Competitor's Creed - Steal or Reveal

'I do not trust in myself. I do not boast in my abilities or believe in my own strength. I rely solely on the power of God. I compete for the pleasure of my Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ, and the reputation of the Holy Spirit.'

God has given me the abilities to do what I can do. Because of that, I trust in Him. Furthermore, because of his grace, I can boast in my abilities no more than I can boast for His salvation. In both cases, it's a gift!!!

I think that too often, athletes get so caught up in the competition between each other and themselves, that they truly forget where all of this has come from. I can only do what God allows me to do AND I must do so according to His will.

To me it's a pleasure racing and having others see me wearing the colors of FCA Endurance and that they know that I'm competing for Christ. Not that I want glory because of that, but because others might ask, 'So what's this all about.' Sharing in the Good News is what this is all about.

Let's all give Him glory when we're racing, training, working, or whatever we do. Let's do it for the honor of Christ and always be prepared to know that others may be watching and that the reputation of the Holy Spririt must always be foremost in our minds.

Until next time... For His Glory,

Paul

Competitor's Creed - Competitors

'I am a Competitor now and forever. I am made to strive, to strain, to stretch and to succeed in the arena of competition.I am a Christian Competitor and as such, I face my challenger with the face of Christ.'

I am a Competitor now and forever.

What is the dictionary definition of a Competitor? How does this compare with your definition of a Competitor?

A competitor is a person who takes part in a contest. To me, this is either competing against a person or a team. Many times, though, it can be a contest against ourselves. It doesn't even have to be an organized race. I can be when one is training. This becomes more apparent for those of us that participate in an individual sport such as running, biking, triathlons, etc... Sure, we may be in a race and are competiting for the podium or to win our age group, but for many, it's a matter of beating our own time or having a "small" competition against someone else on the road.

I am made to strive, to strain, to stretch and to succeed in the arena of competition.

What are you striving and straining for as an athlete?

I'm striving to better myself physically and mentally; to go beyond the limitations I put on myself either through fear or being complacent.

How do you think God defines success in the arena of competition? How can this be accomplished?

I think God likes to see us win. However, I think He likes to see how we prepare and more importantly, how we deal with things when we fail. Its very easey to be gracious to one's opponent or oneself when we're victorious. It's another thing, and the true mark of a winner, when we deal with adversity and losing just as graciously... if not more.

I am a Christian Competitor and as such, I face my challenger with the face of Christ.

Does your definition of a Competitor from above conflict with what it means to be a Christian? Why or why not?

I don't think the two conflict because we are competing - against the enemy and the things he throws at us. God has not made life a competition between humans, but like it or not, there is a competitive spirit in many aspects of life. If we deal with these levels of competition - with the grace and love of God and imitate Jesus, we'll come out on top and hopefully influence others - it's a win/win.

As Competitors in athletics, we must face our challengers head on, not shying away from anyone. We should fear no opponent. With that said, what does it mean to face our challengers with the face of Christ?

We should face our challengers with love and respect, and grace at all times. We should face the enemy with no fear because Jesus is with us!

We should trust in God's provisions and know that win or lose, He will always be the same and He loves us no less.

On a side note, as Christian Competitors, our challenger is not always the person lined up across from us. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers…the authorities…the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Similar to our preparation for competition, we must be prepared to take a stand against the devil and his schemes by putting on the armor of God.

What was one thing that struck you from all of this and the thoughts that you had? How can this help you be a Competitor for Christ?

Until the next line of the Competitor's Creed... In Christ,

Paul

Competitor's Creed - Identity (continued)

I am a member of Team Jesus Christ. I wear the colors of the cross.

What is the best athletic team you have been on and why?
I have been on several great teams from little league, to high school, and in the Air Force. The best thing about them was the trust we had in each other. We depended on each other to carry out each other's tasks to play as a team.

What are some key elements of a great team?
Trust, commitment to each other, giving your all for your teammates, and not being selfish

In what way does on sacrafice for the team?
By giving up glory for oneself and playing as as team - to not be selfish

Galations 2:20 says: And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me.

So what does this say about being a member of Team Jesus Christ?
To me it means giving up the old ways to become part of the body. Giving yourself to Him and giving of yourself to others. What a great team!!!

Do you want to be part of this team?

Competitor's Creed - Identity

'I am a Christian first and last.I am created in the likeness of God Almighty to bring Him glory.'

This is the first sentence in the Competitor's Creed and the first four words mean the most out of everything in the creed.

I AM a Christian first and last. What does that mean to me? No matter what role I play in life, it always must start with walking with Christ, like Christ, and for Christ.

In today's society we place a great deal of emphasis on sports and sports figures, but in the end, it doesn't matter if you were a champion athlete, a weekend warrior, or a couch potato.

I am a Christian athlete and I do what I'm doing for His glory, not mine. Whether I win or lose, I give thanks to God for giving me the ability to even do what I can do. Yes, it is great to win and God wants us to succeed. He wants us to be happy and he also wants us to give it everything we got - in everything.

My priorities must start with Him. My training cannot come before Him. My training is for Him.

So are you an athlete? Are you not an athlete? It doesn't matter. Whatever you do, make sure you're doing it for Him as a form of praise, as a form of Thanksgiving, for His glory!

Until tomorrow... In Christ,

Paul

Going to begin a series on FCA's Competitor's Creed

I'm Back :-)

It's been too long, but I'm back on the blog.

I've also started posting on our Facebook page as well, so now there are two places to get some information.

The big news is that I had a coffee meeting with Jimmy Page yesterday. Jimmy is an FCA vice president for field ministries and the National Director of th Health and Fitness Ministry of FCA.

It was a GREAT conversation and he indicated that he's going to put a link to our blog on the FCA Mid-Atlantic website. He really wants to get others more actively involved in the endurance world. God is really working!!!

It was a wonderful discussion with Jimmy and it was such a pleasure meeting him. He is such and upbeat person and truly loves the Lord.

Well, that's about it for now. Like I said, I'm going to start posting here on a regular basis.

If anyone is new to the blog, WELCOME! I hope you join FCA Endurance and we can get to know each other.

In Christ,

Paul

Information for April 18th Huddle Meeting

Hi all! I hope you all had a great weekend and got some great workouts in (as well as some needed rest).I rec'd some responses from some of you that you might be able to make the meeting on the 18th. Hope others can come. Also, if you think of others that might be interested, please bring them along. I will send out some more information on what we'll be talking about once I come up with a firm time/place, but in the meantime, I wanted to pass onto everyone something that I wanted to get started with.In addition to talking about huddle "business" - i.e. what's happening, our plans, races, etc... the other things that I think that huddle should be involved with is fellowship with each other by perhaps having some sort of bible study, discussion, things of that nature. On the 18th, I would like to start up an exercise on the Competitor's Creed; to discuss each line and what it means to each of us. Other huddles around the country (both FCA Endurance and FCA in general) have used this and found it to be a great success. Later this week, I will send out some more info.Talk to you all later! For His Glory!Paul