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BUMC Mini-Blast August 19, 2025
JesusTime Devotion
by Joey Capuano

Hebrews 12:1, Galatians 6:9, Isaiah 40: 30-31, and Philippians 2:3

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,

9 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.

30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted,
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.

Run with Pack Love

by Joey Capuano

Good morning! ¡Buenos días! I have been inspired by multiple Sermon Series and my daily Bible app recently for the topic of my JesusTime Devotion this week. The main topic has been inspiring one another to run the race to win - what does winning mean? Sharing God’s Love with all!

The Verses that came to my mind and that I heard through the Sermons and the Bible Readings mainly focus on us running the race of life with the strength, reassurance, and endurance that only Christ can provide. What a comforting truth for every one of us!

When I was in middle school and high school, I ran cross country. Although cross country is thought of as an individual sport where you are focusing on improving your time through training, I always loved how much teamwork was involved and the sheer feeling of friendship that we had as teammates! In training, we would partner up with teammates of similar times, whether we were on our team’s scoring ladder or not, and would provide support for each other through races and practices. In training long runs, we would cover the miles, running through BEAUTIFUL areas on the back roads of the Shenandoah Valley where we could marvel at the AWESOMENESS of God’s Blessing of nature to us! On race days, we would all preview the course together as an entire team, listening to our coach give us strategy like the following: this downhill portion is where you can open your stride to increase your distance in front of competitors, short strides up a hill, and sprint to the finish! But the most inspiring thing about this sport is that, even among competitors, we encourage each other to “not grow weary,” and finish the race strong!

What a powerful life message! We are all faced with many challenges, each and every day - hard medical situations among ourselves, friends, and family, an upcoming presentation at work, maybe even a setback at work, and hard feelings between people we love or may have a hard time getting along with. But, as these Verses remind us, especially in Isaiah 40: 30-31, God provides us with the strength, wisdom, and love to achieve in everything that we face. We can always remember that!

Our team motto in cross country was “Pack attack!” This means running together, as a team, and finishing the race strong so we can have the best combined score as a team. I think we can amend this motto for our Faith Walk to “Pack Love!” We can all work together, as a “pack,” to live and share the Love of God with everyone we meet. Who is our Coach, Source of Inspiration and strategy, and Leader? You got it - our Lord!

One thing that I think is important for us to remember in our race called life, though, is in Philippians 2: 3. We cannot go about this with selfish ambition or arrogance. This isn’t the way that we are called to spread the Gospel. Rather, we are called to accomplish this through humility, just as Jesus did. He is our Coach!

And the coolest thing about cross country, which is also applied to our Faith Walk, is that everyone gets to participate. It’s not about being the strongest or the fastest. Jesus loves us all and encourages us all to this amazing journey.

Let’s do this together as members of Jesus’ Pack!
Joey