Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Why Nike?




You all know the movie. It was one of my favorites when I was in high school. Okay, fine. It was my VERY favorite. Underdog, washed up, uneducated, boxer turns hero.

Go Rocky.

I got so excited during the final boxing match in the first Rocky movie that I lost a contact and had to sit still, waiting for the theater lights to turn back on to find it. Bummer. Trust me.

Anyway, Rocky overcame his obstacles to victory. It took a second movie to win the title from Apollo Creed, who became his very best friend, before he was beat to death by Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. I could go on and on. Really.

But here's my point, Rocky was an overcomer. He faced his obstacles and defeated them. It's an inspiring tale that burns in the hearts of Americans, because we are also considered overcomers.

Rocky's story pales in comparison to our story, however. Fist-shaking, hell-bound, rebellious, dead man brought back to life. Putrid, stinking corpse made heir of all things. Enslaved, shackled, in bondage wretch turns into free child of the Master. But here's the problem. We didn't accomplish these things using mere brute force like Rocky did. We didn't have a Mickey verbally whipping us into shape and an Adrian covering her eyes in the wings. We did not write this story. Overcoming is not our doing.

It's God's.

He did everything. He is the Overcomer. And when Jesus took on our identity on the cross, bearing the wrath of His Father for our sins, and gave us His identity, we became overcomers as well. We were no longer guilty but innocent. No longer stained but made clean. God looks at us and sees the righteousness of His Son applied to our persons. Went from dead to Overcomers.

The greek word for Overcomer is nikao, or nike. In the verses under my blog title, the greek word "nikao" is used three times and it is used as a description of believers. If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, it changes our lives from loser to Overcomer. This is not a suggestion or an encouragement like, "You can do it, little believer. You can overcome. You really can..." No, it is a descriptive word for believers. Whatever is born of God overcomes. If you are His child, you overcome. Period.

Now granted, there are plenty of instructions for believers to press on and overcome - in the seven letters to the churches of Revelation, especially, you see the call to overcome, to march forward, to be victorious. These passages are definitely a call to action, a call to effort and instructional. But I do not believe that anyone shows up at the pearly gates in heaven and God says, "Welcome home, child. You almost overcame. Nice try, but come on in anyway." No, the fact that we are His children means that we are already victorious. Sin has no hold on us, we are free from the bondage of rebellion and we will defeat death - all through the power of God. We hold the title of Overcomer because of Jesus. And if we are truly Overcomers, then we need to live like Overcomers. Yes?

If you read The Appearing, nike (or nee-kay) was the victory chant of the faithful believers. Though the great tribulation weighed heavy on them, they knew they would overcome. This word meant a lot to my father, as he formed a company with salesmen who had been fired from their previous jobs. They wanted to overcome the odds and be victorious in the investment banking industry, so Dad named their firm "Nike Securities." That name lasted for about 10 years before that other Nike company got us to change it, but to this day that company thrives because the partners understood the call to Overcome. Even the Nike shoe company uses that name to encourage athletes to be victorious.

So why is my blog titled "Nike Musings?" Because I am an Overcomer. I am a child of God. He has given me this title and this call and if you are a believer in Christ, you also are an Overcomer. As for the musings, the dictionary says that "musings" means "an instance or period of reflection." In other words, this blog is going to be the thoughts of an Overcomer.

And now you know.

10 comments:

  1. Love the new name! and, i'd like to know more detail of how you happened to actually lose a contact while watching a movie fight scene.
    Anyways, looking forward to Harvest University! Can't wait to meet and hang out with my new family!

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  2. "Putrid, stinking corpse".....man, you don't mince words. Thank you Jesus!

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  3. Chris - that was back in the days when I couldn't wear soft lenses and the hard ones popped out with the right dry air conditions and an awkward blink! Can't wait to see you on Monday! It's going to be a great few days...a taste of the future!

    Beth - "putrid, stinking corpse" - I think I get that from reading too much Ted Dekker...

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  4. Harvest University? New info about to come forth???

    I like all the extra do-hickeys...you are getting so blog-techno-savy...

    :)

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  5. Harvest University is a three day conference that the Fellowship puts on every year, focusing on church planting and organization. We have about ten of us going from our plant team, including Cal and Mary from Florida and Chris Moeller and his wife. It should be fun! It's this Monday through Wednesday. Moses from Liberia will be there, as well as one of our pastor friends from Romania...very fun gathering!

    The do-hickeys I got off of one site - makes me look like I know more than I actually do! If you want to look around, Kathy, click on the link in the top left corner of my background.

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  6. Oh, and the cupcake is because I can't eat any right now...the one on the screen is harmless...

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  7. One day you'll be able to have the wonderful Lee-Roy frosting again...until then the one on the screen is cheerful looking. ;)

    and the putrid, stinking corpse is definatly Dekker...did you see there's a new one?

    By the way, loving the "musings" already! And of course I love the name...

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  8. Sniff! Feeling blue that I'm going to miss out on Harvest U....but God made it abundantly clear as He shut one door after the next that I'm to stay here. I'll have to be content with praying for all of you...in fact, I think I'll be more than content. I will purpose in my heart to pray with joy and thanksgiving that you all were able to go, and will eagerly anticipate what you have to share upon your return. Just make sure you let Chris know that his new family has some wacky relatives back home that he has yet to meet....every family has a few.

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  9. Wacky family members...is that what we're calling "Uncle Paul and the Bald Chef?

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  10. Happy to find you again! I was missing you already! Thanks!

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