"Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully." 2 John 1:8
Ten years after placing third in the 10,000 meters at the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Kara Goucher will exchange her bronze medal for a silver one and officially be declared the second place winner. You see, after recent efforts by the International Association of Athletics Federations to retest samples using improved technology, Elvan Abeylegesse's 2007 sample was tested and found to contain a banned steroid. As a result, second place winner Abeylegesse was given a two-year competition ban from 2007 to 2009 and stripped of all rewards and medals won during that time (including the silver she won in Osaka).
While it's certainly a shame to see a runner lose a medal they worked so hard to achieve, it's an even bigger shame to see a Christian lose their full reward by following or adhering to false teachings, a common practice in the apostle John's time. And since there are still many false teachers today, we would be wise to heed John's warning to "watch out", or to be on alert, for any type of spiritual deception. And because deceitful leaders can sometimes be hard to spot, we would do well to "not lose what we have worked for" by making sure the words and actions of any leader we follow or listen to matches exactly what God says in the Bible.
So let us read our Bibles diligently and daily because as J.C. Ryle writes, "It is the neglect of the Bible which makes so many a prey to the first false teacher whom they hear." And being a victim to the teachings of false doctrine can cause you to lose much more than a medal my friend.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that so clearly tells us what the Truth is. Help us to know it so well that we would spot any leader or person teaching or acting in any way contrary to it that we might "watch out" and not be deceived. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
God is not a secret - Newsboys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ghRP0BuFA
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