Good Saturday morning and welcome to the first day of March in 2008. I am very happy to see March arrive this year, and by now you probably know why. Yes, 24 days of school left and then it is finished.
Years ago, many of us saw the new movie "Star Wars", a blockbuster hit in the year just after the Bicentennial celebration. In that movie, an actor delivered a couple of lines during the final climactic scenes. Playing a minor part with one of those odd character names we don't need to remember, I think he might have been Orange Leader or something like that, this actor voiced those lines you might remember, "Stay on target, stay on target" even as his ship was blasted apart by the evil Empire. Such is the skill that a professional actor brings to a part that even many years later I can remember the sound of his voice. Paul said a very similar thing in Philippians about keeping our eye on the prize in the race that we are running.
One of the dark power's greatest weapons in this age is distraction. We have so many things to distract us from our goal. Life in general is very hectic in this time. Many types of media bombard you with messages each day, friends have problems, the church is under attack, Christ is lumped in with all other religions in education and then attacked, people are starving in near and far places, and we are supposed to know all about candidates in the many election races in order to make a wise choice. Those are only some of the things we face each day. Is it any wonder the Lord tells us to take a day off to worship Him? Could you imagine a world with no Sunday paper, news, sports, or other distraction? A day with rest and the worship of our Father in Heaven as the only "to-do's" for that entire day. Wouldn't we be better prepared for the work week?
I can tell you that I have not achieved that ideal. With only four weekends of college left, I certainly intend to make my Sunday much more relaxed in the near future. However, does God blame us for the busy-ness of the times? Some of you may even go to work today; will you be held in contempt of court for working on this Saturday? One thing we know about God, because Jesus told us so, and that is He loves us. Running this race is not a timed event; the goal is to complete the journey with Christ. We are not in competition with each other for who can arrive first. In this race, we cheer for the ones who arrive at the finish line before us. Along the way, we will stop to rest at times, and a day of rest is one of those times. One thing that I would pass along from my 3 years of school, and that is for those taking up a challenge like that, learn to have a day off. I didn't do very well at that, and the toll exacted by the stress was much greater than it had to be. I don't mean an evening off on a workday, but an entire day off from both work and school. We all need that rest.
Enjoy this fine, and warm (at least out here) Saturday in Christ Jesus!
Bucky
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