Forged for the Frontline

Ephesians 2:10, the death of loser Christianity, and the good works God prepared for us.

Thanks, Adam.

In basketball, players play offense and defense each possession. Although each team's game plan changes depending on who they face, one thing remains constant: each player has an assigned role. The execution of their role is critical to the game's outcome.

In life, we also have roles. Even the greatest minds in coaching have flaws in their game plan. However, God’s game plan for us is flawless—His Spirit equips us to serve Him faithfully.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)

The Koine Greek word for “workmanship” is: poiema. In other words, we are God’s beautiful haiku. We are His work of art, and He created us to create masterpieces for His glory and our good. There’s one problem, though: we’ve compromised ourselves. A software update won’t do; we require a new operating system.

Poetry in Motion

Poetry does not write itself—it needs an author. Many Christians tend to forget who the Author of their lives is, leading to confusion, discontent, laziness, and, eventually, despair.

When we take our eyes off Christ, these feelings invade, infect, and hijack our thinking. We must remember Jesus Christ.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 (KJV)

As slaves of Christ, we owe it to our Master to serve Him well. Why, then, are we prone to give Him unreliable products? Our unreliability is a direct result of relying on ourselves rather than on the One who created us to do the work in the first place.

We’ve replaced God’s promises with a pipe dream.

“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6 (HCSB)

Malware Detected

Nine times out of ten, malicious software takes control of people’s devices due to their negligence. Opening that PDF that came from an email address unknown to you, clicking the link sent via SMS, urging you to pay your bill immediately to avoid account cancellation, and visiting pornographic websites are common ways these cyber attacks occur. The way to prevent these attacks is simple: self-control.

As you know, self-control is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23 (HCSB)

It gets better.

“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
Galatians 5:24-26 (HCSB)

Here’s the problem: our current infection prevents us from downloading and installing the truth above in our minds. Although we are no longer slaves to sin, we operate as if we are still in shackles—treating our remaining sin as something that has dominion over us, instead of something that Christ conquered for us.

“Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6:12-14 (HCSB)

System Override

Let’s face it: we don’t have the administrative rights to fix our corruption, but God does. We must surrender our credentials and yield to a total system override. A system override means giving up absolute control. While we know that God is sovereign over our lives, it’s time for us to apply this truth. The days of us giving the Lord our corroding scraps and hoarding our firstfruits are over. We’ve grown accustomed to our putridness, and as a result, we failed to realize that our firstfruits were rotten.

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37 (HCSB)

On the contrary, without God, nothing is possible. (John 15:5) That is the cause of the mess that we’re in. Exchanging God’s truth for Satan’s lies kept us away from relying on God, and in turn, we began to depend on ourselves. Our failure to trust God led us to make excuses, blame others, and succumb to and live in unconfessed sin.

Repent!

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (HCSB)

The loving arms of Christ are open, and He’s ready to receive you. Just like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who pursued his wayward child, Christ is doing the same towards you.

Resist the devil, pursue Christ, and reject passivity.

Christ didn’t save us to be losers; stop living like one.

“I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
John 16:33 (HCSB)