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London Marathon 2010 - Part 1

Well. After 5 hours and 29 minutes of solid running I completed the London Marathon 2010, along with 37 000 other runners! It was a truly immense and intense experience and I've decided to do a special 3-Part Blog to cover just a few of the things that happened; God has done some truly miraculous work and taught me so much.

It all started back in April of 2009. I did not decide to do it because I was nagged into it or because my visits to Zambia and the Orphanages out there had instilled into me a measure of guilt from which I now felt compelled to act; no, it was because God spoke to me and made it clear that this was what He wanted me to do. A 'spark' of faith is all that's needed to start something and sustain it to completion.

As many of you will know, I began to build up the training until I was running 15 miles before Christmas; things were going well. And then I hit some problems. I sustained a number of injuries which took a while to heal and this meant that by the time I stood on the start line, I had not done as much training as I'd liked. On top of this, I'd been to see my Doctor four weeks ago (on the day of Esther Alexander's Gig) and he, along with a colleague who himself did a lot of long-distance running spoke the words every runner does not want to hear: "You won't be running the marathon this year, if you do your knee will get worse, you may even do long term damage to it and you'll end up having to stop running and walk it in 8 hours instead."

I vividly remember hearing those words and thinking, 'That's it, I'm going to have to withdraw and announce to everyone tonight the whole thing's off until next year." I was pretty gutted and convinced that I should not run; after all, not one but TWO Doctors had made it clear what they thought, surely people would understand?

Yet, I could not get out of my mind what I believed God had told me to do: run the marathon. After a conversation with Pastor John, who confirmed that I should go with my faith and overrule advice if I believed it was hindering what the Lord had told me to do, I decided to go for it, even with some considerable odds stacked against me. This 'faith factor' really helped reassure me through those weeks building up to the race that it was the right thing to do.

Around that time, I really felt the Lord give me a key text which would, as it turned out, sustain me through the whole thing: Isaiah 40:28-31 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

These verses were fuel to my faith all the way through the preparation and build up to the day as well as during the entire race itself. At the 13 mile mark, I remembered seeing hundreds of runners coming in the opposite direction on the other side of the road - I knew this was where my race really began as there were another 9 miles in front of me taking me through the Isle of Dogs. I'd planned to have a 'faith boost' at that time and had written out the above verse on a bit of paper and kept it in my pocket for that moment. I'm guessing the runners around me thought I was nuts as I read this verse out loud to myself, reminding myself that what I was doing was a job given to me by God; He'd not told me to complete it in a certain time, only that I must complete it and He would sustain me and play His part, if I was obedient and played my part. I think the jelly babies I'd saved up for that moment helped too!

5 hours, 29 minutes and 3 seconds was the outcome. If we do it God's way we will always prosper even when worldly wisdom and well-intentioned advice says otherwise.

Run Fatboy Run

Rather alarmingly, a number of people watched the comedy 'Run Fatboy Run' on tv last weekend and claimed it reminded them of me; I think it was more to do with the marathon running rather then being a bit on the plump side! I woke up at 6.44am today (despite a rather late return from an excellent homegroup meeting last night) with my mind full of marathon stuff: the logistics, the practical arrangements of getting there, getting back and the er...26.2 miles in between! On Monday I had a bit of a wobble and did not keep my mind under control, consequently all sorts of negative things began to creep in and it was a conversation with a friend on Tuesday (he had run the London Marathon a few years ago) who really encouraged me and spoke faith into my situation.

On Tuesday, as well as this timely phone call, we had an excellent youth session which included prayer for all three of us running on Sunday. Wednesday was another day of encouragement as hundreds of pounds of sponsorship have been coming in from friends and family (I'm getting ever closer to my £2620 target) and in the evening, our homegroup was extremely powerful as we worshipped God and prayed into a number of ongoing situations, including...yup, you've guessed it: the marathon.

