The time is approaching (April 21st) when runners will line up in Hopkinton for the 2008 Boston Marathon. I can imagine the excitement in the air - the eager expectations of the runners who have trained for months to make it to the finish line in downtown Boston. I can see in my mind's eye the bright colors of the runners as they stretch and warm up for the grueling miles ahead. The task is clear before them. They are ready to run the race. If it is raining, it makes no difference. If it is cold or hot, it makes no difference. The course is set before them them, and the race will go on.

It is interesting that the Bible several times
compares the Christian life to a race. The apostle Paul says, "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I my finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me - the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." (Acts 9:24) Later, he returns to the theme of the race. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9:24)

Runners for the marathon have a strict schedule of training. Much of it takes place in the cold, dark hours of winter. The runners in my family have put in many hours of training while most of us were warm and snug in our beds. But it was worth the price to them for the possibility of running the race.

As Christians we must also train to live as Christ has commanded us. We must study his word and seek his guidance. We must listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit as he directs our lives. We must be obedient to a lifestyle that prepares us for the spiritual race ahead. Then at then end of our lives we can join with Paul who says. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7,8) In these two verses Paul looks back over 30 years of labor as an apostle and compares his life to that of an athlete who has engaged successfully in a contest.

Happy runnning!

Lent is a the season of time to prepare for Easter. Growing up in a Southern Baptist Church, I don't remember there being any focus on Lent. When I went to New Orleans to teach school, I learned that Lent followed Mardi Gras. In fact, Mardi Gras was a wild celebration that happened before Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the somber time leading up to Good Friday. The people of New Orleans partied first and then focused on the serious business of Christ's journey to the cross.

We are in the middle of a series of Wednesday night Lenten services here at First Baptist. We meet in the small chapel in the east wing of the church. We sing hymns and listen to a speaker talk about Jesus' life and ministry. Then we reflect on what is said and discuss it. We ponder how to apply Christ's teachings to our own lives. It is a special time for those of us who attend.

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of Lent is preparing our own heart to remember Christ's death on the cross for our sins. It calls for us to repent of our sins. We don't like to think about that. At our first service, Pastor Jon talked about how hard the concept of repentance is for us. He said that when we are feeling good and happy and strong, we don't want to focus on those things that we have done that are wrong. We see ourselves as pretty good people. We like being "up" and don't want to admit that we have sinned before a righteous God.

On the other hand, when we are feeling "down" we don't like to think that our own sinfulness is what made it necessary for Christ to have to die on the cross. We don't like feeling guilty. It's not a comfortable place to be. However, unless we accept the fact that we are all sinners, we can't truly understand the cost of the forgiveness of sin. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

As we confess our sins, we realize the great gift that God gave to us when he sent Jesus to die in our place. Then we can truly look forward to Easter when we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death. We can join with him and become free. Hallelujah!

It has been many years now since Dr. Norman Vincent Peal wrote has famous book, The Power of Positive Thinking. There are many other books out there which promote positive thinking. A recent check of Amazon showed almost 17,000 books available in that category. So there must be something to be learned from having a positive attitude.

People who have a positive attitude seem to attract others. But we usually try to avoid critical, negative, unpleasant people. We often don't even listen to their good ideas because they present everything in such a negative light. So I was surprised this weekend to hear on the news that Saturday was the Grumpiest Day of the year. The news article said that by this time in January, most people were unhappy that they had already broken their New Years Resolutions, that the holiday bills were in their mailboxes, and that the weather was gray and dreary.

I think that the beginning of a new year fills us with hope that things will be better this year. Some of the mistakes that we've made in the previous year are left behind. We have a fresh start. Disappointment seems to come when things don't change. We don't lose weight. We don't exercise and eat right. We don't save more money. We just continue to do things as we have always done them.

But I've already learned something about change this year from my 5 year-old granddaughter. She likes my exercise bike and has learned to sit on it backwards to ride since her feet reach the pedals that way. One day after pedaling away, she noted that no matter how much she pedaled the bike didn't go anywhere. She said if you want to ride just for the sake of riding, it's fine. But if you really want to go somewhere, you have to find a bike that can move. I made the switch from the bike to other things in my life. If I want it to make changes and go somewhere different, I can't just do the same thing over and over in the same place. I have to change my bike, or plan, to move forward. I want to try that in 2008. I want to move forward.

This applies to our spiritual lives and our church lives as well. We can use this year to try some new ideas about worship, about reaching out to our community, about ministering in the name of Jesus, and about doing church business. We can seek guidance from the Holy Spirit to move forward and not just pedal in place. Let's give it a try.

We are beginning a new series on Saturday morning with our Women's Bible Study. The group has decided to study the life of Paul. We are calling it Saul to Paul. We began last Sat. with the stoning of Stephen where we are introduced to Saul. We read the account from Acts.

