Press On!

We are 5 days into the Olympic Games; over the last five days we have seen inspiring victories as well heart breaking defeats. Who can forget the tears of Jordyn Wieber as she realized her Olympic dreams were not going to come to true. While the games have provided a fair amount of drama (unless of course you are checking other news sources for winners instead of waiting for NBC to show us the results in Prime Time), I find the stories about the athlete's preparation for the games to be most inspiring story of the games. 

Practice, dedication, discipline, determination are all words one can use to describe the efforts of the athletes. It seems the are willing to do whatever it takes to stand on the podium, hear their National Anthem played and be crowned Olympic champion. 

While the opportunity to be the best athlete in the world is an amazing feat, the Apostle Paul reminds us we compete for something greater; an imperishable crown. Just as the athlete in the Olympics realizes he or she needs to practice, as well as have steady determination, discipline and dedication, as Christians we too must have these same attributes.

Unfortunately, someone has told us a lie. In our desire to make Christianity appealing to others  we have bought into the idea that Christianity is more of a cosmetic to wear rather than a lifestyle to be practiced. This was a foreign idea in the New Testament. For every where the gospel was preached transformation soon followed. 

• In Acts 2, Generosity was evident as the new believers shared their resources with one another.
• In Acts 3 & 4, The apostles see the power of God as they heal a lame man and as a result, when they were told to stop sharing about Jesus, they experienced an amazing amount of boldness.
• In Acts 6, they displayed wisdom as a dispute threatened their unity. 
• In Acts 8, The gospel leaves the city of Jerusalem and moves into Samaria, evangelism becomes a way of life for this new group of believers.

These events happened in the first few chapters of the book of Acts; later we read of people giving up their pagan rituals and habits as the Gospel transformed their lives.

Is it possible to catch that spirit of of transformation in our churches today? The answer is yes. However it will not just happen, like the Olympic athlete we must press on with discipline, determination and dedication. To experience this transformation we need only to look at the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 13 -14...

This one thing I do, forgetting what is behind me and straining to for what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting what is behind us, no regrets about the past. The past cannot be changed and living in our yesterdays only brings regrets. Paul's answer is a simple one - Press on!

• When the temptation to be cavalier about our relationship with fellow Christians, Press on
• When the desire to read His word wanes, Press on.
• When the pull of the world calls us to forsake the assembly of worship, Press on.
• When the evil one tempts us with subtle, but deadly sins such as gossip, complaining and  mediocrity, Press on. 

We may never stand on a podium and receive a medal as our National Anthem is played. However we do have a prize waiting for us. A prize which only God can give us, therefore let us press on!