by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
“The race that is set before us<\/em>” (Hebrews 12:1) is the marathon of all marathons, the life-long run to finish without giving up. It is the race to receive the ultimate reward.<\/p>\n The prize is more than worth the discipline, so the motivation to enter this race and finish should be very strong. The Lord describes it as “eternal life” in a place specially prepared, where no sin will enter and spoil, where there is no pain or sorrow or weeping, and there is only beauty, excellence, and joy.<\/p>\n There is special bread to eat along the race course, and it gives strength and energy to sustain you. There is a special living water to drink to refresh you. You do not have to beat anyone else. The only person you have to beat is your old self, and you can beat him by staying close to your new companion and strength giver, Jesus. Great companion, great supplies, great reward! A race that I can win with all this in my favor!<\/p>\n I signed up many years ago and have been running this race with endurance. It is the race that God set before us all. The food and drink supply gets better and better, and the encouragement is out of this world. I would be a fool to stop running now. You would be a fool not to enter and take advantage of the empowering nourishment that makes this race sustainable and worth everything. The finish line is just around the curve for all of us. You must be in <\/b>Christ to be qualified for the prize (I Corinthians 9:24f), and you must run with discipline and endurance according to the rules. Are you in <\/b>or out?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton “The race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1) is the marathon of all marathons, the life-long run to finish without giving up. It is the race to receive the ultimate reward. The prize is more than worth the discipline, so the motivation to enter this race and finish should be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-84038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46445,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/run-with-endurance\/","url_meta":{"origin":84038,"position":0},"title":"Run with Endurance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dennis Stackhouse We have a wonderfully challenging statement given to us in Hebrews 12:1:\u00a0\"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Runner-180x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":48106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/burnout\/","url_meta":{"origin":84038,"position":1},"title":"Burnout","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 9:24-27 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You pour your energies into a project until there is no more to give; yet, more is needed to finish. It is impossible! So you give up. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is called burn out. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I see it happen often on long hikes. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1850,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-homosexuality-a-race\/","url_meta":{"origin":84038,"position":2},"title":"Is homosexuality a race?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is homosexuality a race? Answer: According to my dictionary, a race is \"a lineage; a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock; a breed or stock.\" In other words, a race is a breed of mankind. When two people of the same race have children, characteristics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28271,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/perfection-or-perseverance\/","url_meta":{"origin":84038,"position":3},"title":"Perfection or Perseverance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ken Green \"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/runner-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29474,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-sports\/","url_meta":{"origin":84038,"position":4},"title":"Notes on Sports","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Few engaged in activities purely for entertainment. Sports served practical purposes in gathering food or protection. However, some of these activities were done for competition and the winning of a prize. Competition 1 Corinthians 9:25 \"And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55993,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dont-quit\/","url_meta":{"origin":84038,"position":5},"title":"Don’t Quit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bubba Carrier The first time I tried to march and play drums at the same time, I was terrible. When I concentrated on playing a steady beat, I marched out of step; when I focused on marching in line, I played off beat. 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