Just the other day my family and I were watching the Mavs play basketball. I don’t remember who they were playing, but it was a game that I was interesting in watching. If you have been keeping track of the team you know they are having a rollercoaster type season so far. The team will do great one night then not so great the next night. Or one or two players will have a good game while others slump for a game or two or twenty. Overall the team is doing fine, but it is just not up to the level of play that you want from the defending champions.
Well this game was a terrible game in the first quarter. Dirk was off of his game missing his first four or five shots and committing a foul. It seemed as if everyone was out of sync and the ball was just not going to bounce our way. I hate to admit this, but I gave up and I turned to another channel thinking that the game was lost and there was no chance of winning the game.
The next morning as I was checking the scores I was surprised to discover that the Mavs had pulled out a win and not just a win a pretty impressive victory. In reading about the game I discovered that it was a game that I would have loved to have seen. Dirk got hot and the defense was amazing down the stretch. It was one of those games where the team was just determined to fight through the struggles of the first half and tough out a win on the road. I gave up on the team in the first quarter, deemed the game a loss and missed an amazing come from behind victory.
Some people reading this story have done the same thing in their life except it is not a game. You have given up on your marriage, you have given up on your children, you have given up finding a job, you have given up on improving your work relationships, you have given up overcoming a bad habit or an addiction, you have given up on building relationships at church, you have given up on God, you have ….given up …. and in your mind you are a loser in the game of life.
Guess what! It is just the first quarter! God has an amazing ending planned for your life and you are a winner. Not just a winner, a grand prize winner! Not just a grand prize winner, a grand prize all expenses paid for the rest of your life winner! That’s right, the one who created the game of life has arranged for you to win it all.
You see the reality is this, you were created to be a winner, but at some point you bought into Satan’s plan for your life and that’s when the losing began. It may not have seemed like you were a loser, but you were. Everything that Satan said would bring your happiness and joy and success …well all that was a lie. True happiness is only found when you and I play the game of life by the rules given to us by the one who created the game. There may be ups and downs, but in the end you are a winner.
God has an amazing life for you. All you have to do is claim it. Really! So walk tall. Keep your head up. Live like a grand prize all expenses paid winner!
Love God. Go Love Others.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Destination
If you live anywhere in the North Texas area chances are that dealing with road construction is just a part of your life. I know that in the city of McKinney every major highway and street has construction or road repairs going on at this time. It is almost impossible to travel from point A to point B without driving through a lane closure or a detour of some kind. It really doesn’t matter where you start or where you finish you will come across orange cones, barriers, blockades, caution tape, flashing yellow arrows, or an actual person with a sign directing you to change your route. What is frustrating to some is the fact that even though your route is being changed your destination remains the same.
I know when I leave work each day that highway 75 maybe shut down or the traffic may be too heavy or TxDot may detour me to a different street. Or if I head home another way I could very well be directed to change my route again, but the fact remains that one way or another I am going home. The traffic can be at a standstill, the roads may be closed, the detour may take me miles out of my way, but eventually I will make it home.
That’s the way life is. You live your life and you have in mind a final destination. For those who are Christ followers our destination is home… home with God and his son Jesus Christ. The living your life part is the unknown part of the journey. Your life’s journey may include a spouse, 2.5 children, a house, nice cars, a good job, vacations, hobbies, lots of family and friends along the way, and a nice retirement and then a transition from this life to the next in death. Sounds simple enough – right. Except….
Except life does not always go that way. Your life may have some detours, road closed signs, barriers, flashing yellow arrows instructing you to go a different direction. Sometimes life just throws you a curve ball or a series of curve balls and you begin to wonder if you will ever make it in life. You experience health issues, family issues, marriage issues, financial issues, and other barriers to the life journey you were expecting to travel.
For those who are experiencing a lot of road barriers in your life’s journey and for those who seemingly have smooth life paths in front of you, remember one thing…. Keep your eye on the final destination. That’s right. The key to happiness in life is keeping your eye on the destination.
Many years ago Mary and I took our children to Disney World. At the time the drive was well over 20 hours. No one in their right mind plans a trip with three children that includes being in a car for 20 plus hours, but if you destination is Disney World you go and you keep driving and driving and putting up with all the hassles of the journey because you know at the end of the journey there is an amazing adventure.
So fellow disciples who are anticipating an eternal home that is out of this world amazing… Keep Your Eyes on the destination. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I suggest keeping your eyes upon Jesus, because he and only he will lead you home.
Love God. Go Love Others.
And
Honor God by Honoring Others (thanks Chris for the reminder)
I know when I leave work each day that highway 75 maybe shut down or the traffic may be too heavy or TxDot may detour me to a different street. Or if I head home another way I could very well be directed to change my route again, but the fact remains that one way or another I am going home. The traffic can be at a standstill, the roads may be closed, the detour may take me miles out of my way, but eventually I will make it home.
