The first is the Black Devils. This team is coached by Satan himself. The “players” on the team are his demons and the ungodly…murderers, slanderers, rapists, and idolators, cheaters, liars, and thieves.
The opposing team is the Crimson Crusaders. This is God’s team. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit make up the entire coaching staff. The players are Christians and the angels.
The conditions of the game are very rough, the terrain very difficult. This game is played on a neutral battlefield, the earth. There are no referees. The weather conditions are often uncertain. Sometimes, it will rain and the field gets sloppy. Other times, the game takes place on a beautiful day. But there is one thing for sure…the game never stops for inclement weather…it continues in perpetuity.
There are no halftimes, intermissions, timeouts, or breaks. The spectators in the stands are all on the side of the Black Devils, for if you are a member of the Crimson Crusaders, you don’t sit in the stands…you play.
Both the Crimson Crusaders and the Black Devils have exquisite uniforms. The armor of the Crimson Crusaders includes:
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of righteousness
Shield of faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
Feet fitted with peace
They wear red to symbolize the blood of Jesus Christ, their savior. They are heavily equipped by God, but sometimes it takes them a while to figure out how to properly use their uniform.
The Black Devils’ armor includes the
Belt of Lies
Breastplate of evil
Shield of doubt
Helmet of destruction
Sword of the Flesh
Feet fitted with fire
The Ball is the souls of the spectators. When the Crimson Crusaders score, God always gets a celebration penalty. When the Black Devils score, the pyrotechnics in Hell light up the underworld.
Both teams are strategic in their gameplans.
The Black Devils use any means necessary to confuse, frustrate, anger, disrupt, or thwart the Crimson Crusaders' players or the coach’s plan. Satan runs trick plays, takes cheap shots, and uses any means necessary to win. He doesn’t value sportsmanship or class. He watches game film, and tries to recruit more players.
He tries to exploit weaknesses by sending in his best demons to attack us at our most vulnerable points. He uses VICE, FLESH, and PRIDE to his advantage.
On the other hand, the Crimson Crusaders have a much different strategy. This is God’s strategy. The first thing that He does is give people a choice to be on the team or not to be.
Secondly, He sacrifices his best player. He retires Jesus Christ to the Hall of Fame just when the battle is getting started. But he sends in as a replacement the Holy Spirit, which has won numerous 6th man awards as the best substitute there ever was.
He equips us with a good pep talk—The Bible, which is powered by LOVE, HOPE, and TRUTH. He also allows his team the freedom to come up with their own strategies to fight the Black Devils. He builds our practice facilities and calls them “church.” He builds our understanding of the nature of the game through prayer, and he uses our faults, adversity, and difficulties to strengthen us for the fight.
