"No Pain, No Gain!"

Those were the words that greeted us everyday that we walked into the field house for football practice. My coach believed those words and he showed them to be true through his teams that had a winning record for years.

At that time in my spiritual journey I didn't realize that that statement was not original with Coach Fortunato. That statement is actually a biblical truth.

Throughout scripture we see men and women of God go through many types of trials and tribulations before entering into their final resting place where there is no more suffering and no more pain and where each have gained their eternal reward in the presence of Almighty God.

Our Lord Jesus set the perfect example for us to see what His followers should expect. On The first Palm Sunday, many thought their Messiah was going to come in to town with "guns blazing!" But Jesus showed them and us that before glory, suffering must take place. (Luke 24:26)

A.W. Tozar once wrote, "It is doubtful that God can use a man greatly until He hurts him deeply."

Where did we come up with the notion that causes us to ask the question, "How can a loving God allow suffering?" We have the answer to that throughout the pages of Scripture. Our loving God told us that we WILL suffer, but He also told us: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). And Paul encourages us with this: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2Cor. 4:8-10).

Suffering is a prelude to Glory for those who know the Lord. Jesus was not only an example for us to worship and adore, but being conformed into His image includes realizing that our lives will look like His-the suffering and the glory. Don't be surprised or shun suffering. Expect it, embrace it and through your tears and pain keep your eyes on Jesus..."The pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Suffering before Glory – No pain, no gain! That's part of God's design.

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:15-20 (NIV)

Pray with me:

Father, as we celebrate this day that we call, “Palm Sunday”, we pause to reflect upon Your goodness. We give You glory, and we give You praise. Thank You for Your initiative that sent Jesus to live among us. Sending the Creator to live among the created knowing that He would be mistreated, misunderstood and eventually murdered and yet You still sent Him. But that was Your plan. You desired to have relationship with us and You were willing to sacrifice Your one and only Son in order to do so. Thank you.

Thank You that through Christ’s blood on the cross we can stand before You, not guilty. Thank You, that just like Christ rose from the grave, so we will rise from death to life eternal with You. Thank You, that although we are not worthy in and of ourselves that through Jesus You have brought us into Your Kingdom. Thank You, that we don’t have to wait until heaven to enjoy Your presence.

Thank You, Father for loving us just as we are, but loving us so much that You are not willing to leave us there. Thank You for the cross, thank You for the blood, thank You for looking beyond our faults and seeing our need, thank You for your grace that is greater than all our sin.

We join our hearts together today and shout out, “To You be the glory, great things You have done! And for that we cry out, Thank You!”

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks
and honor and power and strength be
to our God forever and ever. Amen!” Revelation 7:12

He Breaks The Power Of Cancelled Sin

One of the most difficult verses that I’ve studied during my journey with the Lord is 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

As a young man, this would always bother me, especially as I read it in the King James Version, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” I grew up during an era of the “sensational testimony”. By that I mean, that it seemed that the only people that gave their salvation story were those who had been saved from lives of drugs, sex, rock and roll, jail, gangs and the like. I was almost embarrassed to give my testimony. It was not that “sensational” to tell people that I asked Christ to come into my heart by the bath tub at home when I was six years old. I wanted to see that big change that everyone talked about. I lived so long with guilt and misunderstanding and wondering if my “salvation prayer” really took, because in reality, most of my sinning took place after I became a Christian!

It was not until years later that I was encouraged and reminded by someone that it took just as much of the blood of Jesus to save me as it did the person who had the most terrible testimony of all, and that I should not be ashamed that I didn’t have a testimony like that, rather, I should be grateful to God that He, by His grace protected me from going down that road.

But what about the sin issue. Okay, I’m saved, but why did I keep on sinning? Well, here’s where praise can help us to be victorious over sin. As we look at what Christ did for us we see that:Sin is cancelled, but it is not dead! Sin is cancelled, but it is not gone! Sin is cancelled, but it is very much alive!

Jesus Christ did not die and take our ability to sin away; rather, He died to give us the ability to not sin. As Wesley wrote, “He breaks the power of cancelled sin!” I cannot tell you how many years I lived frustrated asking God to take away the struggles that I had, to free me from all the things that seemed to enslave me. The change came as I began to understand that I was praying the wrong prayer. I was praying for something that had already been accomplished. I needed to ask God to help me to live in the freedom that I already had. Let’s live in that freedom today and Let our worship reflect our thankfulness for that truth.

Marine Code of Conduct

As I read through the Marine code of conduct, I was struck by the fact that these men and women basically sell themselves out to defending and if need be, giving their lives for our country and our way of life. They take a vow to these six articles:

Article I: I am an American, fighting in the armed forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

Article II: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender my people while they still have the means to resist.

Article III: If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

Article IV: If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep my faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.

Article V: When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give only name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

Article VI: I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my action, and dedicated to the principles which make my country free. I will trust in my God and the United States of America.

And to those they vow ‘semper fidelis’, always faithful. They literally say, “Come hell, or high water, I will remain faithful.”

How are we believers in the faithfulness department? In our increasingly miserable, sick and dying society, do we remain faithful in the midst of faithlessness? Do we take a vow with Galatians 2:20, proclaiming that “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” and then in the midst of hardship, succumb to the realities of life and forsake what Christ has called us to do and to be?

Unlike a Marine, our endurance is not just in physical and mental strength and it doesn’t come from us. If we strive to be faithful in and of ourselves, we are destined to failure. But if we base our faith and trust in the God of the universe, who is faithful, we will endure and “Semper Fidelis” will not only be a motto, but in reality, a way of life.

It has been said of the Marines: “The few the proud the Marines”.

It has been written of heaven: “For many are invited, but few are chosen”. (Matt. 22:14)