You’re tired of Christianity just being about going to church and paying your tithe. You’re frustrated with Christian leaders telling their people to “take up their guns,” when Christ calls us to a life of love and service.
You want to change that. You want to see Christ actually lived out in the church. You want to live a meaningful life for Him, but there is a problem: you feel lost as to how to bring about such change.
In America, Christianity runs so deep within our heritage that, anymore, most Christian people use “Christianity” as they would their nationality, yet many people don’t know what it actually means to be a “little Christ,” much less how to be one.
We get so caught up in our religious habits and forget the Person behind our faith. What’s more is that we are good enough at our habits that we feel like sold out Christians and we begin to justify our meaningless and ritualistic lifestyles. We’re good Christians, after all.
I face this struggle. You face it. And we both see people who are classic representations of who we don’t want to be. But many of us are stuck, unsure of how to do anything different. We can talk about what’s wrong, but we’re not sure about what’s right that we need to be doing. Even if we do know what we should do, we find it hard to actually live it out.
My friend Rick Rhodes recently published a book called Run to Win. Recently, as in it hit the market just a couple of days ago. I’ve had the privilege of getting a sneak peek into this book. In his book, he takes the passage in Hebrews where Paul compares life to a race and draws four key principles for running a life-race to win. In other words, if you want to live a meaningful life for God, if you want to bring a change to your family, church, local community from being ritualistic, self-absorbed Christianity, you need to apply these four principles to your life.
Run Fast
“Half-hearted Christianity is not Christianity at all. Serve God with all your heart.”
The reason Christianity becomes ritualistic is because people throttle back in their walk with God. Joggers don’t win races; wholehearted runners do. If we’re going to win our race of life, we can’t just sort of love God and kind of spend time with Him. He must be our sole obsession. Our first priority.
Run Far
“It’s not the start, but the end of the race that determines a winner. Be faithful to the end.”
Most of us are incredibly passionate when we’re young Christians. Or, at each new level of maturity we have a surge of passion for Christ, but the longer our race of life goes the more challenges and problems we face and we’re tempted to give up. Many bench warmers in the church started out with energy, but eventually either burned out or got distracted. If you don’t run the distance you won’t win the race.
Run Fair
“In this race of life, cheaters never win. Live with integrity.”
It is easy to become more concerned about our reputation than our character. When being known as the winner is what matters most, we soon begin cheating just to ensure our place at the top. In life, cheating looks a little different. I may cheat myself by not obeying everything God says. Living good enough to get by is not a life of integrity and love for God and if we want to live meaningful lives for Him we can’t afford that.
Run Free
“No weights, no hindrances, nothing slowing you down or holding you back—that’s running free.”
Did you know it’s possible to be a follower of Christ and not be free? I’ve been there! Many believers across our nation today know of God, know His Word, and know how they should live as a Christian but are unable to live with authenticity and passion because they are not personally free. We all know we’re not supposed to sin, but there is a host of weights that aren’t necessarily sins, but hold us back in our race of life.
If you are frustrated with the Christianity that you experience, could it be because one of these is lacking? Unfortunately, many of our churches are full of half-hearted disciples of Christ, or people who start strong but then give up. What about obedience? That big word that gives us a sour taste. Are you obeying God completely? Is your life one of integrity? And most importantly, are you free? Are you free from bitterness or the control of technology?
Take Your Walk with God to the Next Level
I urge you to buy Rick’s book. In it he goes into deeper detail of what it means to live a wholehearted life of integrity that freely goes the distance in following Jesus Christ. Rick is humorous and practical and I’m confident you will enjoy his writing.
Or, if you don’t want to read the book, he and his team are putting on a two day Sold Out event in Lancaster, PA that you can attend. And if you can’t make it to Lancaster, the event will also be put on DVD, which you can buy. It’s a tremendous resource to go through with your family, small group, or just a few friends. Check out more information on the event and DVD’s by clicking here.
If you’re serious about your walk with God and being a change in the current trends of Christianity, you don’t want to miss this. Run to Win will help you win your race of life. It will help you live a meaningful life for God so you can end it feeling fulfillment instead of regret. Most importantly, God will be glorified through your life.
And you know what? You won’t feel lost, anymore, as to how to be an authentic follower of Christ instead of someone performing religious rituals. You will also get to know hundreds of other believers who are passionate about living sold out for Christ if you attend the event in PA.
Some of you aren’t going to be sure about this, though, and you will be hesitant about buying a book. You definitely want more, but you’re not sure you’ll get it here.
You’re right. By reading Run to Win you won’t all of a sudden have a passionate relationship with God and if you attend Sold Out you won’t automatically experience radical changes in how you follow God. But I know that if you don’t apply the principles of running fast, running far, running fair, and running free to your race of life you will for sure miss out on the blessing of living a meaningful life for God. You will miss out on the comradery you experience with others in this race. Ultimately, you will waste your life.
Now, I’m selling this, aren’t I? Rick is my friend and so I’m putting in a good word for him and trying to get you to buy his book.
You’re right. I am.
But I know Rick. I know he lives what he teaches. I know that he shares everything he does because he loves each one of you and wants you to be successful in your race of life.
It wouldn’t be very loving of me to know about all this and keep it from you, would it? So here’s what you can do if you’re ready to change from ritualistic Christianity to wholehearted discipleship with God.
What You Can Do Now
- Buy the book now so you can have it read by the time the Sold Out 2016 event takes place. You can get the book here. (And no, I’m not getting anything from your purchase. It all goes to Rick.)
- Check the dates for the Sold Out events in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
- Tell your family and friends by sharing this post through email, Facebook, or Twitter.
Don’t be another nominal Christian: someone who goes to church, pays your tithe, but never lives the life of love and service that Christ calls you to. Time is running out. He will return before we know it. Are you ready? Are you running your race of life so that when He comes He will look at you and say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!”?
