The sports world has seen LeBron James win four NBA Championships, Steph Curry win four NBA championships, Nick Saban win seven National Championships, and Tom Brady win seven Super Bowls. Most fans agree they have cemented their legacies as one of, or the greatest, in their sports. If each of them retired today, they would be surefire Hall of Famers…statues would be made for them…and their names would be forever entered into the record books. Despite already doing enough to be considered great and their accomplishments secure, they continue to come back year after year to pursue excellence. Although they are deemed legends, instead of settling or staying complacent, they remain committed to competing at a high level. I bring up these four guys to make an important parallel for us as followers of Jesus. When we place our faith in Christ to be our Savior and genuinely surrender our lives to Him and receive God’s grace, our eternity with Him is secure. Because of Jesus, we are cemented into God’s family forever. Praise God it’s not based on anything we’ve ever done or will do, but by believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection we can live with the assurance we’ve been saved from our sin. Romans 10:9 (ESV) says, “… if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” 2 Corinthians 1:22 (AMP) adds, “It is He who has also put His seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge .” As followers of Jesus who have the Holy Spirit living within us, our eternity is secure, which gives us immense peace. We rest in Him, but we “continue to come back year after year to pursue excellence and not settle or stay complacent, but keep on going.” We are empowered to do good things, not because we need to win “another championship” or need to “prove we’re great.” Instead, Ephesians 2:9-10 (NLT) tells us, “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” LeBron, Curry, Saban, and Brady are already champions and because that’s who they are, they continue to do great things. Similarly, we are followers of Jesus and because of who we are in Christ we will continue to do great things. I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I’m so grateful I don’t have to earn salvation and that my eternity with You is secure. I desire to do great things according to Your will not because I have to, but because You empower me to do so. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
Are there areas in your life where you are complacent?
How have you seen the Holy Spirit empower you to do great things for God?
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