Stephen Paddock recently shocked the world when he gunned down defenseless attenders of a country music festival in Las Vegas.  He killed 58 people and injured another 546.  Pictures of Paddock have dominated the local and cable news stations for weeks.  He joins the ranks of Omar Saddiqui Mateen, Seung-Hui Cho, Adam Lanza and several other horrendous mass shooters in US history. These hideous crimes pale in comparison to Mao Tse-Tung, Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Kim II Sung and other brutal dictators who killed millions during their short time on earth.

These wicked men seek glory and fame, even if their only means to success is through evil deeds and shedding innocent blood.  They fail to realize that

For the past few years, there have been numerous shows and movies about Zombies.  The most prominent is AMC’s, The Walking Dead, which is going on its 8th season.  When people die, they turn into a zombie-like, dead man walking, also known as a “Walker” and immediately start seeking to devour the “Living” people.  Like the Zombie curse, sin entered this world through Adam.  As a result, all humanity is born under the curse of sin.  The Bible warns, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).

This world is filled with people who are under the influence and control of Satan.  They are walking dead, zombie-like people who are going

The Apostle Paul described life as a race and declared that he had finished his race with joy.  How can we, like Paul, finish our race – our life with joy?

• Run your race with your eye on the prize – don’t compare your ministry to others.  As humans, our eyes can only focus in one direction. We can either focus straight ahead, up or down, left or right.  If we are running a race, our focus should be straight ahead, toward the finish line.  Runners who look elsewhere will slow down, stumble or get out of their lane (and disqualified). Likewise, Christians should focus on their own ministry.  Don’t waste time
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