The Pride Issue

This is a post I was working on to submit to a Christian Girl blog a while ago,
I thought it might be an interesting read and a constant reminder
for the importance of humility in life .
IMTAPA
xx

The Pride Issue

I'd grown up in church my entire life, I had a great relationship with God however the topic of humility never seemed to resonate. I’d always thought that as long as you never externally accept a compliment, you were safe - 

Little did I know, God was planning a years’ worth of lessons to teach me one of the most important values I would ever learn as a Christian.

The Bible says that the Lord ‘hates a proud look’ Proverbs 6’17 – and my, had I given more than a few of those. As a girl who had grown up in my home town church there was a certain position I felt I owned, I blindly thought I was the ‘darling of the church’ and that people looked up to me as an exemplar person. I had perfect grades, always looked my best – hugely active in Church activities and completely lost in my own little world where everything revolved around me. I wasn’t always this way, but these emotions crept up on me almost subconsciously and I never even thought twice about my mounting self-opinion. It was a seed that had kept growing until the fruits suddenly started to show in my behaviour and thoughts towards others.

I won’t forget the moment an elder in my church congratulated me on a presentation I had made as part of a church celebration that weekend, I was feeling so puffed-up, so completely self-sufficient - and proud of it. He said ‘Well done you did a very good work today… but remember don’t let pride enter your life’. I brushed it off, but those words stuck and came back to me when I hit the ground a few months later.

As I entered into the last year of my studies at Secondary School, I realised I wasn’t as capable as I thought. Getting into University in England is not an easy task and everything was not as smooth sailing as I might have hoped for. Despite the constant hours of studying and applying myself to my work, it didn’t seem to be enough. I was beyond disappointed when I didn’t get into my first choice university, my world had collapsed because I didn’t get my way. I was no longer the perfect girl who got everything she wanted, and I couldn’t understand why.

I didn’t have a light bulb moment, and I won’t claim an epiphany, but through a series of events starting with a huge academic mishap God showed me:

The world does NOT revolve around me.

I realise now that God was used that situation to convey how severe the sin of pride is. He was not punishing me, He was re-shaping me. I needed to understand that there is no hope for a man who is ‘wise in his own eyes’ Prov26’12

Pride is a personal struggle, and it is a battle that must be consistently fought on a daily basis. It was pride that made Lucifer the devil and it is pride that causes us to sin, when we think our ways are better than obedience to God, we make the mistake of raising ourselves above God in our own minds.

 I did just that. I thought I was an un-touchable in my own right and that God would never let anything or anyone rise above me, when really, He calls us to do just the opposite. If we really want to follow Jesus by His example, we must first look at the greatest act of humility … [He] emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men.’ Phillipans 2’7. It was Jesus’ humility that enabled the Great Exchange to even take place.

My pride was very subtle, but it was killing my relationship with God and I didn’t even know it. I want to encourage you today to take a look at your life, and see the various times you may have thought highly of yourself, ask God for guidance , confess your known and subconscious pride to Him so that He can honour you with a stronger deeper relationship.

‘One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honour.’ -Proverbs 29’23

Do you think of yourself more highly than others?

Have you ever given a ‘haughty look’ before ?

Do you consider humility to be an important part of your life?

It's Gods-Team or No-Team People !!!!

So I was reading 2PETER2'8 this morning and a verse was highlighted to me: 

'Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.'

In this chapter, Peter is warning Christians against false teachers. Now this is really poignant, because 'false teachers' are very much part of the end time concept or eschatology (as Paul Washer recently let me know ;) We often think of the sheep dressed inwolves clothing (MATT7'15) concept as a modern-day reality. - But it really started from the early days of the church, (2 PETER was written in AD67.) So false teachers were very much a reality in the church just about from the very start. 

'Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. '2

The real pick up for me this morning was found in verse 8: 

'Yes Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.'

--- I was reading this and thinking, could I put myself in Lot's Position in this particular verse?

Am I tormented in my by the evil that I see around me every day, I mean, does it REALLY torment me? (Defined as, creates a severe sense of suffering in my soul?)

This question reminded me of a message I heard preached from my home church entitled: ‘Desensitisation'. It centres on the idea that Christians who live in the world should not grow cold to the things of God by subconsciously accepting the evil they see around them due to constant exposure. 

One of my really good friends, who just happens to be 80 years old said something so profound to me before she passed away 2 years ago. Whenever she used to watch the news and hear about people dying and the horrors of the world she would cry. She actually began to watch the news less and less because the horrors of so many people without hope and God in their lives made her so sad. In that moment, she made me realise how truly heartless I am. I could hear news of mass murders, wars and distastes and my emotional state doesn't usually exceed more than a 'gasp'/sigh or slight whimper. I realised that I am in danger. In danger of having a hardened heart. 