God knows what we need. When He tells us to do something, He always gives us little 'encouragers' along the way to confirm and then reaffirm that He is with us and even though our feelings may vacillate, He does not. How often we have to be told the same thing! Remember Joshua? The opening chapters of his account are littered with the phrase, "Be bold, be strong, do not be afraid'; in fact it is the most repeated phrase in the Bible and for good reason.

This will be my last blog entry before I run the London Marathon 2010. I know that despite some things being against me, God is with me and He will bring me through. There will be times of darkness and light; times of ecstasy and times of agony as well as a time to start and a time to finish. Through it all I hold onto these wonderful words from Isaiah 40:28-31

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Please pray for all three of us who are running London Marathon for Aid International and I'll see you on the other side...

Remember The Poor

The poor matter. Having read through over 100 Psalms in recent weeks, the 'poor' are often mentioned and we are commanded to care for them. Being 'poor' is not just about having no money. It can include widows, orphans, the sick, those in prison and, perhaps most significantly, a poverty of spirit that transcends material goods.

Psalm 41: 1-3 (ESV) "Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health."

Psalm 113:4-8 (NIV) says, "The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people."

Yesterday I was praying (once again) about the forthcoming marathon on Sunday. I was reading through this Psalm and I felt the Lord remind me that His pleasure rests on this work because I am remembering the poor; I am looking to resource them with good things in the midst of their material and spiritual paucity. Keeping a heart for and eye on the poor is something that will draw God's affection; as we care about what matters to Him, so He cares about what matters to us. This is more than just doing some work for 'charideee', no, this is an expression of Kingdom life and love in an intensely practical way and I do not think we will truly see just how important it is to God until we one day see Him face to face.

Turn And Face The Son

Having been away for a week, I was looking forward to being back in Church yesterday. It was a Dedication Service and so there were a lot more visitors and guests present than usual (at one point it was standing room only at the back) and the whole morning was full of life and the occasional laugh too.

As we enter this week, my mind is now concentrating on running the London Marathon this Sunday. After months of training, preparation and prayer, this faith-fuelled endeavour is reaching it's climax. I've been doing some training, perhaps not as much as I would have liked, but I believe God is in this and He is with me - that's the most important thing. I'll be blogging more about that the build up to the run later on this week but needless to say, please keep praying for me and if you haven't yet sponsored me and would like to, please go to my webpage and donate today! http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JamesH

One thing that is important when you run a marathon is you face the finish line. Turning back, looking back, or even retracing your steps back to the start is not an option: it's madness. I am learning that sometimes all God asks us to do is to face the right way. We may not be running hard in the victories of life or even ambling through spiritual struggles and problems, no, sometimes God just wants us to stand and in so doing we face the right way. We face The Son, we turn our eyes upon Jesus.

Ephesians 6:13 says, "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." Firstly, note that this verse GUARANTEES that there will be a 'day of evil'; those darker days are all part of God's training of your character. Secondly, don't be discouraged today if it feels like you have ground to a halt, it maybe that God is simply asking you to stand and guard the ground already taken from the enemy. During this time, don't look back but look up; look to Jesus (Luke 9:62).

It's as simple as that.

Home Sweet Home

You need to be in a Church. Full Stop. It is a non-negotiable for anyone who is serious about following Jesus. I know that some people have had bad 'experiences' in Churches and take the 'I have no problem with God, it's the Church I don't like' view but that, my friend, is dangerous talk and an accelerated route towards spiritual compromise, mediocrity or even apostasy! God knows what we need and what we need is a safe, secure place in which we can grow, mature in our faith and be subject to sound teaching, correction and...at times...discipline. The Bible presents The Church as an army, as a family, as a Bride and more but however it is viewed, one can never obfuscate the fact that it is very, very, very important and you mess with it at your peril!

This morning, I read Psalm 92:12-15 (NKJV) which says, "The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." God reminded me of 1 Corinthians 12:18 (The Message), "As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it."

