I saw this last week on Facebook!

That phrase will/should put fear in the heart of strong man. For others, eyes roll and heads shake thinking about all that is on facebook that is…shall we say… short of the truth mark. Lamar Duke was the founding pastor of what is now One Savior Church off of Kolic-Helmly in the south part of the county. He went on to Pittsburgh, PA association work, New York Convention and now he is with the Alabama Baptist State Convention. I have underlined the two words caught my eye and that made all of the difference.

          "We do not work for victory, but from it" ~ Lamar Duke

Don’t just agree but give it some consideration. We live and work from victory. Not towards the victory we see in Revelation but from the victory won at the cross. Once again the cross was enough. A friend Lisa Day likes the phrase “We Win” because I used it to remind us of our victory but I was wrong. The phrase is “We Won.” It’s a done deal. The cross was the decisive blow to sin and death. Jesus did it. Not will do it, “it is finished,” he said. Not just his life but sin and death were stick-a-fork-in-it DONE. We won. So, why is it most days I feel like I lost, feel I’m a looser, in no way victorious? There is a reason I/we feel this way.

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1-2 The Message

I/we use a macro lens instead of a wide angle “fish-eye” lens. With that vision all we can see is our situation and not even all of that. All we can interpret is what we can see and that is so limited. Unfortunately, that is our natural view. Most of us are not wide eyed in perspective. All we can really see is what affects us. True, all we really want to see is what affects us. That is not Christ’s view of life and living. The Kingdom of God is so much more vast and expansive than our one-foot-in-front-of another existence. That is not the panoramic view we are invited to experience. Yet at the same time within us is a desire to part of something bigger.

We can only experience that kind of view from the cross. Yes, the invitation is to die with Christ on the cross, lifted high, arms wide for all to see and to see all. THAT is the panoramic view of victory! No eyes focused on the ground and our own path but rather a view as far as the eyes can see. That is what resurrection life with Christ is like. Paul challenges us to act like we see that view. Is there fog, low visibility, darkness? That’s what faith is for. If you can’t see his hand trust his heart. Believe it’s good, it’s certain, it’s a winner. By the way, joining Christ in this adventure makes us winners.

Victory is ours.

We have won!

Bro G