Are you ready to experience "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" as a Marital Mixed Martials champion (a.k.a. godly husband/wife)? If so, there is one crucial first step you must make: you must give your life completely over to Christ.
Trying to win the Marital MMA championship without Christ is like training to beat Jon Jones or Ronda Rousey with Tae Bo videos. You'll get your butt kicked and look stupid in front of everybody in the audience. If you want to succeed, you need to join a training camp. And to become part of Team Immanuel, you must be born again.
The best part about being a member of Team Immanuel is that you can't get kicked out or cut. Once you join, Christ will be the Lord of your life for all of eternity. Think head coach to the infinite power! If you are sincerely willing to leave your life behind and follow Him into eternity, acknowledge your sin. Repent. Accept Christ's death on the cross and resurrection as payment for your sins so that He can become your personal Savior. Once He becomes your personal Savior, then He will do whatever it takes to turn you into a Marital MMA champion (if you let Him).
That being said, joining Team Immanuel is one thing. Winning your division's Marital MMA title is another. If you constantly show up late, train halfheartedly, and act like a jerk to your teammates, Christ won't kick you out. He'll simply bench you. And if you don't fight, you can't win the title. So if you really want to excel in Marital MMA, and make the most of your membership to Team Immanuel, go all out every time you come to the gym. Only then will you truly experience the joy of being a Marital Mixed Martial Artist and start winning battles in the cage of this world.
Of course, nobody is ever handed a championship. You have to earn it. Christ will test your resolve by matching you up against the most ruthless foes you can imagine. The foes on the way to a Christ-centered marriage are numerous, but they tend to fall into five categories. These are:
1) The players/playeresses
2) Your peers
3) The culture/world
4) The demonic kingdom
5) The reigning champion of your division, who will be revealed later (hint: it's not Satan)
I will cover these opponents in depth over the next five posts. However, while they all have their unique strengths and weaknesses, the key to beating them is the same. If you fight them through the power of Christ, you will eventually succeed.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (NKJV)
