March Madness – let’s do this for our victory…
Celebrate Your Victory in Jesus
Every year at this time 68 college basketball teams qualify to battle it out for the right to be called champion. It’s called MARCH MADNESS. These 68 teams are whittled down to what is called “the sweet 16, then its down to the “elite 8”, and then the “final four”. The last two teams then play for the championship and as the last seconds of that final game tick off fans begin to stream onto the court with shouts and cheers celebrating their teams victory. The winners receive their individual medals and the team trophy – they are the NCAA Champions! Most of us, me included, enjoy watching the drama unfold during the NCAA basketball tournament – MARCH MADNESS!
March Madness – for the Lord
However, it does bring a question to my mind, does living for the Lord generate the same kind of passion, zeal, and attitude? Do we celebrate the victory Jesus has given us with the same enthusiasm and celebratory flare?
I want challenge you this month, as you fill out your brackets and enjoy the games of “March Madness” (get this years bracket here) to make this month the time you decide to live out your life for Christ with great GLADNESS! Instead of March madness, why not turn it to GLADNESS? Psalms 100:2 instructs us to, “Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.” However, to observe many Christians you would think that verse reads “serve the Lord with sadness or madness”.
God wants you to be so convinced of His unfailing love for you and to be so persuaded about His goodness toward you that you naturally live your life with an unwavering attitude of joy and gladness.
That’s why I’m praying for each of us to have a greater understanding of His love for us and to have a greater grasp of His goodness toward us. It is the key to serving the Lord with gladness instead of with sadness or madness.
Don’t Serve Your Enemies
The consequence of not serving the Lord with gladness is awful. Moses gives of this warning, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies...” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48). We’re not called to serve our enemies, but because of His amazing grace we’re called to serve the Lord and to do it with gladness! It’s a choice!
It’s Your Choice
However, often we choose to worry and complain to the Lord about everything, instead of choosing to be glad. We have the wrong attitude, complaining and murmuring about our life and circumstances. Drop the attitude – Choose to be glad, choose to rejoice always, choose to be cheerful! Psalms 68:3 tells us, “Let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly” Being glad is a choice!
We are to make that choice every day – forever. That is exactly what the Bible tells us, “Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days!” (Psalm 90:14). “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; …”. (Isaiah 65:18)
For 67 teams the final game they play is a loss, a crushing defeat that ends their season. Only one team wins their last game and becomes champion. In Christ, watch this, EVERYONE gets to experience the joy of the greatest victory ever. We all get to enter into the celebration and triumph of victory over death, hell, and the grave and to receive forgiveness and eternal life. The only way you can lose is to reject Jesus and His free gift of grace. Choose to be glad and celebrate the victory you have in Christ with zeal and passion – March Madness is something we get to experience everyday!
