The End...

Dear Beracans,

Gloria a Dios!

I trust that you have been well, although we did not see much of each other this past Sunday.

I hope you received and read our last e-mail, and that it blessed and encouraged you as well. This is a continuation of sorts to that one. I had mentioned two issues that I wanted to share about, and last time I shared about the worship seminar we had with the Mexicans.

Well, today I want to share something about the Olympics, although it’s a little bit past the Olympics. If you watched the races like I did, I’m sure that you did find some things quite fascinating. Like how much money or gold they could win for running….and then that makes you wonder what you’re doing where you’re at, working so hard and (perhaps) (ok, just never) not making even a half of what they make in one race!!!

One of those things caught my attention, and I found it so “mushy” (for lack of a better word.) When the runners would come to the end of their race, there would be someone at the finish line to receive them, hold them up, help them walk to a good place, ….you know, just generally take care of them after the race. Whether or not they had won.

I think they must have felt good, like a hero, love and appreciated; and that what they had done (running) mattered for something. At that point in time, I do not think that anything else mattered to them. They had finished the race, and that’s what counted, and now all they wanted to do was rest. And although they could have sat down right at the finish line and been okay with that, there was someone there waiting to take them to a nice, special and comfortable place to rest. To relax. Wow.

This got me thinking about my own life. Man! That would be a special thing. To be hailed after an event, to be celebrated, honored, shown appreciation. You probably feel like I do, that sometimes what you do doesn’t really matter, you wonder if it counts for anything at all.

But something deep down encourages me. That at some point in time, I have a chance of getting such treatment, such special handling, that will matter for eternity. It will come from not just another human being just like me, but from Jesus Himself, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The best of the best will be honoring me with His presence, love and most precious rewards. Rewards that will matter for eternity.

And what I’ve gotta do for now is run His race with all diligence, observing His guidelines, lest I be disqualified. May God help us all, to live for Him, to be obedient to Him, and to seek our encouragement in only Him.

Today I’m being rather open about my life, so let me share this in closing. After searching for approval for like forever (rolling eyes, it’s so annoying to remember that), I decided to rest in God. And since then I have strongly discovered that God is the one who called me for His purposes. He is the one who knows and understands what it takes to accomplish what He has called me to do. So that makes Him my best encourager, and my best cheerer (like cheering me on), and also the one who receives me at my finish line, because He’s the one who knows where He set the end of my race. And finally, gladly so, He is the one who will reward me for all my work. Let me stop there. We’ll talk about His rewards next time.

Father, help us all out. We need you desperately, in ways that we are sometimes not able to express. But you now our hearts….

Please come and save us once again.

In Your Son’s name we pray,

Amen.

P/S: We have refreshing moments on Sunday 27th September, after leading worship during the first service.

We shall also be leading worship on Sunday 20th September, in the second service.