomy 20:1-4).
PRAYER
Almighty Heavenly Father how great are You Lord in all the heavens and the earth. You are great and greatly to be praised, there is none like You. Like a deer pants for brooks of water, our souls long for You our Lord and God. How we pray that we shall dwell in Your house praising Your name for all the days of our lives. You are our Strength and our great Reward, we have no other God but You. May You go ahead of us and fight for us every battle for the battle belongs to You dear Lord Jesus. We thank You for this far You have brought us and we repent for where we have not, please You and done Your holy will that You may forgive us. May You forgive us and cleanse us for all our sins and iniquities with Your precious blood dear Jesus and help us to always do Your will. May You enable each one of us to run our race in honor and reverence to You oh Lord our God. We pray that we shall walk this walk and fight the good fight of faith in a way that will please You and that we shall attain our crown of glory at the end of time. May Your favor Lord our God rest on us and establish the work of our hands for us, yes establish the work of our hands. May You bless us and keep us. May You shine Your face towards us and be gracious unto us. May You show Your countenance unto us and give us peace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen.
Further Reading: Matthew 24:12-13, Psalms 84:2-5