There’s a scripture that says: 'Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.'

Now I'll say that this context is talking about love for God, but in many cases this can relate to our love for others, our tolerance of sin. 

I'll speak for myself here and say that : I'm not as sensitive as I want to be  to the horrors of the world because I've seen it so often. 

And that worries me, it worries me immensely because I feel like I'm getting used to sin.

If you aren't disgusted by the transgender affairs taking place, if you laugh at crude jokes and don't feel out-of-place in groups of secularists, if you don't freeze on the inside when you hear blasphemy in songs and shudder at the halloween-aisles in the stores. If you can watch explicit movie scenes and listen to secular music all day long. - THEN YOU are being desensitised to the things of God. 

The sad part is... you may not even know it. 

MATT24'12 Says: 'Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.'

These things should scare you, and 'torment' your soul' 

We are only passing through, we are the light, and we have to outwit the darkness. 

We see in the cases of so many Biblical Characters that sin is not displayed on a plate and held for the taking; satan plants a seed, slowly makes you less sensitive to the truth and more accepting to sin, and starts luring you into a concept that you have never expected yourself to do.

'So that we would not be outwitted by satan; for we are not ignorant of his evil schemes'

2 COR 2'11

 --- The more familiar and common we become to pop-culture, and the less we are disturbed by the lesbian and gay agenda the probable and likely it is that we are going to accept it.

And I'll tell you this, it is a sin to accept something that God detests. 

I love the verse in: MATT12'30 that says: 

"Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.'

We can't be a humpty dumpty and sit on the fence trying to please men with your diplomatic political correctness. 

Who cares what they say!?!??

Who even are 'THEY'

THEY are no-one

ESPECIALLY when compared to my God .It's Gods Team or No Team. 

'You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God'

JAMES4'4

And when you accept the things of the world, and the lifestyles being promoted by it, you are dismissing the lifestyle that God promotes. Of following Him.

They are on POLAR OPPOSTIE side of the scale, and not allow ourselves to walk into darkness, without even realising it because it's just such a gradual process. 

So going back to the initial verse, we are living in a Sodom and Gomorrah today. We ARE living in a place where you have to be alert and keep watch, be the watchmen of our souls and our circles. 

Because the COMING OF THE LORD is soooo close, it could be any minute. We do not for 1 second want to let our guards down and be desensitised, and be at peace with what we are seeing around us. 

KEEP WATCH.

Here's the fact: a consistent exposure to sin will lead to desensitisation. Becoming less sensitive/ more open to the things of the world means you are getting further away from God. And as you separate yourself from God, your love for him will grow cold. And that's that. It’s a fact. 

Okay, now if God is convicting you in this (you're feeling guilty)

You're thinking: I'm AM at peace with worldliness. I am insensitive to the things of God.

Immorality doesn’t affect me at all.

Then CONGRATULATIONS!

Why???

Because realising the error of your ways is the 1st step to recovery for a wounded Spirit. 

What you have to do, is go to God, and tell Him what you’re feeling. Say to Him - ' In Your WORD in 2PETER2, You say that Lot was a righteous man, and he was tormented by the evil around him.

I want to be righteous, I want to be tormented in in my soul by the evil I see day after day.'

Go please help me. 

And when you do this, 

God will make a way of escape you for.

It says in His Word in 1CORINTHIANS 10 '33:

'The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.'

We need to be able to endure this world till we go home to be with Jesus, It kind of like eating a rice cake before you go to an expensive Restaurant. The world is not supposed to satisfy us. It only leaves wanting more. And that MORE is eternity spent with Him.

So let’s not get comfortable. 

Let us ask God to Show us the way of escape (HEBREWS4’16) that we need to get to the place that we need to be in Him 

Get into the Scriptures, start reading the Bible.

Read as much or as little as you can, but with understanding. And ask God every day to show a portion of Himself to you. 

You can study scriptures 24 hours a day for 70 years, but in all that time, you will not uncover even a fraction of God in His entirety.

He is too big to capture in our minds.  

When you fill up your mind with the things of God, the things of the world will grow strangely dim.

So fix your eyes on Jesus.

IMTAPA

Lakechia xxx

(In my thoughts and prayers always.)

A Christian Girls response to AUDACITY - The movie

A little Reminder of the Focus.

                Going after JESUS ...

This entire blog's concept is based completely over the second chapter of Acts .

Acts , probably the most ACT-tion (see what I did there ?) packed book in the Bible when it comes to the movement and manifestations of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit.

