In times
like we're in now, we must remember how "practice" does not make
"perfect" but, only, "perfect practice" makes
"perfect". I (Keith) often look
back on the time when I was privileged to play college football, remembering
all that went in to being prepared to play in just one 1-hour game on the
weekend. I remember practicing for four
grueling hours a day, five consecutive days a week, plus daily studying the
playbook and watching game film in the classroom at night, preparing for that
one 1-hour game on the weekend. I often
see the comparison of that to our being prepared to work with The Trinity to
gather this end-times harvest of souls. The
perfect practice we must do is in prayer and meeting with The Holy Spirit in
the pages of our play book, God's Holy written Word, every single day.
We have a
question for you. If you were asked to draw a parallel between the intense,
fatigue-inducing opposition, and the oppression we are fighting against in the
spirit realm now, and something you have had to fight through in the natural
realm to achieve a landmark victory in your life, what would that be?
For me
(Keith), it would be the dreaded two-man practice sled in football. The two-man
sled is an extremely valuable piece of resistance training equipment used for
building the strength and endurance of football players. It is a brutal piece
of training gear by which no player can make a team's roster without mastering,
first.
The two-man
sled is usually constructed of iron and weighs about five hundred pounds. Add
to that the weight of one 250-300 pound line-coach standing on it. And what you have is around 800 pounds of
dead weight, weight that two players wearing 40 pounds of equipment are
required by their coaches to hit and push with all their might until that
line-coach blows his whistle to end the drill. Unlike any other strength and
endurance training equipment available, there is none more physically, mentally,
and brutally draining as the two-man sled.
I have
actually seen coaches award players a position on their teams, not because they
were tremendously talented but, because a coach saw a passion in them to put
their whole heart into whatever he called on them to do. In short, the two-man
sled was a great place to start when it comes to determining whether or not a
player truly wants to play the game.
Much like
the intensity of the two-man sled in the natural realm, we have been pushing
against intense opposition in the spirit realm for many years now, due to the
increasing moral decline of those in government and in our churches. And like
you, we sure would like to hear God's Great Trumpet blast about now. However,
until God chooses to blow His Trumpet, we will continuously "press"
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God i-n Christ Jesus, as
individuals and as a ministry team for the sake of others who do not know Christ.
Personally,
as I war in the spirit realm against wicked forces that sometimes feel like
they are going to defeat me, The Holy Spirit is faithful to bring back to my
mind experiences when I have fought through to victory. As young aspiring
football players, we eventually learned the benefits of the brutal two-man
sled. During those early pre-season training camps we were oblivious to those
benefits, but would come to realize them in the weeks to come. Just the same
way that we would get stronger with each hit we made against that training
sled, with each hit we take in the spirit realm, we are presented with another
opportunity to have built in us, by the steady Hand of the Great Physician
Jesus Christ, His strength and endurance that will, in turn, better equip us
for the hits to come on the spiritual field of battle.
In the
beginning of our conditioning during pre-season camps, two players all-but
passed out pushing the two-man sled just fifteen yards, but would soon be able
to push it thirty yards without even breaking a sweat. And, by the end of the
football season, those same two players would have built up enough strength and
endurance to push that thing around the entire practice field with three
coaches standing on it, and still have energy to spare. So, in the natural
realm, resistance training is crucial in developing one's physical and mental
strength, and endurance. The same way in the spiritual realm, resisting our
enemy whenever he hits us, is crucial for developing Christ's strength and
stamina in us. James 4:7 says, "Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
In the
natural realm, I could tell how well or not-so-well our opponents had practiced
based on each opponent's performance, physical endurance, grasp on the
play-book, and ability to execute the plays. I could tell if they had practiced
"perfectly" or had merely practiced. Having a passion to "practice perfectly"
every day with the same intensity and dedication as we approach an actual game
leads to our ability to persevere and perform at maximum efficiency. And, as my Momma would say, "If you gave
your all, did your best on each play, and lost, you still come away a winner."
So, even in times when we "lose"
a game we still "win" when we persevere to the end, to the final
whistle. And, one definition we found
for "persevere" is: "to continue without halting despite
difficulties or setbacks". So, it would be safe to say that two common attributes
of a winner is they practice perfectly and they persevere.
