The Devil's Future

So you know that this week I have to talk a little football, right?  Alabama is going for their 16th National Title.  Clemson is going for their first in 34 years.  I mean my daughter wasn't alive when Clemson won their only National Title.  Both teams are hyped and so are their fans. We all talk about 'our team' and how good they are.  We are all convinced that 'our team' is going to win.  Or if you are not an Alabama or Clemson fan you may think your team got cheated, they should have this shot.  I'm a bit competitive (my friends are just rolling their eyes and going 'REALLY?? YOU???'  Then I'm sure they laughed really hard).


I don't like to lose at anything.  I am not one of the folks that say it 'not about winning or losing', I mean seriously, if it's not, then let's not keep score.  But how often do we live our lives like it's a competition?  If we do enough 'good stuff' then we'll be OK but if we don't 'score those points' we will lose.  I'm so glad that my salvation and my future are not based on my ability to do the 'good stuff' but rather is based on what Christ has already done. 


As competitive as I am, I admit that my score is 0 in the game of life, there is no way my 'good stuff' would outweigh my 'bad stuff'.  If I sat down and started to write all the times I've failed, all the times I've messed up, the list would go on for a good while.  But when I talk to my Father about those things He says 'I can't see what is under the blood'.  Do you get it?  Do you really grasp it?  Every sin you have confessed to Him is blotted out!  It cannot be remembered by Him again.


We beat our self up a lot about the past.  You know like the team that loses on Monday will do, we replay every effort and every miscue wondering what would have happened if we had not 'missed the ball'.  That is one of the devil's favorite tactics.  He loves to taunt you with the 'what if's'.  He loves to remind you of your failures and mistakes.  God is all powerful but there is one thing that the devil can do that God can't.  The devil can remember the sins that God has forgiven.  But God, the all powerful and all seeing God has chosen to cast those away and never remember them again. 


Don't let the devil use something that God has cast away against you.  I read something once that I really like, "The number of times you fell is not important, What is important is how many times you got back up".  Get up in the power of Jesus name, get up and put on your amour.  Get ready for battle!  When the devil throws your past in your face, remind him that you know his future and he's going to hell!