I want to look at the character of Peter, an amazing individual who had his life turned around when He met Jesus one day.

Mark 1"16&17 ' Jesus said unto them, "Come be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people !"

- or for the more traditional ones of us ...

'And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.'

(Good old King James)

To put it bluntly, Peter (or Simon at the time) was called by Jesus to enter His kingdom and change the world.

Looking at this verse more carefully is amazing. You see that Jesus says COME - this word in Greek is 'deute', now I'm not going to get all technical on you but looking at this translation brings a breeze and almost whimsical feeling to the scene. Deute can be : come away. - Almost as if Jesus is inviting Peter (and his brother Andrew) to enter off into a new wonderful world. His Kingdom. Which He (kind of) was.

The second (of many) translations for the word Deute is FOLLOW. Now , for those of you who have twitter, that sort of 'following' is extremely different from the one I'll be sharing with you.

I think that for the most part, the culture and society that we live in. The term : to follow someone has been cheapened. First thing that may come to mind when following someone is : liking their pictures, commenting on their captions. And for those very, very sad ones (no offense) envying the food-pics that are posted. 

But it's so , so much more ...

Peter had no idea of what he was getting himself into, but hats off to him and all respect. He had a family and a lively hood. But he left that all behind.

Q1. Why did God call fishers ?

Lets just say : fishermen were not the most respected people in Galilee- or anywhere for that matter. They were the men that smelled like fish. And although they had to be intelligent, and reasonably advanced in mathematics to sort out their market shares and stocks when it came to selling ; in no way was their brain as intellectually challenged on a daily basis as the day's doctors or teachers of the religious law. ie Pharisees (boo...hiss). 

But they were patient men, they would spend hours waiting for fish. They knew endurance, they were strong and were not fearful of the challenges that sea-storms would bring.

They were perfect.

And in fact Jesus caught Peter and Andrew, and no doubt a couple of other boats with them just coming in from a long hard night of nada. 

No fish at all.

'Master,' Simon replied 'we have worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing

NEVERTHELESS

we will try again.

~ Luke 5v5

- So why have I highlighted the 'nevertheless' in that verse ?

Because we need that same nevertheless attitude! When we are willing to follow the will of God nomatter how little sense it may seem to our tiny peanut brains, then , and only then are we able to see the full glory of God in our lives for ourselves. Peter, Andrew, James and John all caught more fish then they ever had before that day. Why ?

Because they were obedient to God . And I just feel that obedience to the Holy Spirit and His directions in our lives is absolutely more than we could ever ask or think or imagine. Because that obedience will lead us into:  divine happiness and peace , divine health and most of all, divine character, and righteousness  because we will be walking in the will of God !

Now I haven't got this figured out yet, and I do not obey God all the time. But I yearn to .

If your like me in that , you really want your heart to be opened more and more to the amazing blessings of God. Then your in good company, because according to His word, they that hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled -MATT5"6

Now lets get back to Peter - great guy, good guy.

He is called the Rock of the Church (serious business) - MATT16"18

He witnesses the transfiguration - MATT17"1-7

And he stays with Jesus from day one.

However ... 

-He tries to build an alter (ie: worship) Elijah and Moses  -MATT17"4

-He doubts God -MATT14"30

-And he denies Jesus 3 times. -LUKE22"54

So how can a guy like this saves 3000 souls in one sermon .

Millions in His life time .

And even billions of souls after He died ?

Don't get me wrong - Jesus saves souls, but He uses His vessels , people like PETER to manifest and show His love here on earth by spreading the gospel.

Peter was ordinary .

But there was something very extra-ordinary in Him that made all the difference.

LUKE24"49 says :

'And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.'

The only way Peter could change from the character that He was into the man that God had put in Him from the beginning ... the only refining One that could make Peter the Peter we know today is ...

The Holy Spirit !!

It was right after Pentecost when, like a mighty rushing wind , the Holy Spirit came down to earth , and for the first time entered INTO the individual. You see , before the Holy Spirit came UPON people - Samson, David , even Elijah and Elisha - But He never entered into people.

But of course, at this point He did enter Peter - the 120 people with him (or I guess 119) and it worked wonders. Timid, denying Peter turned into bold, anointed Peter who pointed his fingers directly at the Pharisees and said ' ...you nailed Him to the cross and murdered Him. 

However , God released Him from the horrors of death and raised Him back to life ...' 

~Acts 2v14

- transformation or what ? - this was no small talk.

Peter with the power of the Holy Spirit went all-out and saved 3000SOULS.

This thought really touched me. With God power , Peter brought 3000 to Christ in perhaps not more than 2 hours. 

That's more than epic. That's a mega-huge-big-deal.

