RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

In the early 1990s, I went to the Republic of Mongolia to teach the small band of believers in the nation the principles of prayer that I had written in my book, The Prayer Factor. Mongolia had never received the gospel since the inception of Christianity. Missionaries long ago had gone there, but had been rebuffed. For the last 2000 years no one had heard the wonderful message of God’s salvation.
Although the nation was predominantly Buddhist, the communists had wiped out all belief in God. But when freedoms began to come to the nation, the doors began to open for the gospel. A small group of people in the capitol city of Ulan Batar came to believe in Jesus. I was asked to go there and teach them on prayer. I taught principles of prayer for several evenings. God moved wonderfully during the meetings. At the close of the meetings in Ulan Batar, I was asked to go to another city, Darhan. There were no believers in that city at that time. The people had never even heard of Jesus.
After I shared the good news of who God is and what He can do in our lives, an old man asked me a very significant question.
He inquired, “What does your God look like?” I was somewhat taken back. No one had ever asked me such a question. How would you have answered that question? It was one of the most difficult questions that I’ve ever had to answer.
But basically I said to the old man, “If you want to know what God looks like, then you need to know that He has given us a book that describes His nature, character, and attributes. That book was written by holy men who were inspired by God. They lived during different periods of history. Some were kings. Others were ordinary fishermen. But all had encountered the God who created the universe. They wrote of His deeds and the testimonies and of how God had changed their lives. They told of His laws and principles of life.” My answer seemed to satisfy the old man.
If you want to really know God intimately, then you need to understand that there is an objective testimony of who He is and how He works. The Bible is God’s word to His people. If we truly want to get to know God and learn to live in harmony with Him, then we need to commit ourselves to reading, studying, and meditating on His word. There’s a four-fold purpose in our taking the Word of God into our lives on a regular daily basis.
The Apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy and explained what the Scriptures can do in our lives. He said, “All Scripture is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16). Paul lists how God deals with the negative as well as the positive things in our lives. First, he tells us that the Scriptures will teach us – we learn who God is and how we can know and walk with Him. Second, the Bible rebukes us when there are areas of our lives that don’t please God. The Bible becomes our ultimate source of authority and accountability. God draws the parameters around our lives and then lets us know if we have crossed those boundaries.

But God doesn’t just tell us when we’ve done something wrong. He corrects us – that is, He shows us in the Scriptures how to get back into the parameters of safety where we should be living. Finally, God instructs in the ways of right living – in living in a correct and proper relationship with Him. It would be inconceivable to think that we could experience consistent victory in our lives without knowing who He is, how He works, and what He expects from us. The Bible is God’s instruction manual for victorious Christian living. It’s His map that guides us on the trail of triumph.
A champion will always have a plan – a strategy for winning. God has given us His strategy for a winning life. It’s found in an age old book, the Bible. If you want to be a winner in the race of life, then study that book of all ages, the Bible. It’s God’s word. It’s His divine strategy for living and our instruction manual for training in righteousness. But most of all, it gives the fullest and most complete description of what He looks like. Read it and reap a resounding victory!