Christian Living
Larry Lilly's Letter Monday February 7, 2011
In the business world, even the daily living world formulas for success abound and many are very good as far as they go. I came across a superb one the other day by a man known for his commitment to excellence and the ability to simplify steps to achievement, the late Vince Lombardi. The coach said:
"Once you have established the goals you want and the price you're willing to pay, you can ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure and the temporary failures."
I opined while musing on this gem that the reason so many fail to follow through on the path toward achievement is the desire is not fervent enough, the true cost has not been counted, this is the most important part as we will see, and the pain of continuing in spite of "minor" hurts, opposition and what Mr. Lombardi terms, "temporary failures."
The strength of your commitment will be determined by what it takes to stop you.
The formula for today's program is simple, stated in four words: Desire, Count, Pay, Overcome.
Consider what Jesus said to His followers and these four words play an important role in our life lived for Him.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Most Christians whom I know have a decent handle on what Jesus is teaching here, other than we think wishing is desire, biblically desire is burning thirst, I will count the cost momentarily, as well as pay the price, and overcoming is often a step toward overcoming, in other words, temporary failure is commonly a growth experience.
Let's look at Mark's outline of achievement in the Christian life. Desire. Do you even know what you really want? Can you define it? Do you pray concerning this biblically correct desire? Do you count the cost and pay the price? Wanna bet?
Check the context and see if a willingness to and the carrying out of forgiveness is on your list of cost counting and paying the price by actually forgiving. The question comes down to "How intensely do you DESIRE, what does your goal mean to you?" If you would rather cling to thoughts or actual vengeance, pouting over hurt feeling, then the Bible is saying to you that you will never fully realize your full potential as a Christian until you practice Christ likeness in the matter of forgiving. Being of Lombardi character is a step above average. Being of true Christ character is out of this world. When you forgive you defeat the greatest hindrance to your Christian growth.
Larry Lilly Copyright © 2011 Use with credit
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