Are You Running on Empty?

Jimmy Johnson and Greg Biffle both had the misfortune of running out of gas at the end of the NASCAR race this past Sunday.  Both racers had performed well during much of the day, but could not finish since they didn’t have enough fuel.  Has this ever sounded like your day or week?  Things started off well, but you didn’t have energy to finish what was required of the day...fortunately we are given several examples of where to go to have the perseverance to finish our race like Paul the apostle (2nd Timothy 4:7).

Christ tells us in John 15:4 that “...No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”  In John 15:5 he makes this even more explicit stating that “I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

What is the great thing about God being our fuel?  Jesus told the woman at the well “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-15).  We know it is silly to try to run a car without fuel...then why do we try to live our lives apart from the true vine that supplies the living water we so desperately need.

Things Change, but God Doesn’t

If you’ve ever watched the movie Varsity Blues, you are familiar with the girl who dumps star quarterback Lance Harbor as soon as he suffers a severe knee injury.  On the car ride from the hospital where Lance is to the party that same night she begins trying to seduce the new starting quarterback Jonathon Moxon.  When he tries excusing himself by saying Lance is her boyfriend, she just says “Things change Mox...you’re the starting quarterback now”.

It has been said that the one of the only certainties we have in life is change.  All sorts of things change many times in our lives...friends, family, jobs, what city we live in, etc.  It can seem like everything is moving.  In these times it is so easy to get caught up in emotion and base our level of faith in God on our immediate circumstances.  This approach is like trying to run in place in quicksand....it just doesn’t work.

God has made himself known to us in different ways throughout history, but he has always been the same.  Malachi 3:6 states that “I the Lord do not change”.  Hebrews 13:8 also tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.  God has always wanted His people to belong to Him alone and to bring Him glory.

Circumstances around us will always be changing.  We can choose to yield to our emotions and reject God’s love when things aren’t going well OR remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Playing a Full 48 Minutes

Professional basketball coaches will often talk about the importance of playing a full 48 minutes of a basketball game. This is especially true when their team played well most of the game and let things get out of hand for just a few critical minutes. The interesting thing about that is we don’t necessarily know which minutes will look most critical at the end of the game…or we would play our hardest during those times.

What are the most critical things for us? Proverbs 3:1-4 says “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commandments in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” What commandments are most important to follow? Jesus was asked this question and said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these 2 commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

So, God wants us to play a “full 48 minutes” for Him. He wants ALL of your heart…ALL of your soul AND ALL of your mind. He wants you to keep His commandments in your heart because He knows they will bring you good things. Do you believe Him? Do your actions say you believe Him? If you don’t like your answer, ask the great physician to work a change in your heart and see the wondrous work He will start in you.

Who’s Name Are You Standing Up For?

Do you want to see a player get angry? Call them out and say they don’t have the ability will, or character needed to do the task at hand. This isn’t a newly found behavior…just go to a local playground and watch the response if a child is told the same thing. Have you ever thought that the reward for actively defending your “reputation” wasn’t worth the price to do it? A better alterative is to make sure people know the true nature of the God we serve.

Men like Pharaoh, the Pharisees, and Pilate were all worried about defending their reputation…you can see how that turned out. Men like Joseph and Job were more concerned with obeying God than proving their critics wrong. Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendnego were thrown in a furnace for refusing to worship a god other than the God they served (Daniel 3). The furnace was so hot that it killed the soldiers who placed then in the furnace, but Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendgo walked out unharmed. David was determined to fight Goliath so God could show His glory in taking out this disgraced Philistine who was trying to defy the armies of the living God.

In Elijah’s day, the people of Israel began worshipping Baal…to the point where Elijah was God’s only prophet in Israel (there were 450 Baal prophets). Elijah had a contest with Baal’s prophets to show the people of Israel that God is the ONLY God (1 Kings 18:16-40). Baal’s prophets could not get Baal to light their altar for their sacrifice despite dancing and cutting themselves. Elijah poured water over his altar 3 times and prayed “…let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” God sent fire than burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the soil…it even licked up the water in the trench.

