Arise!

American Nastia Liukin won 5 medals at the Olympics in Bejing, China, in 2008.

She announced her comeback a year ago to try to become the first Olympic champion to return to the games since Nadia Comaneci in 1980.  She spent months getting herself into shape to compete in this year’s U.S. Olympic Trials in order to make the team to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

But Liukin won’t be traveling to London to compete in this year’s games.  She failed to make the team.

In her bars routine last Sunday, she flung herself into the air to perform a move she’d completed thousands of times in her life, but this time when she reached out to catch the bar, it wasn’t there.  She fell face-first onto the mat, and she knew her hopes of making a second Olympic team were officially gone.

But with the encouragement of her father and coach, Valeri, she picked herself up, caked herself at the powder bowl one more time, and completed her routine.

“Getting up after a fall is never easy,” said the 22-year-old Liukin.  “It’s always very tough.  It shows your true character if your are able to get up and that’s something I’ve been taught since I was 8-years-old.”

Liukin received a standing ovation as she exited the arena to make way for the next American Olympian hopefuls. *

We’ve ALL fallen.  “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  Our sin disqualifies us from entering into heaven, and it dooms us to eternal destruction.

But God says to us, “Arise!”

Because of His great love for us, God sent His Son Jesus into the world to live among us and then to die on the cross for our sins so that we might have forgiveness and eternal life (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:7).

So even though each of us has fallen (sinned), God wants us to know that we can have forgiveness and life because of what JESUS has done for us.  Even though we have been disqualified because of our sin, God qualifies us through Christ to enter into eternal life!

To accept His offer of salvation and life, we must Arise... place our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).

“And now why are you waiting?  Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” – Acts 22:16

Won’t YOU?