Destined to run! the apostle Paul and his friends: a marathon of faith

They are destined to run! There are many athletes with super human strength, endurance and running abilities recorded in the Bible. Paul and his friends are simply amazing as we read some of their record.

The Apostle Paul and his friends: a marathon of faith for a crown of victory

Anyone interested in sports would have noticed that Paul describes Christian life as a life-long race and a boxing that requires preparation in the form of regimented boot camp training, keeping and staying fit.  He describes himself as an example. He runs and finishes his race course and urges his disciples and friends to do the same. Read his travel journey : mostly done by foot, scheduled by tight deadlines, over cross country terrains, frequently on the run from city to city, fleeing from and outrunning enemies right behind (on their heels).  The New Testament delineates at least fifty cities visited during his (at least) five major travels or missionary journeys. Paul’s timeline from his encountering the resurrected Jesus to his martyrdom spanned over a mere thirty years. His three missionary and related follow up travels took twenty years.  We could not find another equivalent traveler with that kind of mileage recorded in such details. 

Often he did not travel/run alone. He was accompanied with his Christian friends and co-workers. How did he run so well and so consistently? In his letters to Timothy specifically, and to a number of Christians in various churches, The Corinthians, Philippians, Thessalonians, and in the Book of Hebrews, he gave them the key to his resilience, consistency, endurance, and the secret to finishing well. 

Careful readers of Paul’s letters cannot help but marvel at his passionate running the race, as a true athlete does.

Read the following Bible verses to find his motivation and goal. Let us all be encouraged to run our own Christian race and finish the course well!

2025-09-07 (first draft)

Bible verses: Acts 14:19-21, Hebrews 12:1-3, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Philippians 2:15-17, Philippians 3:12-14, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3, 2 Corinthians 11:22-28 (hardships and perils)

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Striving for a Crown

24 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 [a]obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize [b]is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 9:24 win

1 Corinthians 9:25 exercises self-control

Philippians 2:13 New King James Version

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Note: I posted this same article in WordPress blog: https://wp.me/pzRwB-9OA

2024 how not to grieve over a devastating tearing asunder and loss of a beloved?

 

In the utmost sorrow and chaos inside out, spirit, soul and body, how does one stay sane and live on at least from day to day, eating and sleeping, halting the mind and the heart from a repeated constant reprise? It was impossible. Without God's grace and mercy and the immense working of the Holy Spirit, I could not have lived through the grief. I am still in its process and a work-in-process of a survivor of grief. 

A day before the fateful departure, at my urgent call, a closed relative of mine who loves her too drove seven hours to see us. She stood by the bedside and prayed in tongue until she heard from the Lord and saw vision. After that I walked her to the gate. I didn't want to hear what she had to say from the Lord. Prior to that she already told me her prompting from the Lord the moment I called her. It was the first time she knew of the condition. This was the verse she received for me:

Ecclesiastes 3 Everything Has Its Time

1 To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

2 A time to be born,

And a time to die;

A time to plant,

And a time to pluck what is planted;

3 A time to kill,

And a time to heal;

A time to break down,

And a time to build up;

4 A time to weep,

And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn,

And a time to dance;

However, I needed to hear and know what the Lord had again spoken and revealed for me. She told me at the gate what she received: a first vision of the beloved standing on a line between two groups on each side of the line. On one side was a group of those who have gone to heaven (her mom, brethren whom she had helped etc.) On another side a group of all those who wants her remain on earth to continue to help them. Both sides were crying out. 

The Lord said: "She can choose either way."

a second vision: a beautiful garden full of lovely sunshine and flowers.

a third vision:  of the beloved walking by herself and only her back view was shown. She was already walking real far along a calm and peaceful road. 

The above vision and hearing from the Lord confirmed what this narrator received earlier on one day after asking the Lord what next. "She can live as long as she wants to."

She did not tell anyone her choice. No one can assume anything. Only the Lord sees our hearts and knows. For a believers who follow the Lord and walks with Jesus closely, we have an example in the apostle Paul. 

Romans 14:7-8

7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

2024-01-17