Game Over!

The World Cup is officially over! Congrats to the nation of Spain. It was a thrilling match between the Netherlands and Spain! I was hoping for a "Sudden Death" between the two. And I was hoping for the Netherlands to claim the World Cup. The Netherlands had 2 easy chances to score! But Spain kicked one in!

It's been a fun World Cup championship. The funny part of the World Cup was watching the players grimmace, yell, roll around the turf in "apparent pain" hoping to persuade the referee to flash his cards at the opponents. Only a very few that I've seen deserves "cards," but MOST, seriously, were obviously an ACT!

Throughout the course of the World Cup, I see scenes that resembles our faith in God and battles against the Evil One. To name a few:

1. We battle against our opponent: the Evil One.
2. We must "play" within God's boundary (we'll be penalized for going outside it; even Satan!)
3. The Faithful are often cheated by the Evil One. Then my question is, "Do we cheat against the "Evil One" to win the battle? (Answer that for yourselves)

"Should good be repaid with evil?" Jeremiah 18:20

4. We lose some battles. We win some battles.
5. The Spirit of the Lord is our "referee(s)".
6. We have rowdy "spectators" cheering us on in the faith. They are the motivating factor of our walk with God! Plus, we are an influence on them: when we lose, they are crushed; when we win, they are inspired.
7. No one battles in the "dark". Make sure you "fight" your battles in the "Light".

When we come to the point of "Game Over", this sums up with the following actions:

1. Be on God's team. (Galatians 3:26-27 - with God's uniform)
2. Practice, practice, practice. (Bible Study, fellowship, etc.)
3. Fight the fight of faith with stamina.
4. If you lose, learn from it and keep on fighting.
5. If you win, give God the glory.
6. Listen to the Coach (God). (Bible)
7. Beware of the "cards" from the Spirit. (Admonishment)
8. Stay within God's boundary.
9. Work with your team (teamwork) - "There's no "I" in team! (Church)
10. Represent God in all you do daily!

You don't compete simply because you're a "Christian" or how many times you've attended church, or how much you gave to the Lord, or.... Did you see the tears running down the players' cheeks? It doesn't matter if they lost the game or won the game, they're emotional players playing an emotional game! They have a heart to play, a heart to win. Ours is the "Game of Life", we must have a heart to fight to win (even though we lose some)!

When you live for God daily til "Game Over" and win the victory, imagine jumping on your fellow Christians like in the picture above for joy! That's the day we're looking forward to! But before that happens, make sure you're on "God's Team"!

Blessings!

Mark