That’s the way life is. You live your life and you have in mind a final destination. For those who are Christ followers our destination is home… home with God and his son Jesus Christ. The living your life part is the unknown part of the journey. Your life’s journey may include a spouse, 2.5 children, a house, nice cars, a good job, vacations, hobbies, lots of family and friends along the way, and a nice retirement and then a transition from this life to the next in death. Sounds simple enough – right. Except….
Except life does not always go that way. Your life may have some detours, road closed signs, barriers, flashing yellow arrows instructing you to go a different direction. Sometimes life just throws you a curve ball or a series of curve balls and you begin to wonder if you will ever make it in life. You experience health issues, family issues, marriage issues, financial issues, and other barriers to the life journey you were expecting to travel.
For those who are experiencing a lot of road barriers in your life’s journey and for those who seemingly have smooth life paths in front of you, remember one thing…. Keep your eye on the final destination. That’s right. The key to happiness in life is keeping your eye on the destination.
Many years ago Mary and I took our children to Disney World. At the time the drive was well over 20 hours. No one in their right mind plans a trip with three children that includes being in a car for 20 plus hours, but if you destination is Disney World you go and you keep driving and driving and putting up with all the hassles of the journey because you know at the end of the journey there is an amazing adventure.
So fellow disciples who are anticipating an eternal home that is out of this world amazing… Keep Your Eyes on the destination. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I suggest keeping your eyes upon Jesus, because he and only he will lead you home.
Love God. Go Love Others.
And
Honor God by Honoring Others (thanks Chris for the reminder)
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Mouse
It has been a long time ago, but I remember it as if it happened yesterday. Mary and I along with some good friends were eating at one of our more favorite restaurants in Corpus Christi. We had been served our drinks and our salads and bread and we were enjoying some good conversation. I think we had gotten a babysitter for the evening so we were actually having adult conversation. Things were going along just wonderfully when out of the corner of our eye we saw a mouse run under a table. Amazing to me everyone at the table kept their cool and stayed calm. We discreetly call the waiter over to our table and told him about the mouse. What happened next was also amazing to me.
In a few moments the waiter walked by the table where the mouse was sitting and using a cloth napkin just reached down and scooped up the mouse and kept on walking as if nothing had happened and as if the whole thing were no big deal. Then it hit all of us sitting at the table.... that waiter had done this before. He had scooped up a mouse using a cloth napkin not just once or twice before, no; he had done that little scoop and run many, many times before. If it had been an Olympic event he would have scored a perfect 10. To no one’s surprise that restaurant has long since shut down.
So what does a mouse have to do with life? Well, that mouse is a lot like the sin we have in our life. The first time you cheat or lie you are burdened with guilt and you can wait to confess your sin and ask forgiveness from those whom you have hurt. That is the way guilt is suppose to work. Guilt should bring about a change in behavior, but if you continue to lie and cheat or do whatever your sin happens to be then the guilt becomes easier to ignore. Before long your sinful behavior will just be a part of your life and everything will seem normal to you.
Guess what? No matter how long you live in your sin and no matter how much your life seems normal to you, it is still sin and it is still wrong in the eyes of God. You see, that mouse was not just a mouse. It was an indication that something was terribly wrong with the management. A manager or owner who really cared about health codes and customer satisfaction would have taken steps to rid the building of mice instead of teaching the staff how to cover up the problem. In the same way that there is no such thing as one mouse, it is also true that there is no such thing as one sin in your life.
The good news is the mouse problem can be taken care of. The Great News is the sin in your life is already taken care of by Jesus Christ. You and I just need to live like people who have been saved rather than live like those who still have a mouse in their house.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
Love God. Go Love Others.
In a few moments the waiter walked by the table where the mouse was sitting and using a cloth napkin just reached down and scooped up the mouse and kept on walking as if nothing had happened and as if the whole thing were no big deal. Then it hit all of us sitting at the table.... that waiter had done this before. He had scooped up a mouse using a cloth napkin not just once or twice before, no; he had done that little scoop and run many, many times before. If it had been an Olympic event he would have scored a perfect 10. To no one’s surprise that restaurant has long since shut down.
So what does a mouse have to do with life? Well, that mouse is a lot like the sin we have in our life. The first time you cheat or lie you are burdened with guilt and you can wait to confess your sin and ask forgiveness from those whom you have hurt. That is the way guilt is suppose to work. Guilt should bring about a change in behavior, but if you continue to lie and cheat or do whatever your sin happens to be then the guilt becomes easier to ignore. Before long your sinful behavior will just be a part of your life and everything will seem normal to you.
Guess what? No matter how long you live in your sin and no matter how much your life seems normal to you, it is still sin and it is still wrong in the eyes of God. You see, that mouse was not just a mouse. It was an indication that something was terribly wrong with the management. A manager or owner who really cared about health codes and customer satisfaction would have taken steps to rid the building of mice instead of teaching the staff how to cover up the problem. In the same way that there is no such thing as one mouse, it is also true that there is no such thing as one sin in your life.
The good news is the mouse problem can be taken care of. The Great News is the sin in your life is already taken care of by Jesus Christ. You and I just need to live like people who have been saved rather than live like those who still have a mouse in their house.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8
Love God. Go Love Others.
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