Intro

The Winter Olympics are a great spectacle of snowboarders racing down mountains and speed skaters racing across slick ice surfaces. Finishing the race well requires clear focus on the prize, personal discipline, and excellent coaching and accountability along the way. If you allow another athlete to cut in on you during the race, your race to Olympic victory could end in a matter of milliseconds.

The apostle Paul often refers to the Christian life as a race. He does not want to run in vain. He wants to avoid stumbling blocks and finish well. He is running for the ultimate prize of knowing Jesus and being transformed into His likeness. As followers of Jesus, we are called to run the same race. What causes us to stumble and sometimes even binds us?