Iron Prayer

I haven't blogged in two weeks. I have been distracted. Last year I watched my son Jeremy do what is called the Iron Man. It is an endurance race that involves swimming, biking, and running. It was so inspiring I decided to do it with him this year. Right now we are in Louisville, Kentucky and tomorrow we will race. There are around 3000 people who will be doing this tomorrow. Yesterday we were in the parking lot of the hotel and started a conversation with a very fit guy who was obviously going to be racing. We talked for a few minutes. His name is Dan. Dan said, "Hey, you guys are Christians right?" He then told us he was a pastor of a church in California and invited us to what is called Iron Prayer where some of the racers who are Christians gather to pray before the big day. Yesterday afternoon we met with them. It was amazing. We met Scott who will be doing the race as a guide for Mark. Mark is blind. They will be attached by a bungee cord during the swim and the run. They will ride a special tandem bike. Scott has trained only to be the eyes for Mark. Mark talked about how thankful he was for Scott. The whole thing was moving. All of us committed to making tomorrow a day of worship. We want to be like Scott is for Mark. We want to be the ones who help and pray for those who are hurting. The time yesterday reminded me of what a special thing it is to be a part of the family of God. There is nothing more special in all the world. I am reminded of what Jesus said when he started his ministry. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Tomorrow, during one of the most difficult endurance events in the world, the Gospel will be played out for all the world to see. I love being a Christian.