RESILIENCE! The difference between a winner and a loser!

Resilience !

Have you ever seen a child take a tumble that made you gasp and you hold your breathe waiting for the blood curdling scream that comes from the place in their brain that takes a second to respond to the fall, and you console them thinking "playtime's  over", but just as quickly as the fall they go back and play with the group because they don't want to miss a moment of the fun? 

About that time someone in the crowd chimes in saying,  "they'll be alright, children are resilient!"  We watch that child now playing like nothing ever happened, maybe with a little blood on their scrapped knee or a knot rising on their forehead and we conclude they are designed to bounce back - just something about kids.

The facts are;  you were created to bounce back and survive!  Whether you feel it or believe it, it is truth!  Something about us as human beings were designed to be resilient!  It's the concept of the second-wind or the release of adrenaline in our bodies that happens under immense moments of stress and duress.  You were designed to bounce back, fight back, and come back!

It's what happens when the boxer is lying flat on the floor of the ring as the referee is counting and he begins to rise up just before the final count.  It's what happens when the underdog is all but defeated by the guys with the upper hand and you see him look around at his plight and something from that deep recess of his mind and spirit shouts "ENOUGH!" and he takes a final stand and wins!  It's what happened in my all-time favorite Christmas movie, "The Christmas Story" when little Ralphie snaps and beats the snot out of that school yard bully like a pit-bull!

RESILIENCE!  You were created to not give up!  You were created to do what you think you can't and endure what you think you can't and come out better than you went in!  Physically you have that capacity, mentally you have that capacity and SPIRITUALLY you have that capacity!

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us:   we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed!"   2 Corinthians 4:7-9

We are, as His people, RESILIENT!   We can be attacked, maligned, persecuted, caught in tribulations and trials, but we REMAIN and not only REMAIN but we COME BACK better and stronger and showing off the power of God on our behalf!

We see the encouragement of resilience all through the Word of God.  David proclaimed that he would not die but live to proclaim the works of God.  Paul proclaimed that nothing can separate us from His love and we are made MORE than conquerors through Him and always caused to triumph in His name!   We are told that God takes everything that looks to be for our demise and uses it for our good and for His glory!  There is so much in the Word of God that persuades us that we are overcomers that when we get that Word in us, it will bounce us back at just the right moment!  We will think to ourselves, "ENOUGH" and get up, get back in the race, take a stand and keep running!

I have resolved that in my own life.  Lie about me, attack my character, try to destroy all that is dear to me, attempt to discourage me and make me fearful or worried - and believe me people (or the devil in people) have purposely set out to do those things in my life- BUT I WILL NOT QUIT and I WILL NOT STOP that which  I am put on this earth or in this city to do!  I will rise back up at the last count! I may be sweetly diplomatic for a while, but I will take the stand I need to for truth and justice!  I AM RESILIENT -  until they put the last square of green grass on top of my grave - AND EVEN THEN, I will win - because I planted enough seed of destiny in a legacy of lives to LIVE ON!  

Let's Talk Some More About GRACE!

Did you know that the moment you receive Christ as your Savior your sin is completely covered and gone; so completely gone that God Himself does not recall it?   I am assuming that most of you know and believe that.  Now, what if you sin as a believer?  What happens then?

Well, if we believe the Bible as truth then we must believe this:

"If we say we have no sins, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned we make Him out to be a liar and His word is not in us.  My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  and He Himself IS the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours but also for the whole world."

Let's be real, even Christians sin.  OH MY, shocking!  If you really believe you don't, you are in a dangerous place of spiritual pride and deception!  You may not sin everyday or with premeditation, but at some point as a human being there will be something that brings you to sin. 

 It's not a pleasant thought, and perhaps we need to lose the crazy idea that sin only has a few forms like murder, lust, stealing or cussing!   Gossip, pride, misleading someone, slothfulness, over-eating, rebellion against authority and entertaining the flesh are marked as sin in the Word of God among others we sweep under the rug!   So just lump it all into one category called "sinning" please and there you will find the whole lot of us on a daily watch to crucify our flesh and follow after the Spirit and making mistakes along the way. 

We are all on a level playing field together loving One Gracious Savior who has already paid for our mistakes and spends all of His time interceding for us at the throne declaring one thing - "They are Justified by my Blood."

So going back to that question I asked about sinning as a Believer;  the answer is confess it and go on.  That is an open and shut case.  The problem is that our flesh nature cries out for some type of retribution and pay back.  Sometimes we think that way of ourselves - "it shouldn't be that easy, don't I need to do something?"  The answer is no.  It's finished.  The blood already took care of that.  Similar to being in a restaurant and the waitress tells you someone paid the check for you.  There is that moment of great relief and then a second thought of "maybe should I leave a tip" or "are you sure?"  We always believe it's not that easy, but in this case of sin, it is just that easy.  

Jesus took the load off of us and He fulfilled the requirements for us.  You see, law requires judgement and payback.  The law is connected to the flesh.  That is why it's the flesh that cries out for more work than just a free salvation of Grace!  

But let me shift this real quick on you.   We are willing to accept that for ourselves, but are we willing to accept that free salvation on behalf of others.  What about the other guy who sinned? He sins, he confess and that's it, doesn't he have to DO something MORE?  I mean, his sin was bad and he was messed up and I don't like HIM getting off that easy because he might take advantage of GRACE!   Shouldn't he have to go through some type of court system and let us decide if he is really covered?  Uh, NO!   There is only ONE MEDIATOR - who is.....JESUS!

I think about Jesus that day when they brought to Him the woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery.  There was no doubt she was guilty.  Jesus shifted the power of judging and punishment from the people to Himself by telling them they could judge her if they themselves had no sin.  You see the only one who has the ability to judge is the one who has no sin, Jesus, and He being the propitiation for her sin told her to go and sin no more.  He didn't make her clean toilets for a year or sit in the back, he just let her go - forgiven.  

"Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?"

(Galations 3:3)

As a family of Believers, Grace is more than just a one time grant of forgiveness, it is a lifestyle of relational living.  Grace isn't just what set us free, it is what keeps us free.  Grace isn't a fluffy feeling, it is a willful act of love and selflessness.  Let's talk some more about GRACE!