So many of us moan, complain and whine about Church. We choose a Church based on whether we like it. However, it is clear that God places, positions and provides for us a place in His body, of His choosing and trampling over that holy process will, at best ensure your life as a Christian is a very long, lonely journey whilst at worst it will ensure you slip into deception and propagate an independent spirit that will leave you in a spiritual dead-end with nowhere to go. I love The Church and I am keen to protect and honour the place in which God has positioned me so I can produce fruit that will last. Maybe it would be good for you too to reflect on where God has positioned you and if you've left somewhere and now have a 'problem with the Church' then recognise this for the excuse that it is and get back to where God put you.

No more blogging for a week or so now as I'm off to enjoy some sun, surf and sand in er...Wales. Have a great week and see you back here on Monday 19 April - Marathon Week! Bye bye...

History Makers?

Well, they did it...after many years trying to crack the Radio 1 playlist, Delirious not only got airplay but reached the staggering heights of Number 4 in the UK chart with their song 'History Maker' just months after they er...disbanded. Still, it makes a change having something Christ-centred anywhere near the charts let alone in the Top 10.

I liked the sentiment behind the song; it reminded me that Christianity is both restorative and transformative. Both these positions re-frame Christian life; no longer are we pew fodder or just 'bums on seats', instead we become radical revolutionaries. This has nothing to do with strapping bombs to yourself and detonating them in densely populated areas hoping that this somehow guarantees you a better eternity, flying planes into buildings, forcing people to subscribe to your religious views on pain of death or even building a theocracy through the ballot box. No, Christian revolution is very different in nature because in all things, Jesus Christ is the example and He was both loved and loathed by different groups of people through Who He was and what He did. We should not expect different treatment.

This morning I was reading about George Whitefield and he referred to the bullying and intimidatory tactics of local mobs all of whom were seeking to run him and other Christian ministers out of a local town.

"About the beginning of July last, their opposition [i.e. of the mob] seemed to rise to the highest. For several days they assembled in great bodies, broke the windows and mobbed the people to such a degree that many expected to be murdered and hid themselves in holes and corners to avoid the rage of their adversaries. Once, when I was there, they continued from four in the afternoon till midnight, rioting, giving loud huzzas, casting dirt upon the hearers and making proclamations, "That no anabaptists, presbyterians etc should preach there, upon pain of being put into a tan pit and afterwards a brook." At one time they pulled one or two women down the stairs by the hair of their heads. And on the 10 July they...forced into Mr. Adams' house [a local preacher] ... took him out of his house and threw him into a tan-pit full of noisome things and stagnated water." (Taken from The Life and Times of George Whitfield by Robert Philip p.279).

History is littered with Christians who have been persecuted for their beliefs but maintained a steady course through those choppy waters to emerge triumphant on the other side, even if that resulted in them seeing Jesus sooner than they'd thought; death is not a defeat. However, we should also remember that there are some aspects of our radical revolutionary lifestyle in Christ which DO appeal to the world. We can often take an 'either/or' position and forget that we can also expect to be welcomed and well-received as we work out this 'Good News'.

Tim Keller writes "if you live out the life Christ wants you to live, there will always be some overlap with your surrounding culture in which they admire much of what you do, and they will be offended by other things you do...whatever you are, if you simply live out your counter cultural servant life, part of what you do will be attractive and part of what you do will be offensive and you have to let the chips fall where they may. You will be a saviour to those who are being saved and you will be a stench to those who are not. So you will be both attractive and repulsive." (Taken from The Supremacy of Christ in a Post-Modern World (Eds) John Piper and Justin Taylor at p. 152).

More youth work is done in this country by Christian-based groups than by their statutory sector counterparts. Inner city deprivation and poverty are all being tackled by hundreds and thousands of revolutionary Christians. Palliative care and support for elderly people is often underpinned by Christian values and beliefs. Millions of pounds are donated every year and given to charities by Christians themselves. As Keller writes, we can expect to be BOTH attractive AND repulsive to this world and not be phased when the tide turns or the winds of popularity grow a little chilly.

Just remember: you are living a revolutionary life in Christ Jesus and that's all that counts.