April 8

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
24 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. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Do you see the toughness in these verses? It reminds me of the toughness that God put in man from the beginning of time and all the way through the winning of the west of America and even until the last great war – WWII. Somehow after that something has happened to America and it has become like gangrene in our churches. The toughness of God has got to come back to the American church! It may be that the only way that it happens is persecution!

However, since we have an inward helper, a powerful and mighty working that IS God, we can be changed! We can all be champions! We can compete and win with a take no prisoners attitude. It takes intentionality to be a champion. We just can’t let life take us and live from day to day to “make it”. There is a discipline that comes from God that IS the toughness that will bring our “natural” (now unnatural in the Spirit) inclination of giving in or giving up to the submission of pressing through to get all of God and to live all of the life that He has ordained us for. We can be – in fact we are people who DO beat our bodies into submission. We are people who run to get the prize, who can’t be stopped, who do not hesitate, who are in strict training! If we are not, we will not deny the new man within ourselves! Don’t deny it! You ARE a champion – do the training!