Now I know you're saying, that was Bible times , I could never do something like that . 

But please, don't limit God with your thinking. Don't stop Him by stopping His vessel = YOU.

In a time where so many people are crying out, so desperate for answers,  hope and safety. Who says you cant save 3000SOULS - or more ?

Just ask God for help to accomplish a dream only He can fulfil.

Will you join me ?

IMTAPA

Lakechia

Press on

I was inspired to write this post from a couple of things I recently heard in the news. Even as Christians, there are traits in us, habits and different forms of sin that tend to stick. We try and try to get rid of them, it can be anything from the habit of being late to a case of selfishness or immorality. Nomatter what it is God promises to help us and lead us ‘into the way everlasting’ [Psalsms139’24].

I was reading Phillipioans 3 this morning, and a series of relatively well known verses hit me like a ton of bricks. Paul here was writing to the first European church he set up of Philippi, a church started alongside Lydia, the Roman business woman.[ACTS16’14] In Chap. 3 he explains the priceless value of knowing Christ Jesus, He goes down to a section entitiled : ‘Pressing towards the goal’ There were so many things included in just a small section so I’m going to try my absolute best to break it down and share what God highlighted to me while reading.

12Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Phillipans 3 ESV

Now I know it may seem that I’ve just highlighted the entire verse, but these parts said so much in so little. In a world where, we are used to being handed everything, we may also expect our Spiritual walk to be similar in that way. That when we want patience, it will just come, or joy - it will just appear to us. For some parts of our walk with God, we will need to fight and have an element of violence to 'take it by force' [MATT11'12].

Don't give up.

The greatest Apostle Paul himself said 'I press on to achieve it'. The definition of PRESS means to : exert continuous force, to attack persistently and make strong efforts//.

The fight for righteousness is not some walk in the park.

Nomatter how many times you have failed , get back up and keep pursuing, keep persevering. PROV24'16 says :

The Godly may trip seven times, but they will get back up again.

God will never give up on you, you just need to make up your mind to never give up on Him and His power to save you. Sin and immorality may look to you like a vast army, that you will never be able to conquer. And your right, YOU will never be able to defeat sin. But the good news is, 

JESUS ALREADY HAS !!

This is what the LORD says to you : "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.

- 2 Chronicles 20'15

When you make up your mind that despite failure, discouragement and shame you will rise up again and 'Press on towards the goal', God will pick you up in His arms and carry you. But you must be willing because The Father doesn't force anyone to do anything.

If we do not try, there will never be success, and those sins that keep repeating themselves in our lives will grow faster and stronger till they hurt our lives, and the lives of those around us. 

Will you make that decision today ?

Keep fighting, keep striving, keep going - And God will show His Sovereignty in your weakness, He will make you strong.

Zacchaeus - in the right place.

Okay, so before we begin talking about what this story may really mean, in terms of reading between the lines, let’s first read the amazing event, recorded by one of my favourite writers, Luke.

' He [(meaning Jesus)] entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

~Luke19’1-10

This version was taken from the lovely ESV, one I don’t normally use but it just gets to the point sometimes, and I love that. So… Zacchaeus …

It’s a story us born-in-church-kids have probably hear, but I must admit it’s an event I have seemed to have forgotten about. We all know that absolutely everything recorded in the Bible is of VITAL SIGNIFICANCE, John21’25 clearly reminds us of how much more Jesus did in His times as a physical God-human here on earth. But it couldn’t all be written down! That just tells us that the things that WERE written down were the one we NEEDED to hear.

So you’ve read the story, you know what happened, I just want to dig a little deeper into it though. The Bible described Zacchaeus as a rich chief tax collector. That interesting because his job profile says a lot about his personality. In those days tax-men though very rich, had quite a low reputation among the Jewish people. They were thieves, they took money for the despised Roman Government, whilst taking a little extra for themselves, they were no-doubt socially excluded and in that way quite isolated from the tight Hebrew Community. Similar to today’s version of car-ticket attendants:] And so, Luke, by introducing him by his job says so much in so little time. By the world’s standards, he did not deserve to see Jesus; and he certainly did not deserve to have Jesus in his house. But as we see later, all of that happened and more…

Now the Bible doesn’t often mention height issues, but it seems, Zacchaeus was vertically-challenged. He was short and couldn’t see Jesus. Now I wouldn’t say I can identify height-wise, but I see a lot of myself in that one statement.  Sometimes … no … a lot of the times I fall short of the standards God has set for me, mistakes make me feel inadequate to even see Him as my Father and Friend because I am so sinful. I understand here when Zacchaeus so wanted to see Jesus but he couldn’t because he was not enough.

