Be Ready

Weekend, April 19 & 20


Winning Moments: Equipped to Win


Now may the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will.Hebrews 13:20-21a



Recommended Reading2 Timothy 3:16-17



Basketball players dress simply: shoes, shirts, shorts, and sweatbands. But life is not so simple for football players—and what about ice hockey players? Besides clothes, the athletes in these two sports have to cover themselves with pads and helmets for protection. Regardless of the sport, no athlete can expect to win without the proper equipment.



Paul wrote to Timothy that Scripture was given by God to man that we might be "thoroughly equipped for every good work." How, exactly, does Scripture equip the believer? It teaches us doctrine, it reproves (disciplines) us, it corrects our path, and it instructs us in righteous living. And it gives us our uniform for "offense" (putting on Christ; Romans 13:14) and "defense" (spiritual armor; Ephesians 6:11-18). In addition, we are given our daily practice gear: service, Bible study, the fruit of the Spirit, prayer, and obedience. If that sounds like a lot of equipment, consider the stakes: The spiritual life is a winner-take-all contest.
In which kind of equipment have you invested more—the type for a temporal game or the kind for the eternal contest?



Precisely because we cannot predict the moment, we must be ready at all moments. C. S. Lewis