A good friend of mine is a competition
trap and skeet shooter. I have taken up the sport, and he
has been a great coach. He shared with me a recent experience
in a competition. Nearing the end of the shoot, he was in the
lead and had essentially won. He only had one more round
to top off his winning score. He explained how his heart
was already set on the big win. He was already mentally signing
his name on the trophy as he entered the final round. Then he
missed. He ended up not winning because in his heart he had left
the field early.
This is an athletic principle that we can all learn from, never leave the
field before the game is over. Never leave the task unfinished.
Don’t start the final play without a heart fully engaged in the present moment.
I am learning the same principle in my daily journey with Jesus Christ.
The enemy of our souls comes as a thief. He is good at reminding
us of our past or setting our hearts with anxiety or false expectation about
the future. Living in the past or the future can cause us to leave
the field. Jesus came to give life, and life more abundantly.
Life in the present moment. Are we fully engaged in the kingdom
task which God has set in our hearts for today? Am I living in
the abundance of the present moment? The “right now” is what really
counts.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life , and have it to the full.
Mark 13:33:
Be on guard! Be alert ! You do not know when that time will come.
1 Peter 5:8-9:
Be self-controlled and alert . Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
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