The Race started out well and I was aiming for a sub 4 hr run with the hope of hitting a 3 hrs. 50 min time.  Through the first 21 km I felt great and was passing a number of people.  I was averaging between a 5:10 and 5:20/km which was around the pace I did in October and felt great.  After 21 km I passed the halfway point at a time of 1:51:39 which is pretty good.  In comparison I completed the first 21 km in October at a 1:49:12.  Two minutes slower but still 4 min ahead of a finishing time of 3:50:00.  I was having a hard time believing that I was holding up.

At the 35 km mark is where everything changed.  In the midst of my third marathon I knew that I was about to hit the “wall”  I know it’s coming and even warned myself internally. “look out about to hit the wall…push through”  I hit the 35 km mat at a time of 3:10:08 still 4 min ahead of my goal finish and almost 14 min below 4 hrs.

When I hit 36 km I hit the wall hard and then my hip gave out on me.  I’ve been struggling in my training this year with a hip injury that was being treated by Dr. Gene Lin a sports injury clinic here in town and I stopped the therapy 5 weeks prior to the run to focus on getting the miles in but that was a huge mistake.
Once my hip gave out I had to slow the pace right down and just try and finish the race in less than 4 hrs.  I quickly lost the 4 min cushion and knew I wouldn’t hit the finish line in under 3:50.  I did make it across the finish line in a time of 3:51:56.  I’ll take it.

As I work towards the Boston Marathon I thought I’d add some positives that came out of this run and also some points of training for October.

The Good
1. 10 lbs. of extra weight and I was still able to hold pace for most of the race
2. Finished in under 4 hrs.
3. Felt good right until the injury.
4. My running partner set a PB by almost 30 min.

Moving Forward.
I’ve joined a program called Run Coach which I believe is going to be a great benefit to the future training.
I’ll get proper treatment for the hip and be back at it in a few weeks
Cross Training is key and something I did not focus on this time due to the trip to Israel.
October 20, 2013 will be the next marathon attempt at Boston….this was my goal race all along so will be a long summer of training

Just a quick note regarding the race itself.  Loved it, enjoyed coming down Lakeshore to the finish line with all of the cheers.  I would run this again.  My friend Rick and I also ran this run in memory of those who lost their lives and were injured in Boston.
We wore special t-shirts as well…

Race Details   http://connect.garmin.com/activity/308435502

We’ll see how it goes…

“The Great Commission uses three phrases to describe what disciple making entails, go, baptize people, and teach them to obey everything Jesus commanded. Simple, right? It’s incredibly simple in the sense that is doesn’t require a degree, an ordination process, or some sort of hierarchical status. It’s as simple as going to people, encouraging them to follow Jesus, and then teaching them to obey Jesus commands. The concept itself is not very difficult. But the simplest things to understand are often the most difficult to put into practice.”

Chan goes on to share not only how to disciple people but also explains the importance of studying the Bible and how to study it. At one point I felt as though I was sitting in a Precept Inductive Bible Study workshop.

The second book I read was called “Follow Me” by David Platt. This book was very challenging in the sense that Platt points out where he believes we as church members and leaders began to soften the message Christ had for the disciples He first called in Matthew 4:18-22. Jesus in vs. 19 says, “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” Their response to the call comes in verse 5 “immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” These fishermen dropped everything to follow Jesus. Platt writes,

“Should it concern us that nowhere in Scripture is anyone ever told to ‘ask Jesus into their heart,’ or to ‘invite Christ into their life?’ Yet this is exactly what multitudes of professing Christians have been encouraged to do, they’ve been assured that as long as they said certain words, recited a particular prayer, raised their hand, checked a box, signed a card, or walked an aisle, they are Christians and their salvation is eternally secure. It’s not true. With good intentions and sincere desires to reach as many people as possible for Jesus, we have subtly and deceptively minimized the magnitude of what it means to follow Him. We’ve replaced challenging words from Christ with trite phrases in the church. We’ve taken the lifeblood out of Christianity and put Kool-Aid in its place so that it tastes better to the crowds, and the consequences are catastrophic!”

