II Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Matthew 28:20b “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Today we celebrate a remarkable human accomplishment – the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

President Kennedy, the new American president, challenged Congress and the nation in May of 1961 to “commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” The next year in Houston, after a trip to NASA facilities in a metropolis that would later be known as Space City, the president addressed a large crowd at Rice University with these words:

“But why, some say, the Moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas?

We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon…We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”

President Kennedy’s speech appealed to human nature and to instinct.  As humans, we are willing to tackle things, in part, because they are hard, and we relish rising to a challenge. We have an innate desire to compete, overcome, and win. Yet, we only succeeded in this important endeavor by working together.

With the goal of landing on the moon, humanity tackled something that was hard, and we rose to the challenge. We competed, we overcame, and we won! We did so in spite of the hard challenges or, maybe, we actually did so by embracing them.

For Christians, living a life of faith in our secular society isn’t easy. Overcoming the evil that surrounds us is a challenge. It is a struggle in such an environment to maintain our testimony and share the reason of our hope. Yet, none of these things should drain our passion nor hinder our resolve.

Jesus’ words and His example should appeal to our human nature and instinct. We are to tackle the things He has given to us to steward. In part because they are hard, we should relish rising to the challenge. We must harness our innate desire to compete, overcome, and win. Yet, we don’t pursue this important endeavor alone. He is with us always!

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO SERVE IN OUR SECULAR SOCIETY WITH A CHRIST-CENTERED DETERMINATION. The daunting challenges ahead of us must be ones we intend to overcome and win for Him.

NOTE: I won’t be posting next weekend, but please keep praying for our nation and our leaders!