We can have 1 of 2 responses when others have a different view or criticize us. We can be about self-preservation/promotion and make it all about ourselves OR we can stop and think how will God be glorified in my response.

Who’s Your Neighbor?

If you haven’t heard Michael Oher’s story, you are in for a treat (ESPN video). Mr. Oher grew up homeless as 1 of 16 children and quit school to avoid being placed into foster care. A neighbor helped Mr. Oher become enrolled at a local Christian school in spite of concerns of his 0.6 GPA. Mr. Oher was walking from school in shorts and a t-shirt in the snow one day when the Tuohy family stopped and began to take him in gradually…first clothes, meals, and spending the night a few times per week…eventually leading to the Tuohy family adopting Mr. Oher. Mr. Oher blossomed in this loving environment boosting his GPA to 2.65 and being recruited to a SEC football program. Mr. Oher’s football career at Ole Miss was so successful that he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of this year’s NFL draft.

If something like this sounds familiar, it should. Jesus provided the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer an expert in Jewish law who asked, “…who is my neighbor?” This parable shows us that offering God’s love and mercy to others is more important than rules for religion’s sake (Luke 10:29-37). Also, a lame man had 4 friends who knew he needed to meet Jesus (Mark 2:2-12). They climbed up to the roof since the house was already full and opened a hole big enough to lower their friend down to meet Jesus. Jesus healed the man’s soul in addition to giving him the ability to walk (talk about hitting the jackpot!).

Unfortunately, we will come up against naysayers when we are obedient to God’s desire for us to show His love and grace to others. Other parents at the school Mr. Oher attended asked why they would let a black man live under the same roof as their white daughter. Similarly, some people questioned Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-5).

Neighbors are NOT defined by location, class, or status. If God has specially and wonderfully made someone to exist, that person is of great value. He tells us that he will come look for the 1% even if 99% are still in their place (Matthew 18:12-14). So, let’s extend God’s grace and love to our neighbors regardless of the consequences from others.

Forget “Be Like Mike”…“Be Like Jackie”

April 15th is Jackie Robinson day which acknowledges the significant accomplishments and cultural advancements resulting from the career of the first African American Major League Baseball player. Mr. Robinson was a gifted baseball player that suffered many racial insults because of the color of his skin. Today remembers his career and his family’s impact in life after baseball are a result of many years of perseverance and hard work.

Christians should also expect to face insults and persecution in this world. Christ said “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belong to the world, it would love you as its own…you do not belong to the world…that is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19). We are told in 1st Peter 3:9 “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” Furthermore, “It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1st Peter 3:17)

Therefore, remember that we should expect troubles to come AND that we have been given our orders in regards to how to respond to suffering and persecution. Psalm 23:4 states “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”….it is not a matter of if we will walk in the valley, but how many times, for how long, and how will we respond. The beautiful thing about this we are told up front the reward for obedience…“Humble yourselves to the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:10).

Unshooting a Gun

I remember my dad talking about gun safety while I was a youngster and saying “you can’t unshoot a gun”. Trauma surgeons know this all too well…you can take out the bullet, but the damage is already there. Similarly, the nails could be removed after Jesus allowed the Roman soldiers to nail him to the cross…but the holes were still there (Mark 20:25-29). Just because God forgives the sin, doesn’t mean that all the consequences here on Earth go away.

David certainly knew about this after sleeping with Bathsheba and ordering the death of her husband (2nd Samuel 1:2-4, 14-17). God sent His prophet Nathan to tell David a story about a rich man who took the only lamb from a poor man to feed a visiting traveler (2nd Samuel 12:1-5). David became irate at the rich man in the story and said that he should die and repay the poor man 40 times over for his lack of pity! Nathan then told David he was that rich man and calamity would fall upon David’s house…David’s response was to acknowledge his sins against the Lord. God was merciful to David by forgiving his sin and letting him live…but war and family turmoil continued throughout the rest of David’s life.

God loves His people so much that he sent His Son to take away the eternal consequence of sin which is separation from God in hell (John 3:16-21). He also loves His people so much that He wants them to follow His will so they will not have to face the consequences of sin during this life…so we can live life more abundantly (John 10:10)!