As I was reading this book I couldn’t help but recall the number one “excuse” Bible study leaders hear after they’ve promoted and invited people to join them in Bible study: “I don’t have time.” How discouraging this can be. I’ve been there with you and have heard this myself. I have a hard time swallowing that pill so to speak. How can anyone, who professes Christ as the one who reconciled them to God by His death on the cross, not have time to spend with the One who was gracious enough to leave Heaven, become man, and die on a cross for our sin. Sometimes I think…this is crazy. That people long to spend eternity with God in heaven yet don’t have time to know Him now.

However, after reading the comments that Platt made it opened my eyes to the real problem the leader is facing. For a moment consider Platt’s words. The church has people in their pews that have prayed the prayer, walked the aisle, signed the card, raised the hand and now fully believe they are saved from the wrath of God but they have not died to self. (Matthew 10:39; Romans 6:11)

This would explain a lot wouldn’t it? Take a look at the picture of the baby. Weird to see isn’t it? A baby with a giant T-bone steak. Look at that steak…that is enough protein for my entire family and way too much for a baby to handle. Might this be the case when the well meaning Precept Leader invites the masses to join their Precept Upon Precept® Bible study group? We offer “solid food” and most are not ready because they still need milk (1 Cor. 3:1-5). It is quite possible that many have yet to grasp the elementary principles of the Gospel. They have not grasped the magnitude of what it means to follow Christ and thus do not have their appetite trained to study God’s Word. All we hear is “I don’t have time, I don’t want homework,” but maybe the underlying cry is “I’m not ready for steak.”

Read the testimony of a Canadian leader who had this experience!

I’ve been asking God to give me insight into whether this is truly the case within the church. I see so much apathy, lack of hunger to be in God’s Word, many who are content with living life like the world, all the while proclaiming Christ as their Saviour. Christ’s call to follow was a drop everything I desire and pursue the things God desires for me. We cannot have the world and Christ too, it doesn’t work that way. But how do we disciple the multitudes of baby Christians so they come to see this for themselves?

I believe God has already given Precept Ministries a tool to do this in the FastTrack Training program. This recent addition to our workshop lineup is a 3-hour session that focuses on the 40 Minute topical Bible Studies as well as the New Inductive Study Series. From the few FastTrack workshops that have been held this year across Canada, God has already raised up new Bible study leaders that are using these two study series.

I am confident that God will use these two types of Bible Study and the FastTrack workshop to establish people (especially those Platt identifies) in God’s Word. These studies have a shorter time commitment than Precept Upon Precept® and they are an appropriate diet for young Christians. What I love about the FastTrack workshop is that any church or group that hosts the workshop can pick any book of the Bible and any of the 24 topics in the 40 Minute Series. No longer is training exclusively for the Precept Upon Precept® crowd. That is exciting!

The main point is you and I both have a major role to play in establishing new people in God’s Word. For years all there was to study was Precept Upon Precept.® And, unlike the baby, many of us are well equipped to handle steak when it is put before us. We look at the 40-Minute Series and NISS books as milk not worthy to be used as a study. But who better to lead the precious ‘babe in Christ’ into the Word using a 40-Minute Study than a seasoned student of the Word? Wouldn’t you love to watch the new child grow and become a mature disciple who is equipped to handle steak when it is put in front of them?

Let me encourage you to get a 40-Minute Bible Study. The Power of Knowing God, our latest release, is a powerful study on God’s character. Grab one or more new people who you know have never studied Precept and start them on the process to knowing what it means to “Follow Me.”

There is no greater time then now for disciples of Jesus Christ to become intentional disciple makers. In reading Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus says, “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo I am with you always to the end of the age.”
Take the command Jesus has given us and run with it. Only in the power of the Spirit and working together can you and I establish 30,000 new Canadians in God’s Word in 2013!

