The Winning Recipe

I press on toward the goal to win the prize to which God has balled me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14 NIV)


   In the game of life, we all want to be winners.  No prize is given to the loser.  To come in second gives some satisfaction, but to come in last is downright shameful.  That's life!  What does God say about winning?  It might come as a surprise, but God wants you to win.  In fact, he has guaranteed that those who follow him will end up winners.  Consider the text of the following verses:

   "If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God and carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand."  (Deut. 28:13 NLT)_


   "How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord."  (1 Cor. 15:57 NLT)


   "For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory."  (1 John 5:4 NLT)


   What do these verses tell us about "the winning recipe?"  Take notice that the connection between these verses is that our winning is dependent upon our relationship to God and his Son, Jesus Christ.  In him we win -- outside of him, we lose.