12/16 - 1 Timothy 2

"¹ Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

The promise involved with this passage is pretty amazing. These verses provide hope in that it reveals a connectedness between prayer and life's circumstances. It reveals that our prayers are more than just lip service to God but have the power to actually change things. In this example it shows that if we'll dedicate ourselves to prayer and intercession for men, particularly those in leadership, that things can go well for us and that we can live peacefully. For those of us who pray, this isn't anything new but a biblical reassurance of what we've always hoped to be true - that our prayers matter. It is one of many biblical examples that prayer changes things.

Verse 4 can be a little tough to deal with. God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The one problem with that verse is that we know that this just won't happen. In fact, most men likely won't be saved (Matthew 7:13-14). So if God is in control of everything (1 Chronicles 29:11) and everyone won't be saved, despite His desires, doesn't that present a problem? Well, not necessarily. That which God wants from us He won't force out of us. If He did, we might as well be robots. The good news is that He at least wants us to abide in Him in spite of our sin. The difficulty is that it requires a decision on our part. This decision God may influence but the final call is up to us.

12/14 - We Play To Win The Game

Sometimes its the most simple statements that can have a profound impact. Herm Edwards, former NFL head coach, understands this. As NFL experts opine on the philosophical aspects of the game and make complex theories on what teams need to do to become successful, Herm's philosophy has really been quite simple - "we play to win the game." Right now there's discussion among NFL analysts about whether the Saints and Colts, two undefeated teams, should rest their starters and prevent them from getting injured for the playoffs. In another example, there has historically been a philosophy that when you're ahead on a team during a game that you never ease up but instead keep trying to score to ensure your victory. As a Bengals fan, I've seen it countless times. We'll have a lead and instead of trying to put our opponent away, we play conservative and scared and the outcome is very predictable - we lose. In both of these examples the risk taken is that instead of playing to win, you start playing not to lose. Instead of fixing your eyes on the goal, your focus becomes the very thing opposite of your goal - failure.

I think the apostle Paul & Coach Edwards had similar philosophies. In 1 Corinthians 9: 24 Paul says,

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."

Or quite simply - run to win the race. Everything about the word of God doesn't have to be deep. Some things right on the surface can be life changing. We would all be well served to heed this advice and run this race, our Christian race, with the goal of winning. It sounds simple, but the truth is most of us don't run this way. Many of us are playing not to lose.

We don't strive for heaven, we try to avoid hell. We don't seek God desperately, we try to get just enough of Him. We don't engage ourselves in worship at church service, we just show up. We don't crucify our flesh daily, we hope we don't get caught in tempting situations. We don't speak words of encouragement, we try not to curse. This is what I mean by "playing not to lose." It almost sounds like "playing to win" but in light of these examples, it's clear they are diametrically different. Very recently I've been guilty of doing this very thing. Instead of trying to do what's right I tried with all my might not to do what's wrong and believe me it's a vicious cycle.

In the 1 Cor 9:24 verse, Paul described this phenomenon so well. All the runners run. We're all running, all trying to win the race. But not everyone has the right mindset. "Run in such a way as to get the prize" instead of running so you don't lose it. We should be living our lives focused on what God wants us to do rather than what we shouldn't do. The simple truth found in that would be a relief to you as well as the NFL teams I mentioned before - by playing to win, you need not fear losing.