Join me on April 9 at 6:30 pm Eastern for the FastTrack workshop online from anywhere in Canada. Workshop materials will be sent by mail. Please register by April 2 if you are attending online.

Here’s hoping I kick this cold fast and can get back into a regular training schedule

Later

I also had an opportunity to compete today using my new Garmin 31ox GPS running watch.  This watch is a great tool to keep on track with pace through out the run.

Click Here to see the details of my Garmin Watch

I love to run in the early morning and I find that as I am listening to worship songs I am having a great opportunity to meet the Lord. This morning though was a new experience.

Before I tell you more about this morning, let me share with you that this has been a crazy week-and-a-half here at the office. We have started a renovation project in which we are turning our bookstore and reception area in to a reading lounge and bookstore. For years I have envisioned our building as primarily a training centre, not an office or even a bookstore, but a place where people are welcome to come and study the Bible in our classrooms. I’ve envisioned starting a 40-Minute study and using our lounge as a comfortable non-threatening classroom where those in the body of Christ can disciple others. The vision is now becoming a reality! It has not come without its struggles but when I look back and see what God has done all I can do is stand in awe.

Let me share a few of our recent God moments with you. The old ceramic floor needed to be replaced. I was in the final stages of choosing a floor from Home Depot when one of our staff members put me in touch with a friend from the ministry, I asked our friend if he would come and help me with the project and he was more than willing to do the job with me. I was so thankful as I am not handy at all.  Ko put me in contact with Sam, a Christian brother, who owns a flooring company here in Brantford. He came and measured up the floor and made sure we had enough materials but his quote to remove the old floor and install the new one was out of our budget. We purchased the flooring from Sam but chose to continue with our DIY installation. When Sam came to collect his final payment for the floor we were talking and I mentioned that God had sent people like Ko and others who were donating their labor to help us get the project done. Sam and I had already talked and he knew my heart and I knew his and the commonality was all in Jesus Christ. As Sam left he mentioned that if I needed any help all we had to do was call. But yesterday I was blown away, God put the ministry on his heart and as we began the installation yesterday morning, he sent his son and another installer to help us put down the new floor. With their experience we were able to accomplish in half a day what might have taken two! Only God has the ability to stir a man’s heart to partner with us in this project. Today as I write this the floor is installed and we’ll be ready to set up the new store in a few days. Praise the Lord!

Another God moment came in the form of answered prayer. While on one of my runs last week God laid on my heart the desire to have a D4Y (Children’s Bible Study) class that would partner and be taught at the same time as a Precept Upon Precept adult class. As I ran I began to envision a class of children and adults working through the book of Genesis together. As I finished my run I said, “Lord, if this is of you send me a teacher.”

I did not share this with anyone in the office or at home but a few hours later I went to say hello to a customer in the book store. She was sharing with one of our staff what God had laid on her heart. She had spoken with her pastor about starting a class of adults and children together using Precept Upon Precept and the D4Y material. As I listened to her I did not say a thing but inside my heart was stirring. I was shocked, amazed, standing in awe of an Awesome God. Answered prayer!

On my run this morning the lyrics to “Stand in Awe” came flooding through my headphones, “Everything unto You, Everything held by You, All of our hope is in you Jesus, Nothing compares to You, Nothing will take Your Place, All of our trust is in You Lord.” As I belted out the lyrics I was wrecked, tears flowing down my face, standing in awe that God has consider us worthy of His blessing. Here is the amazing part, our prayer for 2013 is…Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” I stand in awe knowing that God is and will do far more abundantly beyond all we ask or think. I just thought He’d wait till 2013.

This is my week so far, so thankful for what God has done, doing and will do through this ministry.

What has God been doing in your life that causes you to Stand in Awe? I would love to hear your testimony. Drop me a note in the response area below.

Watch Stand in Awe by Hillsong