1 Corinthians 9:24
You know when people are running a race, they all run. But only one man will win. The way you should run is to run to win
Bible Reading for A Year:[bible]Psalm134[/bible];[bible]0John11[/bible];[bible]Lamen1-2[/bible]
When you are playing a baseball, you should play by following the rules. You can not make your own rules. You can not say, “If I hit the ball as high as 8ft, then it will be home run. This is my rule.” That’s wrong. You should play according to its rules. Even when you hit the ball until up off the ground, you still have to cross and touch each base. If you miss one base, the home runs do not count and you are disqualified.
For example, you want to follow the athletics competitions in the Olympics, then you have to play by the rules. One of the rules is athletes banned to use drugs such as steroids to improve their performance. We remember the Olympics in 1988 where Carl Lewis became the gold medalist since Ben Johnson was disqualified after being caught consuming steroids. Johnson did not play by the rules.
It also happens to our races in life which has a rulebook. It is called the Bible. We can not pick and choose some certain parts of the Bible that we like. You can not say, "I like certain truths in the Bible. I like the part about God's love and forgiveness. But the part about denying yourself and carrying the cross, its content certainly is not in the original. I do not believe it. "You can not be so. If you want to lead this race and be a winner, then you must follow the rules which God has given through the Scriptures. We have to play by the rules or we will be disqualified.