Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled Running the Race

was written by Adam Holes. The careers of most national football league players are remarkably

brief, just 3.3 years on average, according to

Statista.com.

Then there's NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

In 2021, he began his 22nd season at the age of 44.

How?

Perhaps his famously rigorous diet and exercise routine have enabled him to maintain his competitive edge.

Brady's seven Super Bowl rings have earned him the title of Goat, greatest of all time in the NFL.

But it's a title he never could have achieved, apart from letting his single-minded pursuit of football

perfection, shape everything in his life. The Apostle Paul recognized athletes exhibiting similar

discipline in his day, but he also saw that no matter how much they trained, ultimately,

their glory faded. In contrast, he said, we have an opportunity

to live for Jesus in a way that affects eternity. If athletes striving for momentary glory can

work so hard at it, Paul implies, how much more should those living for a crown that will last forever?

We don't train to earn salvation, rather just the opposite. As we realize how truly wondrous

our salvation is, it reshapes our priorities, our perspective, and the very things we live for, as each of us faithfully

runs our own race of faith in God's strength.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from first corinthians chapter nine verses 24 through

27 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.

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