Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 39

February 8;       I Corinthians 9:25;       39/260(II);       ‘Going For the Gold’

1 Corinthians 9:25 All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.   Message Bible

If a person has a passion for something, and they desire to get good at what they have a passion for, they will work very hard at getting good at their interest.  Sports, music, career goals all require dedication and determination, if you really want to be successful at your passion.  I am  not minimizing this, and those who are dedicated to succeeding in their goal, deserve respect.  What this verse teaches can hinder our success in the things of God two ways.  First, athletes are a perfect example of this, they train incredibly hard and spend virtually all of their time to get good at a sport that offers only temporary rewards.  Star athletes in their particular sport gain great recognition.  The truth is that that recognition is quickly forgotten by others.  The effort used, is a blessing to help the athlete stay in shape, but one day time catches up to them and they can no longer compete in what they dedicated their life to.  The second hindrance to their success in the things of God is regardless of what most of your time is spent on, sports, music, a career, if your efforts leave you no time to get to know the Lord by the Word of God and prayer, you have missed the purpose the Lord created you for.  Knowing Jesus, walking close to Him by the Word and prayer helps us to see that ministering to others, helping them to know our Lord is far more important than anything else.  It is good to have goals and work towards them.  The goal of the devil if for you to be so interested in anything other than Jesus, that your life has little or no impact on reaching the lost for our Lord.  Dedicate yourself most to the eternal things of God.