Month: August 2023

Are You Ready for Some Football?

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Ready or not, it is time.  Get the school colors out, and dust off the stadium seats.  Oh, and apparently stock up on water bottles.  Man, it is hot!

Football is obviously loved, supported, and debated in the South.  And what I find interesting is that we can learn a lot from the game.

Consider Coach Vince Lombardi – way back when he coached the Green Bay Packers.  In 1961 they lost the big game even though they had been ahead.  When they got back together to prepare for the season, those professional football players were ready to pick up where they had left off.  But Lombardi stood up, held up a football, and put them in their place by saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football.”

He understood that the only way to be prepared was to get back to the basics.  They had to keep the main thing as the main thing.  Skills, teamwork, and strength are important, but they will come with time; and they are useless without focus.

And that is true in life, is it not?

No one makes it to Sports Center without a long road that got them there.  The fundamentals have to be practiced, honed, and never abandoned.  The basics must be ingrained, and then success comes.

Jesus made our fundamentals clear.  There is an internal focus and an external focus that we must master in life.

Internally, Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”  Externally, He told us in Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the So and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Have you mastered those things?  Are you daily working on them?

Seek God’s kingdom above all else.  Seek to live like He wants you to.  That is what we have to do if we want God to bless our lives.

Make disciples everywhere you go.  Help others know Jesus and grow in Him.  That is what we have to do with everyone we can. There are plenty of other things we can do (and often should do), but nothing matters as much as doing what God wants us to do.  Nothing should keep us from doing what God wants us to do.  This is the football.  This is our “basics.”  This is our challenge.  Let’s go!

MacArthur wrote a great book on some of the fundamentals of the faith. Click the picture below to check it out for yourself…

I Cannot See It

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Do you remember Bob Ross painting on PBS?

He created amazing paintings and made it look easy.  You may remember one of his famous sayings: “There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.”  Put a blob of paint on the canvas, and he would turn it into a beautiful tree, mountain, or other item.

Bob could see the big picture.

My dad and I loved to hunt.  One morning in a new area, he left me on a ridge.  It was freezing, I was young, and I thought I would feel better if I was walking.  I was sure that I knew the layout of the land (that I had never explored), so I set off.  You can imagine what happened.  I lost my way.  I could not determine where I was.  I saw trees everywhere, but I could not see where I was.  I guess I could not see the forest for the trees.

Life is like that.  We are plodding along, dealing with one issue at a time, and never seeing the big picture.  We travel so far that we lose our bearing, and we do not know where to go or what to do.

There have been plenty of times when I have dealt with schemes of people with evil intentions, and it seemed like their schemes had destroyed the plans that I did have.  But when I have trusted God, He always proved faithful.  Things turned out like Joseph stated to his brothers in Genesis 50:20: “‘You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result – the survival of many people.’”

So, why do we not trust Him more?  Why do we not remember His faithfulness when we need Him most?  Do we not remember the promise He made to Israel (which still lines up with His character today)?  “‘For I know the plans I have for you’ – this is the LORD’s declaration – ‘plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11)

The big picture is not easy to see when you are surrounded by trees.  The mistakes do not look like happy accidents when you are dealing with the pain.  But God is faithful; He never breaks His word, and He is not going to start with you.

I finally walked out of the woods into a clearing – not knowing where I was.  And then I heard a whistle.  My father’s whistle.  I was no longer lost.  I was no longer alone.  I was SO happy.

And it never fails.  No matter how thick or dark the woods may seem.  My Heavenly Father’s whistle always guides me to safety – to a future and a hope.

Your path may not be clear.  But He is there.  Trust Him.

Check out the following resource to find out more. Click the picture to see for yourself…

Routines That Are Not Routine

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I had to start walking, take proper nutrients, and eat correctly to lose the weight.  I had to read and listen to podcasts to learn.  I had to start doing things to learn (and maybe master) those things.  I had to make certain activities a routine part of my life to see change.

For many, life is nothing but a routine.  We do the same things, the same ways, the same time, and wonder why life can be depressing.  But what if life could be more?  What if life could be amazing?

In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”  THAT is the kind of life that I’m talking about.  It’s the kind of life that (I believe) everyone wants.  Abundant life.  Meaningful life.  Purposeful life.

However, it isn’t going to happen until our routines line up.

Jesus also told us what it means to live the kind of life that we all want (deep down).  He said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

To follow after him, you have to choose to accept him as your Lord and Savior.  He is not going to force you to do it, he does not give salvation willy-nilly, and he said that you have to choose to do it.  He has to enter your life – your routines.

Jesus also must become your chief aim.  He must come first.  He does not deserve or accept leftovers, but that is what we often given him.  We work Monday through Friday, get stuff done on Saturdays, and are wiped out on Sundays – so, we often put ourselves first and “skip” worshiping and serving him.  However, the truth is that you choose what comes first in your life.  You choose.

To be first, we have to deny ourselves.  He cannot be first if we keep jumping in front of him.  Paul (in Galatians 2:20) explained it like this: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  After all, if we know that Jesus wants what is best, we should realize that our schemes do not lead to the best.

Ultimately, the routines get changed when we seriously accept our responsibilities to Jesus.  He said that his mission was to provide the way to be saved, so he faced the cross and died because of our guilt to offer that salvation.  Our cross – our responsibility is to be willing to give our all to the one who gave his all.  And that includes being willing to do whatever he desires – daily.

Getting what you desire takes effort.  It requires a change in routines.  So, if you want to get what is most important in life, Jesus becomes the aim.  Will you choose what’s best?

Need some help in forming the right routines? Click the picture below to see a great resource…

Ready for the School Year

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It’s already time for another school year.  I am always amazed at how fast summers seem to pass.  Just when a rhythm sets in, your whole schedule must change again.

I have one in high school and one in college.  My desire for them is what I hope is your desire for yours.  In fact, may I share three things that I want for our kids?

“Be a good student.”

We are blessed to have an educational system that can prepare our children for the future.  Of course, nothing is perfect, and there are always ways that we can improve.  However, most of the world does not have anything like we have.

When you are young, you do not always see the advantages of school; but we should.  And we should help our kids understand how important it is to work with the system.

I am reminded that Proverbs 1:8-9 says, “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and don’t reject your mother’s teaching, for they will be a garland of favor on your head and pendants around your neck.”  And 1 Peter 2:13 says, “Submit to every human authority because of the Lord.”

Our children need to understand that authorities can help or discipline us.  We can ask for trouble or seek rewards.  I think you know what we should do.

“Don’t follow the crowd in the wrong direction.”

I would have my head in the sand if I did not realize the pressures that our children face.  They are bombarded by a culture that is bent on selfishness, division, and sin.  No matter how much time we can spend with them, they spend a lot of their days with people who are not looking out for their best interests.

We need to remind them of some truths.  Proverbs 1:10 states: “My son, if sinners entice you, don’t be persuaded.”  1 Corinthians 15:33 states: “Do not be deceived, ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”

It is not only OK to keep an eye on our children.  It is vital that we do.

“Make sure that Jesus comes first.”

If you are a Christian, you know this.  If you are not, I encourage you to seek Him.

1 Peter 3:15 reminds us of the focus we should have: “in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”

School is important, but our most important education is grounded in Jesus.  He is the only one who can make you a better person and give you hope.  Our children desperately need to know that.

Honestly, we all need to know that.  So, let me encourage you to not only help your children start the school year in the right way.  Let us all start anew in making the rest of our life aimed toward the right way.