Worship

Scripture

My son Canaan recently competed in his first jiu-jitsu competition – and won gold!!! Prior to weigh-ins, we were driving to the arena and he asked me, “Dad if I don’t get first place are you still going to be proud of me?” Talk about teeing up a “Dad win” for me. I said, “Son, I don’t care if you win, lose, or tie, I’m always on your team, always your biggest fan, and will always be your cheerleader. I just have one rule…” Canaan chimed in and finished my sentence for me, “Do my best.” 

It’s been our rule from the very beginning and continues to remain in the midst of gold medal performances. Is it possible he’s going to win gold at every tournament he competes in? No, unless he retires now while on top! But does he have the opportunity to give his very best in every tournament he competes in? You bet he does, and if he does, I’ll be proud no matter what. 

2 Timothy 4 reads like a father preparing his son for life with the same pregame talk I gave Canaan: “Timothy, you know my life. My faithful endurance and resilience in hardships. Prepare yourself for the same – in season, out of season, through persecutions and triumphs, preach the word and live godly. I’ve fought the good fight, I’ve finished the race, and I’ve kept the faith throughout. Do the same, Timothy. Give your very best.” 

Paul’s life was far from perfect – killing Christians and destroying The Way characterized his early years of leadership, but once he met Jesus in Acts 9 everything changed. From that moment on his cry has continually been, “I’m the worst of sinners, but the grace of God has saved me. Now, I’m giving my very best.” 

Maybe you’ve heaped piles of legalistic rules onto your shoulders, or maybe you live under the pressure of expectations from someone else. Whatever the case may be, I hope Paul’s letter encourages you today: Do your best. If that’s your goal, you can always win.

Prayer

HONOR GOD

Psalm 121:8

The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time and forever.

 My Protector and Defender is the Lord of angel armies, I will not submit to fear of opposition.

ASK GOD

James1:5

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

 When I dont know the answer in my situation, God does and He is good enough to reveal his wisdom when we ask for it.

SUBMIT TO GOD

Malachi 3:10 NLT

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 

Can we afford to offer just a tenth of our time, thought, money, energy to the Lord. He is ready and willing to abundantly bless the portion that we give to Him.

CLOSING PRAYER

Dear Lord and Savior of mankind, thank you for the Cross! Thank you for the Cross! Thank you for the Cross! Can we say it enough? Say it again: “Thank you for the Cross!”  In Jesus Name, Amen.