Couch potatoes to 5k runner

Couch potatoes to 5k runner
Too many people have been turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their body’s rebel and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves.
You should ease into your running program gradually. The idea is to transform you from couch potato to runner, getting you running three miles (or 5K) on a regular basis in no time at all.
It's easy to get impatient, and you may feel tempted to skip ahead in the program, but hold yourself back. Don't try to do more, even if you feel you can. If, on the other hand, you find the program too strenuous, just stretch it out. Don't feel pressured to continue faster than you're able. Repeat weeks if needed and move ahead only when you feel you're ready.
God is looking to His church today and saying get off the couch and start training to run a marathon called life.
Many times during the course it will get tough but don’t give up.
You might be asking yourself why not? Well perseverance, persistence, the prize!
The Christian life was never promised as an easy way to live: instead, Paul constantly reminds us that we must have a purpose and a plan because times will be difficult and Satan will attack. But we never persevere without the promise of a prize- a promise God will keep.
Let’s look at the purpose….the plan…the prize
1 Corinthians 9:24-27:
24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Winning a race requires purpose and discipline. Paul uses this illustration to explain that the Christian life takes hard work, self-denial, and grueling preparation.
As Christians, we are running towards our heavenly reward.
The essential disciplines of prayer, bible study, and worship equip us to run with vigor and stamina.
Whatever happened to self discipline? Self discipline requires an honest look at your strengths and weaknesses. It means building the will to say no when a powerful appetite inside you screams yes.
For example, when you have self discipline you can say no to friends or situations that will lead you away from Christ. You can say no to casual sex, saving intimacy for marriage and you can say no to laziness in favor of “can do” and “will do”.
Self discipline is a long, steady course in learning attitudes that do not come naturally, and channeling natural appetites towards Gods purposes.
Don’t merely observe from the grandstand: don’t just turn out to jog a couple of laps each morning. Train diligently- your spiritual progress depends upon it.
It is easy to tell others how to live and then not to take our own advice. We must be careful to practice what we preach.
The purpose is to Run to get the prize, Run with purpose in every step.
The plan we see here is to discipline your body, training it.
The prize is an eternal prize.
As we strive to run this race we need to have the right motives for running. As we run we our sowing seeds. It will be worth it all if we will persevere.
Galatians 6:7-10:
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
It would certainly be a surprise if you planted corn and pumpkins came up. It’s a natural law to harvest what we plant.
It’s true in other areas too. If you gossip about your friends you will lose their friendship. Every action has results.
If you plant to please your own desires, you’ll harvest a crop of sorrow and evil. If you plant to please God, you’ll harvest joy and everlasting life. What kind of seeds are you planting?

The purposes we see here is don’t get tired of doing good, don’t give up and do good to everyone.
The plan is to live to please the Spirit.
The prize is everlasting life.

Philippians 3:12-14:
Pressing toward the Goal
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Paul said that his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ had in mind for him.
This goal took all of Paul’s energies.
This is a helpful example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off of our goal- knowing Christ.
With the single- mindedness of an athlete in training we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians. What is holding you back?
Paul had reason to forget the past- he persecuted Christians in his past.
We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be.
Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become.
Don’t dwell on your past. Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with him now.
Realize that you are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and obedience.
Look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of your hope in Christ.
The purpose here is to possess that perfection for which Christ possessed you.
The plan to forget the past: press on to reach the end of the race.
The prize is the heavenly prize for which God calls you.
God has so much in store for us all, it’s up to us if we choose to achieve it or not. No-one said it will be easy and we all will go at our own pace but the important thing is we continue to always move forward.
It doesn’t matter which place to finish the race but that you do finish and when you are done can say you gave it your all. You do your best and god will do the rest.