The Starting Line: Your New Life in Christ预览

5: Heart of a Winner

Ready: 

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8  NLT

Set:

It seems most of us are born competitors with the quest for challenge, adventure, and victory arising from deep inside us. As competitors, we’re willing to give our blood, sweat, and tears to defeat an opponent.

Competition gives a clear picture of the two opposing sides in the spiritual realm that are battling fiercely to win the prize. Good and evil—God’s army and Satan’s forces—are battling for your allegiance and your heart. Because of your value to God, you are the prize.

Do you think we’ll ever be free from temptation and the need to fight to retain the freedom we’ve been given? Although God has already sealed Satan’s fate through Jesus’ death and resurrection, Satan is still “prowling around” (1 Peter 5:8), using his primary tactic of deception to take us out! He tries to get us to believe that God is not good, he puts a twisted perspective on every event, he wreaks pain and havoc in our lives, and he ultimately works to destroy us. The Bible makes it clear that the devil and his demons are ruthless and purposeful.

To protect against enemy attacks, we need a strong game plan, a strong defense, and a strong offense. 

Strategy 1: STRONG GAME PLAN

Prepare your minds and hearts to withstand temptation by disciplining yourself to read God’s Word, pray, and surround yourself with Christians that will hold you accountable. 

Strategy 2: STRONG OFFENSE

Sometimes there’s no avoiding temptation. Be on the lookout. When you find yourself in a tempting situation, take off in the opposite direction as fast as you can! 

Strategy 3: STRONG DEFENSE

There’s great power in a team of people who can lift up one another. The enemy would like nothing more than to isolate us and take us out! Surrounding yourself with other believers who will listen to you, pray for you, and give you sound advice is your best defense against temptation. 

God never intended us to push through hardships on our own. He designed us to lock arms and take the journey together. Maintain accountability with others and take down the enemy, one day at a time!

Go:

1.  How do you prepare for a game or competition against a ruthless rival who wants to take you down? What motivates you to push yourself to gain the victory?

2.  Who is our unseen adversary and what does he intend for our lives and relationships?

3.  What are some ways we can guard our hearts and minds from Satan’s deception?

Workout:

Ephesians 6:10-12

1 Corinthians 10:12-13

Overtime:

“God, help me to stand strong against the enemy and surround myself with a great team of believers that will keep me accountable each day. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.”