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When the Olympics take place, there are often stories about the athletes.  It's amazing the amount of time/work it takes to become an olympic champion!  Stories are told of young men/women who train for a couple hours before school, then go to school, spend a couple more hours at the ice rink or gym after school, then do homework at night.  The dedication is intense! 

 

That's the picture in the word "Make every effort."  God is saying to us, "In your life of faith, train like a champion trains!" 

 

Now, let's be careful.  No, God's not talking about your salvation.  Jesus did that!  Jesus paid for your sins completely, won eternal life for you completely!  He put you on the narrow road which leads to that narrow door into heaven.  God did all that work. 

 

Now, God gives you the honor of excercising your faith, by being into the Word, by coming to worship/SS/midweek Bible study, by doing home devotions, teaching the Word to your children, praying, living the Word in your day-to-day life. 

 

Wouldn't it make sense that we'd want our spiritual life to be championship caliber?  After all, there's nothing else in our life - nothing! - which is eternal.  Only our soul is eternal, and our soul is fed by the Word, the sacraments.  Certainly we want our soul to be fed in the very best manner, right?  Of course! 

 

So, how's it going?  Is your spiritual training "championship caliber?"  Or not?  How right God would be to slam the door on me for my lack of spiritual focus.

 

But thankfully, God doesn't do that!  Rather, He assures me that He's saved me, assures me that He loves me, assures me that He's on my side, that He's opened the door to eternal life for me.  That's what God's done for you and for me! 

 

And now He urges me to "make every effort."  In your spiritual life, train like a champion!  Open your Bible!  Teach your kids!  Come for worship and SS and midweek Bible study!  Train like a champ! 

 

In training, just like you,

pastor

The battle for the ages is going on; it's the battle for your eternal soul.  Satan wants you to spend eternity in hell; he'll do everything he can to pull you and me away from the Word of God.  He'll do all that he can to try to lead you and me to act in ways which are contrary to the Word, he'll do all that he can to lead us to think that spiritual matters aren't all that important, that it's okay to regularly skip worship, Sunday School, the Lord's Supper.  He'll do all that he can to lead you and me to leave our Bibles closed.  He'll do all that he can to lead us to act in ways which are inconsistent with the Bible, to act in ways which turn the people around us away from the Word of God.

 

But don't worry; the stakes aren't all that high.  It's just whether you or I go to heaven or hell. 

 

One of the devil's favorite tricks is to try to lead you and me to think that we're okay, that we're strong, that we don't need to be fed by the Word.  The less we're into the Word, the weaker our souls become, so Satan says to you and me, "You already know that.  You're okay.  You're fine." 

 

But don't worry, the stakes aren't all that high.  It's just whether you or I go to heaven or hell. 

 

"Be careful!" God warns.  The battle of the ages is going on!  Where we spend our entire eternity hinges on what happens ... here.  This is THE battle!  The stakes are eternal!

 

And thank God, He's won the battle for you and for me!  Jesus came and battled Satan head-on - and won!  His death paid for sins, His resurrection proved that Satan was defeated.  And, the verse immediately after our "be careful!" verse reads, "And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  "(1 Cor 10:13b NIV) 

 

So, believers, battle!  Arm yourselves with the Word!  Partake of the sacrament!  See what's at stake, and approach it seriously!

 

But also approach it confidently; your Savior God stands at your side, faithfully, holding you up, feeding you with His word, with His sacrament. 

 

Thankful for God's faithfulness, just like you,

pastor