It was the first day of soccer practice and the coach handed a ball to each player. “Boys,” he said, “I want you to practice shooting on the goal from the spots you might expect to be in during the game.” One of the boys who was pretty much there as a substitute, in fact he was player twelve, immediately sat down on the bench and began shooting the ball toward the goal.
You might say that boy didn’t expect to play much. And I suppose he was just trying to get a laugh out of his teammates. But, there are some people who sit on the bench, because that’s where they’ve gotten used to being. They never strive to be much more than that, because they don’t believe in themselves enough to put in the extra effort and practice to change their status. And because of that they’re always going to sit on the bench.
The same can be said for Christianity, it seems we have made it into a spectator sport as well. We just sit in the church building, listen to the songs, listen to the sermons and never really get involved in the game. Christians today need to realize that, like it or not, they are in the game. A battle is being fought and you are on the front lines. If you are not up and ready for battle then you are in danger of being overcome. We need to put our faith into action and get involved in the spiritual battle that is taking place around us.
It takes the FULL ARMOR OF GOD to battle with Satan. We must be active in this battle and pursue the way God has provided to defend ourselves.
The ENEMY? Well, there’s a 3-fold assault going on against us.
• The WORLD, the FLESH, and the DEVIL.
• We have our own FLESH wanting our old life back.
• We have the WORLD trying to drag us back.
• And we have the DEVIL making sure it all goes according to plan
Christians need to realize that it’s a BATTLE not a Playground. In Fuzzy Memories, the author Jack Handey writes: “There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him. Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons, but the instructor wanted $5 a lesson. That was a lot of money. I found that it was cheaper to pay the bully, so I gave up karate.”
Too many Christians believe it’s easier to pay the bully than learn how to defeat him. Might I add that many Christians, don’t realize they are living on a BATTLEFIELD and not a PLAYGROUND. It takes the FULL ARMOR OF GOD to battle with Satan. We must be active in this battle and pursue the way God has provided to defend ourselves. (RODNEY FRY)