It’s all about the win.

When I was in Jr. High and High School and my family would go visit my grandparents and we’d always spend time watching sports on TV. My grandpa would always walk in the room and ask the question, “Who’s winning?” It didn’t matter who was playing, only who was winning.

I actually love that question as it relates to our relationship with Jesus. Who’s winning in my life? Jesus or Satan? Maybe better said, “Who am I allowing to win in my life?” Did you know Jesus is the key to the kingdom?

John 10:10 clearly shows us who the opponents in our life are and their plans for us. By the way, these are the words of Jesus to his friends:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Don’t Let The Trash Talk Win

I love sports and competition. I love strategy and figuring out the weakness of my competition so that I can exploit it for a win. Basketball is one of my favorite sports and often times when playing basketball, you could easily trash talk another player into playing like garbage. I’m pretty sure that was a sin when I did that in High School and Bible College. ?

Satan is going to do anything he possibly can to get your off your game. He will trash talk you (tell you things that aren’t true), trick you and steal anything he can from you. He wants to kill the good things in your life and steal your joy. If you ever need a reminder about that just go back and read John 10:10.

That sounds like a lot of bad news, and it could be. But there’s good news – you get to choose. You can choose not to let the trash talk win. You can choose to stay connected to Jesus. He loves you, He chose you.

Jesus is the key to the Kingdom. Jesus came not only so that you can have life, but have it to the FULL. He always meets us where we are and continues to develop us if we make the time. Just like sports, it takes dedication to have a solid relationship with Jesus. You can’t just show up once in a while and expect it to happen. You need to practice daily. It requires commitment and setting priorities in your life.

Ways To Connect With Jesus

• Stay connected by reading truth, God’s Word/The Bible, every day. A great way to do that is the YouVersion Bible App. In addition to Bible verses, there are reading plans on just about any topic you can think of. You can even invite a friend to work through a reading plan with you.
• Spend time praying. Don’t let prayer intimidate you. Think of it as a time to talk to a friend and just let out what’s on your heart. God wants you to have an honest conversation, let Him know your struggles and ask Him to guide you.
• Just sit. Life gets busy and often we are running from one thing to the next with little to no downtime. When you just sit and be quiet, reflect on your day, your week and all that has been happening.  Close your eyes and ask God to reveal where He walked with you.

Try this experiment for today and continue this week and this month. Ask yourself 3 times a day, “Who’s winning…Jesus or Satan…in my life? Don’t allow Satan to win. Choose to win and receive the amazing life Jesus has for you.