My son Zachary surprised himself and others tonight by playing aggressive defense on the basetball court, blocking shots and causing the other team to turn over the ball. "He's such a nice, quiet boy," a former teacher remarked, surprised at his play. Her daughter was less surprised. She'd watched Zachary play basketball before. But as I said, even Zachary himself was surprised. He goes into a tournament tomorrow knowing, now, that he can play tough "D."
I'm afraid that Christians are not always so good at playing defense. At least Lutheran Christians. One of our problems is that we don't spend a lot of time even talking about the opposing team. Other Christian talk a lot about the sin, devil, and the forces of evil. Most Lutherans do not, which is sort of surprising, since Martin Luther himself talked quite a bit about the opposition.
Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness and won by knowing his Bible better than his opponent. Luther used God's word, too, as well as the knowledge that he had been made a child of God in baptism. Luther's knowledge of God's word and his identity as one claimed and saved by Christ helped him through some very difficult times, when the enemy threatened to take the lead.
In order to be able to defend against the forces of evil, we need to be able to recognize their tactics. Here are three of them and a way to defend against each, based on God's word:
Tactic: Trying to convince you that you are no good.
Defense: Remember Gen. 1:26, which says, "And God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.'" If are made in the image of God, then it cannot be true that we are no good. We sin, yes. We rebel against what God wants for us, yes. But we are still made in God's likeness and intended to do good. As Paul wrote, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
Tactic: Pointing out other people's faults while persuading you to ignore your own.
Defense: Remember Jesus' own complaint: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5). Taking care of your own faults first is not only good defense for your own faith but it might eventually help you to defend your neighbor, as well.
Tactic: Using advertising or your own pride to get you to work harder and harder to accumulate more money and things, meanwhile ignoring your faith, family, and friends.
Defense: Remembering Jesus' words, "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Luke 12:27). Another possible defense would be to volunteer for a mission trip to a developing country. That might change your perspective on what it means to be wealthy.
No doubt you can think of others. I invite you to think about the tactics that wind up defeating you and how you might defend against each. The tactics could come from the inside or the outside, be "quick and dirty" or subtle and intricately designed. Each one will probably require a slightly different defense. But know that the Bible provides some excellent defensive--as well as offensive--plays that you, too, can learn if you take the time to read it.
Taking the time to focus on your defense can go a long way toward helping you in your daily struggles with the forces that want to take you down. With a little to practice, who knows? You might surprise yourself and others, too!
I'm afraid that Christians are not always so good at playing defense. At least Lutheran Christians. One of our problems is that we don't spend a lot of time even talking about the opposing team. Other Christian talk a lot about the sin, devil, and the forces of evil. Most Lutherans do not, which is sort of surprising, since Martin Luther himself talked quite a bit about the opposition.
Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness and won by knowing his Bible better than his opponent. Luther used God's word, too, as well as the knowledge that he had been made a child of God in baptism. Luther's knowledge of God's word and his identity as one claimed and saved by Christ helped him through some very difficult times, when the enemy threatened to take the lead.
In order to be able to defend against the forces of evil, we need to be able to recognize their tactics. Here are three of them and a way to defend against each, based on God's word:
Tactic: Trying to convince you that you are no good.
Defense: Remember Gen. 1:26, which says, "And God said, 'Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.'" If are made in the image of God, then it cannot be true that we are no good. We sin, yes. We rebel against what God wants for us, yes. But we are still made in God's likeness and intended to do good. As Paul wrote, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
Tactic: Pointing out other people's faults while persuading you to ignore your own.
Defense: Remember Jesus' own complaint: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye" (Matthew 7:3-5). Taking care of your own faults first is not only good defense for your own faith but it might eventually help you to defend your neighbor, as well.
Tactic: Using advertising or your own pride to get you to work harder and harder to accumulate more money and things, meanwhile ignoring your faith, family, and friends.
Defense: Remembering Jesus' words, "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Luke 12:27). Another possible defense would be to volunteer for a mission trip to a developing country. That might change your perspective on what it means to be wealthy.
No doubt you can think of others. I invite you to think about the tactics that wind up defeating you and how you might defend against each. The tactics could come from the inside or the outside, be "quick and dirty" or subtle and intricately designed. Each one will probably require a slightly different defense. But know that the Bible provides some excellent defensive--as well as offensive--plays that you, too, can learn if you take the time to read it.
Taking the time to focus on your defense can go a long way toward helping you in your daily struggles with the forces that want to take you down. With a little to practice, who knows? You might surprise yourself and others, too!
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