I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Friday morning, the 27th of October, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start off in Isaiah 40:31:

"But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."

Oh my dear friends, this morning, we must become more intentional regarding this race of life we are running in together. This is not the warm-up race. This is the final. We need to be more focused and keep our eye on the goal, the finish line. If we look at Philippians 3:14, the word of God says: 

"I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." 

We really need to get serious. This is not the dummy run. This race will lead us home to Heaven, and Jesus will be waiting for you and me at that finish line. What a day that will be. But until then, we need to keep on keeping on. You know, I remember so distinctly watching the Comrades Marathon on TV. I remember that small little man with the blonde hair, Bruce Fordyce. Do you know that he won the Comrades Marathon no less than nine times? Nine times! Runners come from all over the world, and there is a lot of money for the man who comes first.

The Russians and Americans were here - but one thing about Bruce Fordyce - he was focused. He was intentional, and he kept his eye on the goal. When the gun went off and the race started, I remember so clearly all the novices were coming out of the stalls there flat out, running like a hundred-metre race, and five kilometres down the road, they had blown out already. Bruce Fordyce kept his eyes on that watch. He was totally committed to what he was doing. He wasn't looking at the crowds around him. He wasn't worried about all the other runners that were way ahead of him, some of them five or ten kilometres ahead of him. People would probably ask him, "Do you realise your opponent is far ahead of you?" He was focused on his race. He was disciplined, committed, and knew exactly what he was doing. 

On the upward run, he would come up to Polly Shorts which was just outside Pietermaritzburg, that very, very ugly steep hill, and then he would just put on the pressure. He would come right past the runner who had probably been running ahead all the way, tap him on the shoulder and give him the "death-hand shake", and off he would go and come through the finish line because he knew where he was going. He had disciplined himself, he had done all the preparation work correctly and he was confident that he was going to win.

You and I today need to do exactly the same.
Jesus bless you as you run for the finish line,
Goodbye.