Stop Losing and Start Winning

We all have errors, but it’s what we allow God to do with them that determines if we win or lose.

The word “error” is used in the language of baseball in a way unlike any other sport, not to mention tracked and memorized by stats fans. In most other sports and situations, we track our wins and hope the errors are forgotten or that we’ll have enough wins to at least earn us another chance. Here’s the thing—we all have errors and we all need chances. Myers puts it this way: “…
we stumble, drop the ball, commit an error, get thrown out on the way to first base, [but] God does give us chances. He will forgive our sin if we humbly confess it. His desire is for us to turn to Him when we do.”

Dave Wainwright, missional member at CedarCreek, shares his experience with God, chances and turning to Him: “I had totally turned my back on God for many years. My addictions had taken me to some very dark places. I had become such a lying manipulating person that I absolutely hated myself. My life had gotten to the point of no return. But, through my wife’s unconditional love for me and my desire to not lose her or my children, I went to rehab and started attending church again at CedarCreek. When I accepted Christ, a huge weight was lifted from me. I felt his grace and unconditional love for the first time and cried like a baby. To know that his love is not based on performance, and that there’s nothing I can do that will change that, is mind blowing. And even though I’ve been in the roughest season of my life the last couple of years, I can honestly say they have been the best years of my life. I say that only because I know Jesus will always be leading the way. He led my wife, Janis, and me to be a part of the launch of Celebrate Recovery (CR) and to serve as the ministry leaders at Perrysburg. I tell people—CR is a Christ-centered fellowship of broken people who learn how to live with whatever issue they have. The awesome part is you learn how to trust Jesus while you make new Christian friends.”

Like Dave, we all need second chances, a lot of second chances, and when we turn to God at those times, “…we can become a person who lives by the truth and wins the battles within.”

READ and THINK… What does the Bible say?

1. In the previous chapter, John was reminding believers that sin no longer has power in their lives. He opens chapter 2 with an appeal: rather than focusing on the sin itself or trying to fix it themselves, remember that when we repent, Jesus provides a remedy both for the sin before God and for its effects.

Question: What role does Jesus play when we approach God with our sin?

1 John 2:1 (New Living Translation)

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. ut if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.

Answer:   

2. 2. Paul had been suffering intense persecution and he didn’t want his suffering to dishearten and hinder the faith of the believers who knew how bad it was for him. He passionately describes the love of Christ and what can be expected no matter what is happening in the short-term.

Question: What happens as a result of the power of Christ’s love described in these verses?

Ephesians 3:18-20 (New Century Version)

¹⁸ And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. ¹⁹ Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.   ²⁰ With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.

Answer:  LIVE … What will you do now?

What has been your experience with God when you’ve turned to Him to ask for forgiveness of your sins? Or is there an error in your life you still need to turn to Him with? 

Dave also shared: “When I think about His love for me and how I don’t deserve it but yet He pours it out to me, I feel free — free from my past, free from my sins, free from expectations and all the doings of this sinful world as it is. To know that He lives in me makes me want to do the next right thing.” Have you accepted that, as a believer, Christ now lives in you? What does that free you from? What does that make you want to do as a result? If not, what can you do to make this more real in your daily life?

PRAY… God, what do you want me to know and do?

Ask God to reveal to you any area that needs to be turned over to Him, what you can do to overcome it and accept the promises of how His love can give you life to the full.