Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Game Change, Ultimate Edition

Why is poker considered a "sport" to some people?  Perhaps it's because a tournament can have turning points.  One big hand can make someone's evening, while turning hours of hope into disappointment and ruin for someone else.

Even a person can be a "game-changer" in poker.  Bring Mr. or Ms. Chip Leader to a table of tight-playing modest players, and the tone and action can change in a hurry.  Smart players learn how to adjust to the situation, and even the competition.

Long before the phrase was popular, game-changing people were scattered throughout human history.  But there's One who ranks above all the rest for us....
....Because through Christ  Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. - Romans 8:2

In a post earlier this week, we mentioned Jesus's words from Matthew 5 that God's Law would not disappear until "everything is accomplished."  Jesus accomplished a lot for us while walking the earth.  Among them: a replacement of one "law" with another.  Some claim that means the Ten Commandments were revoked.  But consider this key verse:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

Like it or not, we've all sinned (Romans 3:23).  The "pay window" for that is death, as promised by God to the first humans in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3).  But Jesus changed the "game of life" into one of eternal life:
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.... For the trumpet shall sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. - I Corinthians 15:22, 52

As a sinless Savior, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by His blood.  By repenting of your sins and accepting Jesus as your Savior, you can come under that "new law" -- with God's Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and the promise of eternal life when Jesus returns.

If you want to win the big poker tournaments, you'll probably need to make a lot of big decisions.  To win the "Ultimate Game," you need to make only one....
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9

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