There is a finishing line that must be crossed for the believer to receive the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Unlike the earthly, the heavenly race is not a competition, therefore everyone that crosses the finishing line wins the race. Runners in the heavenly race encounter a lot of hindrances and distracting circumstances occasioned by the devil. Therefore, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Mary Magdalene was the first to discover the empty tomb and she promptly informed Peter and John that the Lord had been removed from the tomb. When these two disciples ran to the tomb and confirmed that the Lord was not there, they returned to their own home. But Mary stayed back at the tomb weeping, until she eventually saw two angels in the tomb and Jesus standing behind her. Mary's persistence paid off in the end.

Faith makes the believer bigger than their actual appearance. All that you need to do exploits in the kingdom of God is faith as small as a mustard seed. Every believer has this size of faith but unfortunately many are not aware of this fact. When his disciples asked the Lord to increase their faith, he told them all they needed was faith as small as a mustard seed - Luke 17:6.

A baby that is born complete with all the members of the body does not immediately know how to use those members to their full potential. For instance, he may hear the sound of spoken words but is unable to make sense out of what is being said. Also, though the baby may make sounds with his mouth, he'll not be understood by grown-ups. The newborn baby needs food for physical growth and development.

Greed, covetousness, the love of money and materialism cause the heart of man to drift away from God. And the heart that is far from God will usually be plagued by sorrow and misery. There may be temporary happiness, but without contentment real joy will definitely be missing. Covetousness like idolatry takes the heart away from the Lord. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry - 1 Corinthians 10:14.