WOW! I was blown away by the response to our unhindered devotions when they appeared on the church’s web site Monday. That first day, nearly two hundred people visited our web site for the very first time. That’s right…these are people who had never seen our church web site.

We’re off to a great start, but how we finish is equally important. I learned that lesson in elementary school (way back in the 1960s).

The school district had an annual event called “field day” when students from several of the smaller elementary schools gathered to participate in various competitions. These were not athletic teams, just kids having fun. Most of us were not very good at the events we entered, but we still tried. I was running in the 440 yard dash…why anyone would call running 440 yards a dash is beyond me. Anyway, I was doing well. In fact several runners had fallen way behind or given up at the last turn. I was in fourth place (ribbons were given to the top three finishers) and running out of gas, so I quit. As I watched the top three runners approach the finish line, the one in third gave up and lay on the ground. I was so angry with myself…I could have had a nice white third place ribbon.

That was more than 40 years ago and I still wish I had won that ribbon.

I want to encourage you to continue with these daily “unhindered devotions” and not give up. Some days the devotions will be more meaningful than others. Some days you will be more motivated than others. Some days you will have more time than others. But the one who finishes will experience the greatest benefit. Don’t quit.

If you haven’t started using these devotions, it’s not too late.

Pastor Steve Hogg