|
Day 24
Playing for the Right Team?
By Al Menconi
When
I committed my life to Christ, I didn’t
simply follow a new set of rules. No,
my whole nature changed. Ephesians
5:8 describes the transition this
way: “You were formerly darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord; walk
as children of light.” It doesn’t
say that I was IN darkness; it says that
I WAS darkness.
In baseball terminology, I played out
my contract with a losing team and signed
as a free agent with the World Champions!
What do you think Satan’s response
was? “Oh, darn! I lost Al as a
valuable player on my team! Now I’ll
have to recruit someone else to take
his place!” Nope. He’s not
worried about replacing me. He already
has a full team and then some. He has
an unlimited supply of players and he
always has a full lineup. But he hates
me (and my new Manager), so he wants
to make me feel worthless to my new team.
And after thousands of years of practice,
he is a master at doing this.
First, he’ll try to convince
me that I’m not really signed up
for the team, or that I’ve already
voided my new contract/covenant. He’ll
put doubts in my mind that I’m
not good enough to play with the Champs.
If that doesn’t work, he’ll
try to convince me that every time I
make an error, the Manager will send
me back to the losing team.
He wants me to forget that, along with
my new uniform, I now have a new nature
(Galatians 2:20 ). I died to self (Romans
6:6) and became a whole new player (2
Corinthians 5:17 ). I am no longer a
loser on a losing team. I am a winner
on a winning team, and I should act like
it.
The only way Satan can keep me from
being a winner is to destroy my strength.
Since he can’t get me back on his
old team, his goal is to make me ineffective
(weak) on our new team. We know that
the “joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah
8:10 ). Satan knows it too, so in order
to make us weak, he tries to destroy
our joy.
Scripture warns us, don’t “let
others spoil our faith and joy with
their philosophies, wrong and shallow
answers based on men’s thoughts
and ideas instead of on what Christ has
said” (Colossians 2:8).
Where do you find men’s thoughts
and ideas that are against what Christ
has said? Turn on your TV, stereo, videos,
or video games. In other words, Scripture
(the Player’s Handbook) says that
if we dwell on thoughts and ideas that
are against Biblical truth, it will eventually
spoil our faith and joy–it will
ruin our game!
Think about it! What is secular music
besides some men’s or women’s
thoughts and ideas set to a tune? What
are television programs, movies, and
DVDs besides somebody’s thoughts
and ideas acted out on the screen?
Just as professional players always
need to concentrate on the fundamentals,
Christians also need to remember the
basics.
1. God loves us and we are new creatures
in Him.
2. Satan hates us and wants to destroy
us and make us spiritually weak.
3. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
4. Satan wants to destroy your joy
with the empty philosophies of the world
that are against biblical values.
5. Where can you find these empty philosophies?
Turn on your television, radio, or stereo.
They are all right there.
Reflection: We are on
the winning team and the final score
is already in. There are no extra innings.
We are still playing out the “game,” but
the final score is not in doubt. We have
already won! You don’t have to
listen to those who don’t know
the score.
Response: It is often
a great idea to enhance a regular time
of Bible study with Christian music.
Study to some instrumental music. Meditate
on the Scripture while listening to your
favorite Christian artist. Memorize Scripture
by listening to a Scripture chorus song.
Verse of the Day: Psalms 33:3
"Sing to Him a new song; play
skillfully, and shout for joy." (NIV)
This verse represents many others that
basically say the same thing: we are
to sing a NEW song joyfully. The implication
is that we are to put our hearts and
souls into our singing to God.
Much of secular music (our old song)
focuses our thoughts and emotions on
worldly pleasures, but Christian music
(our new song) helps us focus our thoughts
and feelings on the riches of Jesus Christ.
Because salvation comes by Grace and
not an emotional experience, I find that
many Christians are afraid of becoming
passionate in their spiritual worship
and singing. But did you ever try to
shout for joy for something you didn’t
have an emotional attachment to?
What happens when the home team gets
a game-winning touchdown or hits a game
winning home run in the bottom of the
final inning? The fans of the home team
go nuts, don’t they? The fans of
the other side are usually much quieter.
Why? Because the home team fans are emotionally
attached to the home team. That’s
why they get so excited and shout for
joy!
The same is true with Jesus Christ.
We can’t really fulfill this command
to shout joyfully to the Lord, unless
we have a passion for the One we are
shouting about. Christian music can help
us develop this emotional relationship
more deeply.
[Home]
[Previous]
[Table of Articles]
[Next]
[About FTMC]
[Contact Us]
|
