Lance Christopher: Blog

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My Grandpa Ivan was a "man's man". He was an outdoorsman whose skills in hunting and fishing were unmatched among his peers.


What he lacked in stature, he made up for in grit.


Unafraid to go to blows with any man, he was proud and wiry strong.

My uncle summed him up in a thick, resonant voice - a voice like his father's, "Boy, your grandpa was tougher than hell."


I knew then and know now that in the world of men where grandpa walked, this was how he was viewed.

As lung cancer (he was a lifelong smoker) cruelly sapped the life from him, he made peace with his Saviour.


In the end through the grace of God, he really was "tougher than hell".


He went to be with the Lord in his fifties.

With his favorite song, "Amen Jesus", playing in his heart, he crossed over to the wilds of heaven.

I was a preteen then.


Disillusioned with my grandpa's death, I thought God had turned His back on us.


Not long after, I turned my back on God... But that is another story.

To be "tougher than hell"?

I wanted it then.

You know what?

I want it now, though I understand it a little differently than I used to.


In truth, there is only one man in all of history who really was "tougher than hell".


The Scriptures tell us that Jesus having disarmed principalities and powers, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them (Col. 2:15).


Furthermore, during His earthly walk, He suffered every temptation known to man and never gave in.


That is pretty "tough".


Then He chose to die in our place, taking on the sin of all of us and enduring the cross, all it's shame and horror, because He loved us.


That is, mathematically, "toughness" to the infinite power.


He defeated hell.


He was and is "tougher than hell", and His scars and what is written in Scripture faithfully attest to this fact.

Here is the cool part...


Now, through Him - His strength and authority graciously imparted to us - we too can become participants in this truth.


Matthew 16:18 says, "...I (Jesus) will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

His Church is called to walk in His victory (that's all of us who by faith call Jesus Lord).


It is His power in us that makes us "tougher than hell".

However, count on this.


True toughness, the kind that prevails over hell and its forces, often goes unrecognized by society at large.

CLICK TO LISTEN TO TOUGHER THAN HELL

It finds its source in a bona fide relationship with God, requiring personal sacrifices - sacrifices made in the secret places of our lives.


No cheering crowds... No kudos... No "atta' boys"...


Maybe not on earth, but that's okay... Heaven knows!

Are you "tougher than hell"?

You never will be without radical dependence on God.

Allow His strength, found in the secret place of relationship with Him, to be your strength and you will simply BE tougher than hell.

Sick and tired of a lifeless message without sacrifice?

There is no bloodless cross.

Go ahead... Get bloody.


Your brother,

Lance Christopher Watkins