- And we aren’t enough ROMANS3’23 Says ‘for everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.’ BUT, do not be discouraged because God gave Zacchaeus a way, and He can give us a way too if we just ask.

You know, God is so amazing. I did some research on the life of a Sycamore Tree and found out that they can live to about 200 years of age. Most produce seed and are at their prime at about 150 years old . This means that God, in eternity had decided hundreds of years pre-event to plant a sycamore tree in the street Jesus would be walking in that day for Zacchaeus to climb and give us all this story of hope.

-Do you see that?

God will always make a way for you to find Him, because He wants that for you more than anything. A relationship with the Father IS the abundant life for which HE CAME!! [JOHN10’10]

But Zacchaeus had to be in a yearning frame of mind to be so desperate for God that He had to climb a tree to see Jesus. I’m reminded of …

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled’ MATT5’6

Zacchaeus was hungry and thirsty for the view of Jesus, his heart was in the right place – and therefore his actions were in the right way too. [‘Every tree is known by its own fruit' LUKE6’44] He climbed up the tree.

(HE WAS) ‘IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME’ –ECC9’11

--- And you know, this phrase has been taken and used by the world in the context of business success and even luck.

But this phrase comes from Ecclesiastes 9’11. The wise Solomon even in his older years new the importance of position in the time and place.

In this context we can take this and see...

Are our heart in the right place to see God? [MATT5’8]

Are we in the right mind-set to receive Him – are we in the midst of the crowds and the distraction or have we stepped out of that, climbed the tree and put ourselves in the right place?

Sometimes it takes isolation, sometimes it’s a struggle to get to the place you KNOW you need to be in order to see God. But it is something that needs to be done.

What is this struggle you make ask?

Jesus said ‘For My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.’ – MATTHEW 11’30

Part of this burden will always be to ‘take up your cross, and follow Me’ MATT16’24

There’s a reason why the amazing hand of God and His plans for us have been called the great exchange [2CORINTHIANS5'21]. We give Him our sin, our ashes, our despair and He gives us righteousness, beauty, praise.

Seems like an unfair exchange doesn’t it?

But it’s kind of like when for example, you’ve been irritable with your mum for some time , and for no other reason (out of the fact that you are her child), she does something really lovely for you, your favourite meal perhaps, a small gift . How much more does God love us and give us the things we need but don’t deserve, His love, His grace and mercy [MATT7’11]

Don’t make it difficult for yourself, accept the gift and decide that within yourself you will do what He wants for your life.

- - - Climb the tree, by surrendering your will and getting to a right place with God to see Him.

No matter what anyone my say [LUKE19’7] Jesus will come into your heart (Zacchaeus’ home) and your gratitude for His amazing compassion for you will intrinsically make you into the generous [LUKE19’8] kind and Godly person that God wants you to be.

Summer Blues ...

Hey guys,

So it's summer . and I feel absolutely terrible to say that I although inexcusably have caught the summer-teenage-bug of LAZINESS.
Thats right,
I said it.
Now everyone has different extents of this and it can mean very different things to different people. - I would never be allowed to spend a morning in bed post 9AM. And I've been on holiday, seen friends blah blah blah.
But...
Everyone has a personal knowledge,that despite the exterior 'busyness'- you know if you've been using your time wisely . More importantly you know when you have not.
Being proactive in your daily lifestyle is a choice, that turns into a way of life. But its those initial steps of deciding you want more out of your day that really make it happen for you.
And the funny thing is : It's a Biblical concept.

Scriptures could not be more clear on the valid sin called : 'idleness' and its something that isn't focused on enough in our minds because mentally we tend to put serious sins into one category, and the other sins into another- but truthfully all sin keeps you away from God.
Titus 2'12 says that we should live 'self-controlled, upright and Godly lives'. And laziness is the complete opposite of all of those things. Sometimes (and I've seen this recently) the body just wants to lay down on the sofa and do nothing, lie in bed all-day and occasionally get up for crisps.

WELL ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
There is something brutally wrong when generations senior to us can do more for the Kingdom of God physically than we can.
We are told as youth to bear the yoke of God's discipline in our lives. LAMENTATIONS3'27
So I'm here to say to you and myself; condition yourselves. Stir up the gift [2TIM1'6] that God has created for you to posses, reach out and use it to impact one more life for God - He deserves every inch of our lives, lets make it a life that He wants.

We need to be diligent people who can take the work of ourlives , the work that God has provided for us to do, and present it to God as something of great value and worth. A work that we do not need to be ashamed of . [2TIM2'15]

Run , and run fast so that you will be the one to obtain the prize.
1COR9'24