All glory to You

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Colossians 3:17

Over the weekend, I had the blessing of participating in, and helping organize, an eight-hour ultra endurance event. And as you can imagine at a gathering such as this, everyone had their own unique reasons for attempting to press on and keep moving for such a long period of time. Some used the race to see how far they could push themselves, some to just have fun, others for a training run to prepare for a longer race and, for one group, as a means to spread suicide awareness and deal with grief after a young girl in their community took her own life. 

And you know, when it comes to the ultimate reason that you and I, as followers of Christ, do anything, the Bible is very clear that it should be for God's glory saying, "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.." Knowing that full well, my dear friend, upon saying the prayer before the race began (with all the participants joined in hands around a big, beautiful prayer circle) said this, "Lord I just ask that as people see us out there on the course whether walking, riding or biking that they understand that we do things for a higher purpose Lord - that we do it to bring glory and honor to You - because it's through you that all blessings flow." 

So no matter what you and I are doing today, whether we are working, running, or at home with our families, may our ultimate goal be to glorify Jesus in all we do and say - loving and humbly serving those around us while "giving thanks to God the Father through him." 

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many blessings that you choose to bestow upon us each and every day. May we, in thankfulness of all You have given us, especially the free gift of Salvation, serve to bring You glory in all we say and do that we might lead others to the foot of the Cross through our actions. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

All glory to God - Matt Maher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcdKSgJzVqw

Everyone had different reasons and stories for participating in this race. 

This fun group completed 30+ miles to promote suicide awareness and process some of the grief they were feeling. 

The final survivors of the 8-hour event. What a night it was! God was surely good to us.