WHY BE A LOSER?
Many people go through life carrying
heavy burdens of past failures, resulting in unnecessary guilt. One does not have to be a loser.
Paul wrote in Romans 7:21. I find then a law, that, when I would do
good, evil is present with me. He is
saying, "I find myself wanting to do the right thing; but, so often I do the
wrong thing." Do you have this problem
of good intentions gone wrong? What
causes this problem? The Bible tells us
that we have a sinful nature which will be with us until we die. If you are a Christian, you also have a new
nature. The moment a person believes on
Christ, he receives this new nature which loves to do the right things; the old
nature cherishes the wrong things.
The question is "Who will win the
battle?" After a person comes to Christ,
he need no longer be bound by the old nature because he has a new nature, which
is motivated by Jesus Christ; but there must be a willingness to allow Christ
to work in our lives. The old nature
wants to dominate; but, as we allow Christ to dominate, we enjoy victory and
the blessings it brings. Some people
think after they become a Christian they must try to do the right things. Now, don't get me wrong. Christians are to do the right things, but we
don't do them by might.
A lady confessed that she nearly had
a nervous breakdown trying to live up to the teachings of Jesus. The problem is, we still have the fallen
nature with us, so we can't look to ourselves. We must depend on Christ completely to live His life through us. Think for a moment of the sponge mop. Before we dip it in the water, it is dry,
hard, and useless; but, the moment we immerse it, it softens, expands, and
becomes usable. The sponge does not work
at taking in water. When immersed, it
absorbs the water until it is saturated.
Is your life barren and useless? You may be dry and crusty, and hard to live
with. You are worn out trying to live
the Christian life and frustrated because you have done such a poor job of
it. Learn a lesson from the lowly
sponge. With simplicity and humility,
come to the source of living water--Jesus Christ--and drink in until you are
completely saturated with Him. You will
find the Christian life and service to be joyful.
After Paul said, I find then a law
that when I would do good, evil is present with me, he went on to say in
verses 24 and 25, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this
body of death? And then he found the
answer. I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. This is it, dear
friend. You may be living in horrible
defeat as a Christian or as an unsaved person, but we have a Victor. He won the greatest battle of all history at
the cross when He defeated sin and later emerged from the tomb as the Victor
over death. Thus, why are you
struggling? Your effort is
worthless. It must be, as the apostle
Paul said in Colossians 1:27, Christ in you, the hope of glory. As we permit the Son of God to live His life
through us, we enjoy His victory. Without this, we know only the defeat of the old nature. You may know this all too well.
Some Christians never manage to go
forward in the Christian life. It is an
up and down struggle all along the way. They overcome sin for awhile, and then they are right back where they
started. This doesn't have to be. These people remind me of a young man who was
a member of a church I served some years ago. He was having transmission troubles with his car. He worked a full day on the transmission,
tearing it apart piece-by-piece and, thinking he had found the trouble, put it
all back together again.
After starting the car, he put it in
reverse gear. It worked fine. He put it in first; but, lo and behold, it
reversed. He put it in second; it
reversed again. He put it in high; it
reversed. It did not matter what gear he
used, it always reversed. At that point,
he gave up and put it in the hands of a skilled mechanic who solved the
problem. When you and I try to run our own lives and achieve the Christian
life, in spite of the fact that we work at it and try real hard, the only place
we can go is in reverse. But when we
surrender our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ and His control, we go forward
and we keep running smoothly.
For the flesh lusteth against the
Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the
other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would (Galatians 5:17). Realize it! Your old nature doesn't want to follow
God. It is through the new nature, with
Christ in control, that we win the battle. In Ephesians 6:11-12, we are exhorted to Put on the whole armor of
God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. There is
not one of us who can resist this kind of enemy, especially if we are in a low
spiritual state. When God says put on
the whole armor of God, there is no room for a superficial, weak kind of
Christian life. It involves Bible study,
adequate prayer time, witnessing for Christ,
and serving the Lord--not in our own strength, but in the power of Christ.
Sometimes, God's people try to be
victors with carnal weapons. We are no
match for the powers of spiritual darkness. Such fighting demands special equipment--the whole armor of God. Then, as we allow Christ, the Captain of the
host of our salvation, to lead and direct us, we become more than conquerors
through Him. And then, we can live
in the light of His victory. It has well
been said, "Our efficiency without God's sufficiency
is only deficiency." This is why Paul
said, in 1 Corinthians 15:57, Thanks be unto God, which giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Friend, you are either a victim or a
victor today. You are either the victim
to sin because you are under the control of the old nature, or you are a victor
over sin because you have submitted to the Lord of the new nature. Are you your master, or is Christ your
Master? If you are in control, your
future could be worthless.
Maybe, you have never called on
Christ for salvation. You may be the
kind of person who always tries to do the right thing. You don't lie, you wouldn't think of cheating
anyone, you go to church every Sunday, you are faithful to your mate, you have
provided well for your children, and now you are saying "I am a good person." In many respects you are, but what are you
going to do with your sinful nature? It
is with you. A sinful nature is never
acceptable to God. You may be well
pleasing in the eyes of people, but God is the Judge. Open your heart to Jesus Christ and receive
Him as your Lord.
J. Allen Blair
Printed
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Why
Complain?
(From a message by Dr. Blair)
A young lady in the
prime of life contracted an illness and was left handicapped. At 20 years of age, she could have been
bitter. A friend who always saw only the
dark side of life remarked, "How sad that affliction colors everything in one's
life." But her response was, "because of
God's grace, I get to choose the colors."
Christians are not
immune from difficulties of health, relationships, business deals, violence, or
the many other problems that humanity experiences. However, choosing the bright colors is our
privilege and is highly worthwhile.
King David had his dark
times, yet exclaimed, I will praise the name of God with a song, and will
magnify Him with thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30). If complaining is your way of life, you are
probably a miserable person.
An aged saint of God
lived in a tiny room in Brooklyn NY. A
visiting friend remarked, "You never really see the sunshine in this room, do
you?" Quick as a flash, the sweet reply
was, "But, I can see it shining upon my neighbor's windows!"
O Lord, Thou art my God: I will exalt Thee, I will praise thy name; for Thou hast done wonderful things (Isaiah 25:1).