WINNING WITH THE WORD
“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life.
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Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, Novelist and Life Coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, September 7, 2020. Today’s Podcast is Episode #35 in Series 2020 and is titled “Embrace the Race”.
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A few years ago, I did a 5K with my daughter Gina, a seasoned runner. But this time, Gina walked the race in kind deference to her unseasoned mom, who is not a runner. 🙂
Doing this 5K together was a longstanding dream of ours. The day we accomplished this dream remains deeply engraved in my heart.
The important thing about this race was not in what place we finished. In fact, because of me, we finished last. 🙂 The important thing was that we finished!
Scripture tells us that each of us has been called to run a race. The Apostle Paul was keenly aware of this truth when, in Acts 20: 24, he says this: “I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
Is this the race you’re running? To complete the task the Lord Jesus has given you?
All Christ-followers have been given the same task. This task is outlined in Mark 16: 15-18:
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
. Embrace the Race!
Are you obeying our Lord’s great commission? Are you preaching the Gospel, the good news of God’s saving grace? Are you driving out demons, speaking in tongues? Are you laying hands on the sick to heal them? If not, you are not running your race.
I urge you, therefore, to embrace the race to which our Lord has called you. That race looks different for each one of us in the sense that we all run the race in different ways. I, for example, run my race by fulfilling God’s call on my life to write and teach for Him. You may run your race by operating a business or rearing children. But no matter how we run our race, we all have opportunities to preach the Gospel, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick. That is our task, and the Lord expects us to accomplish it.
In Philippians 3: 14, Paul says this: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Let us all be like Paul. Let us press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. Let us embrace our race and run it with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. If we do, we will one day hear our precious Lord say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.”
But maybe you haven’t even entered the race yet. Maybe you didn’t even know there is a race to run. If this describes you, then the place to begin your race is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Pray this simple prayer with me now:
Lord Jesus, I want to enter the race to which You have called me. I invite You into my life now. I receive You as my Savior and Lord. Help me to finish my race for Your glory, not my own. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
If you prayed this simple prayer, please write to me at drmaryann@maryanndiorio.com. I would like to send you a little booklet that will help you get started in your race for Christ. I also encourage you to get yourself a Bible and read it every single day. The Bible is God’s love letter to you, His manual for your life. In the Bible, God reveals Who He is, and He instructs you how to live.
Finally, ask the Lord to lead you to the church of His choice for you where you can learn about Him and have fellowship and encouragement with other Christ-Followers.
For those of you who may not know, I write fiction about many of the issues I deal with in this blog and podcast. I encourage you to visit my website bookstore at maryanndiorio.com/book-table .
If you have been blessed by this blog and podcast, I encourage you to share them with others. I also invite you to become a Winning with the Word patron on Patreon. As a patron you will enjoy special benefits only for my patrons. Just go to Patreon.com and search for Winning with the Word to join. I would like to thank all of my patrons who are making this podcast possible. We now reach 26 countries all over the world. I could not do this without your help.
Thank you so much for listening. This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, reminding you that God loves you just as you are and just where you are, and that He will help you to keep on Winning with the Word.
PLEASE TWEET: “Embrace the Race” by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio (CLICK TO TWEET)
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Now it’s your turn: Have you embraced your race? If not, what is holdiong you back? Please leave your comment in the Comment Box below. Thank you
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Listen to this week’s podcast here:
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“Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that helps you to deal with the daily problems of life by using the Bible as your guide to solving them. The Word of God will make you a success in life!
AN INVITATION TO YOU: To subscribe to Winning with the Word, click here.
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Copyright 2000-2020 by Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. All Rights Reserved. This article may not be published or printed in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. You may contact her at info@maryanndiorio.com to request permission.
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Four months ago, we were all writing the plots of our lives, oblivious to what lay just around the corner. Then–out of nowhere–the world was hit with a major pandemic that caused our plots to twist–and, in some cases, twist drastically. Now we find ourselves in totally unexpected situations, trying to make sense of it all and–even more challenging–trying to write new plots for our lives.