As a part of the study we regularly name those we know who need prayer and commit ourselves to pray for them. Later we discuss how God has answered those prayers. One of our recent prayer concern's has been Maria's nephew who needed a heart transplant. We felt sure that God would heal him, we just didn't know how or when. We asked believing that that would happen. On Thanksgiving that prayer was answered. He has a new heart. We rejoice and praise God for answered prayer. When I say that he has a new heart, I mean that literally. So often when we talk about having a new heart, we mean it spiritually. God can create a new heart within each of us if we ask him to. When we ask Christ to forgive our sins, we does create a new heart within us.

Tracy pointed out that we have now been having this Bible study for two years. One of our first prayer requests was for a safe birth for her baby. Victoria was born in June of that year and has blessed all of our lives. Last Saturday, as the meeting ended, little Victoria folded her little hands to pray. As Tracy guided her, she prayed a simple prayer. She will grow up knowing that God answers prayers.
Praise God!

It's almost Advent. Secrets abound. Kitchens will soon smell of cinnamon and other rich spices. Christmas is coming!

When we think of Christmas, the story of the birth of Christ comes into focus. The time to act it out in our church Christmas pageant is rapidly approaching.

It will be Dec.9th at 10 am. Last year, one small angel named Hannah stole the show with her delightful dance down the aisle. This year my oldest two grandchildren will be angels. And my youngest granddaughter will be the baby Jesus. It's a lot of fun when we have a real baby in the pageant.

Somehow looking at a live baby, we can better imagine the real baby Jesus. We are all drawn into that miracle of God becoming human. It sharpens our focus to realize that God took on human flesh and came to live among us. Why would he do that?

The Bible teaches us that the creator God of the universe came to us in the form of a human baby born in Bethlehem. He did that to bridge the gulf between God and man that happened when sin came into the world. Jesus grew from the infant Christ Child, lived among us without sin, then sacrificed his own life on the cross of Calvary to save us from our sins. It's a powerful story that begins at Christmas.

Christmas is coming! Let's hear its story again this year.

We at First Baptist Church of Arlington have been involved in our stewardship drive in order to plan our budget for 2008. Asking people to pledge to give money is a problematic thing. People often complain that the church is always asking for money. It must truly seem that way to some people. But actually, I prefer to think of it as giving people the opportunity to be a part of something far bigger than any of us. People have a chance to be a part of the building of God's kingdom here on earth.

When we think something is important, we want to teach it to our children. As they grow into young adults, we hope to see evidence of lessons learned. I recently heard about a young person in our church who seems to have learned a lesson about giving. This young person has her first job, has worked hard and is saving some of the money she has earned. She found out recently that someone in her extended family was in financial need and asked if she could send money to them. Her family was happy to know that she wanted to help. When they asked her how much of her money she wanted to send, she said, "All of it." She was willing to give what was needed even if it meant all she had earned and saved.

God does not require us to give back to him all the money he has given to us. Instead, he has asked for us to give back a portion of it. We cannot out give him. In Luke 6:38, we read:

"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be pored out in your lap. For the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

I hope your lap is full!

October has been a glorious month. The beauty of the fall colors in New England, the unusally warm temperatures, and the fun of our favorite sports teams winning has provided us with much excitement and fun. In addition, we have had two beautiful weddings in the church. As these young people have committed themselves to each other, we have all wished for them much joy and long and happy marriages. Some of us who have been married for many years found ourselves thinking that they don't have a clue about what these promises will mean
for better or worse
for richer or poorer
in sickness and in health
forsaking all others
Those are heady promises. I am reminded of the commitment we make when we accept Christ as our savior. At the beginning we might not know what that involves. But as we live and walk with him, we learn that he is with us in good times and bad, in times of abundance and of deep financial need, and when we are sick and when we are well. When we acknowledge him as our God, we forsake all other gods and serve him only.

Perhaps this is why Christ compared himself to the bridegroom and described the church as his bride. There seem to be some real similarities.

As I write this column from the Christian Education office this morning it is very warm. The last few days have not felt at all like fall in New England. It feels more like fall in Louisiana with temperatures in the high 80s. But fall is coming. I see hints of it in the trees as color comes creeping in. I am aware that interest in sports is turning to football and away from baseball. The Red Sox postseason play may delay that a bit.

Join us for the Sunday School Kickoff next Sunday,
September 9th. We will have a hot dog cookout in the courtyard after the morning worship service. Sunday School classes for all ages begins on Sunday, September 16.

The adult class will be studying the Ten Commandments. This study is called Living the Ten Commandments. The class will consider how these commandments written long ago are revelant for us in the 21st century.

Our youth class will be looking at various topics in the Old Testament. The youth spirit choir will also begin again this fall.

There will also be Sunday School classes for younger children.