One
outstanding example of an athlete who modeled the benefits of both
"perfect practice" and "perseverance" for all of us who
watched his career is Michael Jordan, NBA Hall Of Fame basketball player. I
watched an interview in the '90s on a major sports channel where Michael Jordan
was asked what his secret was for out-performing his opponents. His response,
though simple, was profound. He replied, "I love to practice!" He went on to say, "Since very early in
my career, despite how I felt, I have approached each play during practice with
the same passion and intensity that I do each play during an actual game."
Michael
Jordan made the study and the practice of his sport his life's passion. He loved what he did and it showed on the
score boards. Playing basketball was not something he did, it was who he was,
despite challenges and even heartbreaks he may have faced along the way in his
life. He always brought his best to each practice and to each game. He pushed
harder and further than most did, and he persevered to the end! In the eyes of
so many fans, Michael was and still is a sports "hero", an example of
the rewards of practicing perfectly and of persevering to the end. Just as Michael Jordan's career set a lasting
example of "perfect practice" and how to "persevere to the
end" for all future athletes, the saints of God left their written
accounts of "perfect practice" and what it looks like to
"persevere to the end" for all of us to follow in The Holy Scriptures
for a pattern of success in our lives. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That
the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works (2
Timothy 3:16-17)."
Now is the
point we have been looking forward to most: pointing out true heroes who fulfill their calling
of the highest order, above that of any earthly professional. Just as coaches
of every sport, and owners of every business, look everywhere for aspiring people
who work "with total abandon", God looks to and fro (2 Chronicles 16:9) for those who will
work also "with total abandon", who will apply all of the gifts and
talents He put in them to fulfill His plan and dream whole-heartedly... this is
a "hero" in His eyes. God's hero's greatest fear does not come from the
devil but comes by way of the mere thought of misrepresenting our Loving
Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit. This hero knows and loves The Holy
Scriptures - "the play book" - and executes each passage as The Holy
Spirit leads. This hero's heart is fixed on pursuing Oneness i-n God, through Jesus
Christ, by the leading of The Holy Spirit.
This hero is passionate to magnify God.
This hero's passion is to see others come to our Father God, through Jesus
Christ, and furthering their own mission of becoming one in Jesus Christ as
well. God's heroes, no matter the hardships, sow selflessly of their life and all
that is entrusted to their stewardship, working with The Holy Trinity, to
persevere and to push through all resistance in order to display, in word and
deed, the love, understanding, wisdom, knowledge, and compassion that Jesus
Christ has so lovingly and generously built into each of us by way of His
wonder-full Holy Spirit. This hero is a faithful member of The Body of Jesus
Christ, equipped by his or her love for God and a passion to know His Holy Word
to persevere i-n Jesus Christ through all manner of resistance, to the very end
when His great Trumpet sounds!
"As
we in The Army of Jesus Christ find ourselves in this final push just before
the great trumpet sounds, we must take our thoughts captive, practice
self-control, ask The Holy Spirit to meet with us in the pages of God's Holy
Word, hydrate by the Living Water of His Word, which is The Scriptures
interpreted to us by The Holy Spirit, and FOCUS on what He leads us to be honored
to fulfill in our own calling as we encourage others in theirs. Remember who we are, and remember Whose we
are! Though our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ has won "the war" for us already, we have isolated skirmishes left
to overcome before He, The Great Conquering King, returns in ALL of His Glory,
with The Mighty Host of Heaven at His Side. Now it's time for all of us to put our ALL in the
fight to finish our job, to work with pure Focus, Fearlessness, Love, Discipline,
and every single thing we've got in us that God has given to... press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! Now Go!!
"Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us
therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any
thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless,
whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the
same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so
as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I
have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their
belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to
subdue all things unto Himself (Philippians
3:13-21).
From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for
loving us, teaming with us, and being ALL IN on this final harvest of the souls
for the Kingdom of God. By our praying
for one another and being intentional to sow our individual life experiences,
talents, time, and seed into our reaching toward the goals God has given, we
will benefit, together, in the fruit and inheritance of our Father's Kingdom,
in these final hours.
To Show GOD BIG in
a World that Sees Him small…
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.
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we, "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
Keep PRESSIN' IN!
We INVITE YOU...
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~
Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel
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