Resistance Training

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Have you ever seen anything implemented in your life and begin to make a change? I can remember one of the first times that my basketball coach told the team to run down to a nearby graveyard and back. It was less than a mile down the road and was part of our conditioning. It seemed like 10 miles in those days, because my lungs and heart were not in that good of shape. After a while, I could tell the changes that were taking place in my body and I was actually becoming healthier and faster. What used to be a dread became a delight, because I was able to sense the freedom of running like the wind.

Change is often difficult to overcome in our lives. We can get set in our ways, cold, and indifferent. We had rather sit still and enjoy the same patterns that we have always been in. When it comes to the Gospel, we are always subject to change. The Gospel can not set idle in our lives. It will impact us and tear down every comfortable wall we have in our hearts when the Holy Spirit implants the engrafted Word and begins a work in our heart. When God begins a work in our heart, we repent and change according to His will. Actually, true salvation is a miracle of change where a dead man who is lost in sin is quickened and made alive in Christ. The Gospel has power and permeates every aspect of our lives.

While helping in revival services this past week, I watched the Gospel have it affect on many hearts. There was a 13-year old boy who heard the truth last Monday and came quickly to the altar of prayer. Within 15 minutes, Jesus saved his soul, and he said his burden of sin and condemnation had gone away. The boy who came into the church with his head down and little to say left with a smile and joy in his heart, because his sins were forgiven. The young girls and boys who played outside noticed the change immediately saying, “He’s acting like a different person!” God’s grace, mercy and peace will make a person a new creation.

The second situation that occurred was between two men who used to be at odds against each other on the streets. One of the men had been saved and called into the ministry. He was full of the Spirit as he testified to what God had been doing in his life. He had only preached a few times, and he said that in many pulpits, he felt like he was being judged by his past. He said many in the congregation didn’t seem to appreciate what God had done in his life, because they couldn’t see past the old person he used to be. He emphatically said that the old man that he once was dead, because Christ had saved his soul. The song leader, formerly being an investigator, was blessed to see God’s work and reminded him that he used to be after him while creating havoc in the streets. God’s grace had reached into his life and changed him from the inside out. After this testimony, a man in his 30s stood up in the back of the church and confessed that he used to despise the man. Apparently, they had confrontations on the street. He openly asked forgiveness from the Lord and the man who at he had been at odds with. Without hesitation, they met each other in the middle of the aisle, embraced, and were reconciled through the power of the Gospel.

How is the Gospel of Jesus Christ impacting your life today? Is there anything different in your life in comparison to the rest of the world? The Gospel of grace is life-changing. I do not mean that it changes your life once and you are saved and done. Salvation begins at a point in your life when you repent, have faith in Christ, and are declared righteous on the merits of Christ alone. Many think this is the beginning and end. However, this is only the starting point of everlasting life. At this point, you begin to life! You will not be able to walk close to Jesus and not be changed. How long has it been since you felt the pains of change? When I starting running to be conditioned to play basketball, everything in me wanted to rebel and quit. I had been used to walking. Sometimes, the Lord wants to take us to the next level through discipline that we may be able to run the race that is set before us more effectively!