For as long as I can remember, athletic competition has been a major component of my life. I have always loved to compete, and I’m honestly not sure which is greater -- my love for winning or my hatred for losing! I’m sure that I have not always done a great job of keeping those emotions in balance. Certainly, if confronted with the choice, I’ll choose victory every time!
The spiritual battle that all believers face is infinitely more important than any mere athletic competition. While the stakes are high, the truth is that we have the ability to decide to enjoy victory from the moment we decide to follow Jesus. John 1:12 tells us, “ Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” Choosing to receive Christ is a decision for victory because we become one of God’s children and that means an unbelievable inheritance is ours!
As great as a relationship with God is, he does not guarantee us freedom from problems. He does, however, promise victory over those problems. In Romans 8:37 Paul writes about the position of believers in Christ when they encounter the most difficult circumstances. He declares “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Being considered a conqueror is a pretty lofty distinction, so being “more than a conqueror” is really something special!
God has given believers the right to become his children, and the responsibility to live as “more than a conqueror!” Why would anyone choose to lose when they can choose to experience victory?
Do you have the will to win or do you choose to lose? You were born to be a winner!
Mark Fenn
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I met with the preacher this week and stated that I felt like if I reached down and picked up my sword to do battle against that which I've battled against all my life, that I would be lonely for the rest of my life. I reached a really low point in life Saturday night and called a friend and told him I needed help. He immediately started praying for me and gave me a book to read. When I got back home, I had received an email from an out-of-town friend who said God laid it on his heart to start praying for me. These two men responded on cue to God's nudges and shored me up on both sides. To God's faithful, pray and study and be prepared for God's nudges and respond to them to lift up your fellow brothers and sisters when they are wounded. I picked up my sword Saturday night and sheathed it in my heart. I'll lean on his Word again. After all, life isn't about me, it's about bringing glory to God.
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