Winning

If you are a professional football fan you will know by the time you read this if your team made it past the first week of the playoffs. My team, the Cowboys, are about to play as I write this and I am hoping I will have to set aside time for a game next week. It is not easy to reach this point in the NFL World, but the ‘Boys are here – and I hope you enjoyed the game.

There is another place I hope to see “winners” this year. It’s the Church of Jesus Christ. One might asked what it means to be a “winner” in the the Church, so let me explain.  It has nothing to do with the numbers – buildings, budgets, baptisms – rather it is completely focused on the personal development of the individual Believer. Some Believers will spend a lot of time this year on “lesser things,” meaning that which is less important than winning the battle with our Enemy without, and the fleshly nature within us (sometimes called the “old sin nature”) which has yet to be conformed to the image of Christ (see Romans 12:1-2)

I can summarize for you in just a few words the winner’s  mantra and commitment — to llove the Lord God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and llove the family of God with the same enthusiasm and focus, utilizing the entirety of our strength for both.

Having another mediocre year, struggling with being at peace, never really being filled with (under the control of) His Spirit, and failing to be focused on ministry within the family of God, is to miss an opportunity to WIN. Only one team will be declared World Champion in the National Football League. Fortunately any Church (and that is a group of Believers in a local environment) and every Church, who focus on obedience to God’s revealed Word, and clearly and accurately following the leadership of God’s Spirit, can be a winner. I hope you are part of such.