“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
To this day Ethiopians look back to the day that Philip baptised Queen Candace’s Chancellor of the Exchequer as the beginning of Christianity in their country—and indeed it was! It was a day of defeat for the devil, but a day of victory for the Kingdom of Christ (Acts 8:26-40).
You and I must always stop and praise God when we hear about a baptism into Christ or a restoration of a prodigal son or daughter to the church. There are no greater events than these this side of heaven.
Our spiritual journey is not travelled alone. As the body needs every part to finish a race, the church needs every part to finish The Race. It is Christ, in his church, who supplies all nourishment, encouragement, strength, and direction for those who aim to win.
It is exciting to know that between now and the day we hear those triumphant words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” that we can expect victories along the way. However, many of the things we count as gains, the world counts as losses. For they do not see believers who have dedicated their lives to the spiritual welfare of others as winners.
Victories of the day come in many forms for the Christian. Along with baptisms and restorations we see many signs of transformation. The hate-filled become loving, the doubter finds faith, the stingy becomes generous, the weak is made strong, the liar speaks truth, the immoral becomes pure, and the timid seeks souls.
Every deed, small or great, that builds the church of Christ is “Victory in Jesus!”
“But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved” (Hebrews 10:39).
John Staiger
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