One of the famous stories of the Green Bay Packers was about Vince Lombardi when he was their new coach.  The team had a history of losing and Vince was committed to turning the team around.  After one disheartening practice he blew his whistle and called the players together.  Then he knelt down, picked up the football and said, "Let's start at the beginning. This is a football. These are the yard markers. I'm the coach. You are the players." He went on, in the most elementary of ways, to explain the basics of football.

            That sounds a lot like what Jesus did with the disciples after the resurrection!  Luke captures the story in chapter 24 of his gospel:

 Luke 24

13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.

15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

           Jesus had spent three and half years with His followers, teaching them the Scriptures about the Messiah and demonstrating who He was, but they missed it!  So after His resurrection He spent forty days with them and taught them the basics.  “This is a football.  These are yard markers.  I’m the coach. You are the players.”

            As I was thinking about this I was reminded of the Scriptures that were meaningful to me as a beginning Christian and how they have sustained me in my walk with Christ and how much I need to be reminded of the basics again.  So today I want to start with the basics.  One of the first verses I memorized was …

Rom 10:9-10

9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

            The first issue that must be resolved in the mind of every person is whether or not he is a believer … how do you get saved!  The Apostle Paul simplifies it in these two verses:  You must believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead, and you must confess with your mouth that Jesus is your Lord.  It is then God’s work in us that creates righteousness in our heart and salvation in our lives! 

            No one “accidently” becomes a Christian.  We aren’t Christians because we are Americans.  We aren’t Christians because we attend church.  We aren’t Christians because we occasionally pray and ask God to help us or protect us.  We are Christians because we made a decision to confess that Jesus is our Lord and Savior.

            1 John 5 broadens this out just a little more:

1 John 5:11-12

11 And this is the record; that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

            The Bible is the reliable record that tells us about having eternal life: being saved.  There isn’t a middle ground in our relationship with Jesus!  John is emphatic that each of us either has eternal life or we don’t have eternal life.  And it all depends on whether we have Jesus!  If we have believed on Him in our hearts and confessed Him with our mouth … the Bible says we DO have Him and we also have eternal life!

            But the problem I faced as a new believer was my own fault and failures.  The Bible calls them sin!  And after confessing Jesus as my Savior I still was not perfect!  My language didn’t instantly improve, my social life didn’t instantly become transformed, and it took time to find new friends who had the same goals and desires that I did.  In the mean time I was in trouble!  I didn’t know what to do with the sins I continued to commit!

           Then this passage was pointed out to me:

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

           This was a new habit I had to become familiar with … confessing my sins to Jesus and asking Him to forgive me!  Now I knew He was already aware of my failures, but there was something about confessing them as sin against God that was cleansing and healing … and yes painful as well.  But it was comforting to know that He was faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and to once again cleanse me from my unrighteousness.

           However … I saw God as being like most of us humans … impatient with those who repeatedly do the wrong things.  I was sure that if I repeated the same sin that I had asked forgiveness for before that He was getting irritated with my inconsistency!  I didn’t understand the grace of God! If I had a problem with some of things I was doing … surely God was really irritated!  What could I do to keep in right standing with God when I failed so often! 

           My brother-in-law, Mel Westbrook, patiently taught me the meaning of this Scripture:

Rom 8:1  Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

            It was difficult to understand that God wasn’t irritated with me.  He actually loved me and provided grace so I had room to grow.  When I fell down He picked me up!  He wasn’t in my life to condemn me but to help me!  He loved me, accepted, and was committed to my success as a Christian.  And He still is! 

            He still walks with me and does not condemn me!  I no longer struggle with the same problems that I had as a new convert, but I still need His grace!  None of us have reached perfection … we all need to know that our Father in heaven is not condemning us for what we’ve done … we need grace!

            When it comes to grace, the Scripture that has help me most in understanding the idea of grace is found in Ephesians:

Eph 2:8-9

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

            Grace is described as “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”  The emphasis of this passage of Scripture is on the reality of salvation as being “not of ourselves and not of our own good works” but it is in reality a gift of God which we receive by faith!

            Just as much as we first came to Christ by believing on Him and confessing Him as our Savior, we continue in Christ in the same manner.  We don’t get brownie points by being good Christians … we live by faith!  Grace is extended to us on a daily, hourly, moment by moment basis!  What Christ did on the Cross not only saved us by He sustains us!  That grace!  There is no condemnation in Him for those who trust Him!

            Now … that doesn’t mean He is willing to leave us as we were!  He has a deep desire for us to be changed into His likeness.  He wants our character and activities to reflect who He is!  Even if we fail He doesn’t give up … He keeps on working on us!

Phil 1:6

6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect (complete) it until the day of Christ Jesus.

            You can be confident in your relationship with Jesus:  He will not give up on you!  He who began a good work in you is DETERMINED to complete it!  God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and all the angels in heaven have one goal in mind for you … your ability to become what Christ has intended you to become.  He wants you to be a confident, bold, faithful, generous, loving, gracious Christian!  And He keeps working on all of us to help us get there!

            So, what do we do with those faults and failures we have along the way?  The Apostle Paul gave us some insight into how to overcome them:

1 Cor 10:13

13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

            We humans seem to have the same kinds of temptations and Paul reminds us that “no temptation has overtaken us but such as is common to man …” We all have problems which are described by John as “The lust of the eyes” … we want everything we see.  “The lust of the flesh” … our body always wants more than it needs.  And “The pride of life” … we always want our own way.  None of us escape these temptations!

           And God knows it!  He doesn’t condemn us for being tempted, but instead, “He is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond the breaking point!”  With each temptation He provides an escape route so we can remove ourselves from sin!  Then it becomes our choice as to whether we find the escape route or not!  Sadly, many do not attempt to escape.

            The escape route is there and it’s our choice.  God is working in us to complete the work He has begun so He provides grace to help us overcome! 

            To enable that grace to succeed I discovered a truth that has been a help over the years.

Eph 5:17-20

17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

             Overcoming difficulties and problems in life comes from the strength of the Holy Spirit and the commitment we make to allow Him to minister in us.  Paul encourages us to “Be filled with the Spirit …”  Allow the Spirit of God to control us from the inner man in the same way an intoxicating beverage controls a person who has become drunk with wine.  Know this, the Holy Spirit doesn’t disable us … He enables us!

            The method we must use for this “spiritual intoxication” is to “sing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!”  This is worship and praise!  This isn’t a Sunday morning activity, it’s a lifetime activity!  This is our life blood for overcoming sin and being transformed by the grace of God!

            Faith arises, power overflows, grace enables, as we give thanks to God for His goodness and sing praises to His name.  There is a greater need for being filled with the Spirit as we walk with Christ than any other need we might think we have!  Give thanks, sing praise, and be an overcomer in Christ Jesus.

            The Apostle Paul added this in the book of Philippians:

 Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

             Rejoice in the Lord!  Be anxious for nothing!  Give thanks unto Him!  The difficulties we face begin to crumble when we engulf ourselves in thanksgiving, praise, and worship!  It’s no wonder that Satan tries all he can to stop us from singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.  There is power in praise! 

             Give the Lord praise!

            These are only a few of things I have learned in my Christian walk.  There are so many more treasures that I want to share, and will share as I have time in the future.  For now … learn to praise!