National Champions

Last night, the NCAA crowned its National Champions in Football. The stadium was buzzing with over 76,000 people. Folks all over the world were watching to see if it would be the sooners or the gators. Well, as most know by now, the gators took a pretty big bite out of the sooners.

I was thinking yesterday, with all the hype leading up to the game, "why can't we who call ourselves Christians, get that excited about the work of God?". Really, think about it, it is all we can do to get out of bed on Sunday morning to go worship with other believers. According to Barna Research, about 7 out of 10 people in the US call themselves Christian. It's sure not easy to see out in the real world.

Most people can't even tell you who won the national championship last year, or the year before, or five years ago. Why do we make it such a big deal? Why can't we live out the religion that we claim. Christianity is not about being religious, it is more about a RELATIONSHIP with the one who died for us all, Jesus Christ.

I encourage you to consider this, Jesus Christ will one day be "WORLD CHAMPION". The bible tells us that all his enemies will be made into his footstool, that EVERY knee will bow, and EVERY tongue will confess that He is Lord. Would it fell better to surrender to that fact now, and live like we are on the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP team now?

Obedience..... better than sacrifice?

Most of us think that when we sacrifice something, we have really accomplished something. It is good, but really, if you stop and think, anyone can sacrifice (give up) something for a short period of time. We often think about foregoing TV time for time with our family once a week or once a month. However, we should be obedient enough, disciplined enough that it is just part of us. In Deuteronomy 6 we are told that it is our job as parents to tell our children of the good things of God.

We are told early in the bible that we should OBEY our parents so that we can have a long and healthy life. This was the first command given with a promise attached. We are later told in the new testament that if we love Jesus, then we would obey his commands.
Here in the 15th chapter of First Samuel, we are told of a story where King Saul was given direct orders to destroy the Amelkites and all they had. Instead of heeding the instruction, he decided to take the best of the sheep and cattle for his tribe. God was dissapointed with Saul because he disobeyed. He claimed he would sacrifice the animals. However, if you think about it, he really wasn't sacrificing. He was taking the best animals from another people's herd. Saul had zero effort or resources invested into those animals. Therefore, he really wasn't giving up anything.
22 But Samuel replied:
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Strive to live a life of discipline, of obedience rather than sacrificing something for a short period of time.

Sacrifice, What????

I thought the days of sacrifice were over? Yet, I read in Romans 12 that we are to continually present our bodies, our lives, everything we do as "living sacrifices". Yeah, that's right, the things we say, the things we look at, the things we think about, and even the things we do. I think that covers mind, soul, body, and strength.

Our minds are even supposed to be transformed, so that we will know and approve (accept) God's will for our lives. I challenge you to attempt to consider this daily. We should be seeking to "please God", rather than praying "ohh please God, I need.....".

What does sacrifice mean to you? Could it be sacrificing one's wants to meet the needs of a spouse or family? Could it be sacrificing that double cheeseburger to make sure that you honor the "temple of the Living God" (your body)? Could it be sacrificing time watching and thinking about whatever "trash" comes in your email box today?

Good Bread Good Meat

I am reminded of a dinner-time prayer that my childhood pastor once gave. He was asked to bless the food at dinner one night. He agreed and this is what he said "Good bread, good meat, good God, let's eat." As you can probably guess, he was scolded pretty bad for that.

You might wonder "why is Randy thinking about this?" That is a good question. I bet it could be that I haven't had bread of meat for a couple of days, and nor do I plan to. You see, our church is in the beginning week of a "Daniel Fast". That means no meat, milk, eggs, bread, sugar, caffiene, etc for three weeks. Nothing processed for 21 days. That's right, fruits, veggies, and nuts.

I hope and pray that I can replace bad eating habits with good spiritual habits. Habits such as continual prayer and eating the Word of God. Jesus said "man shouldn't live on bread alone, but by every word of God".

CHANGE

We have all heard the speaches over the past few months. "We need change". Change our leaders, change our economy, change our health care. The arguments go on and on. However, I agree, we do need change. The change we need comes from the inside. The bible tells us not to conform to the world (the people around us), but rather, be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We should take this brand new chalk board that we call 2009, and seek God and ask Him to Change the way we think, the way we talk, the way we act, and even what we watch. Change........, rather let Him change us.

Hakuna Matata

Yeah, that's right, we are back on kids movies. Hakuna Matata means no worries; you remember, Timon and Pumba. They also had a lesson to teach Simba. They basically told him he needed to let go of his worries.

Our bible tells us over and over not to worry. God is the God of the universe, he set the sun and the moon, he tells the wind where to come from and where to go. We are unable to add even one hour to our lives by worrying, so why do we???????

I wonder if we actually think that we have all the answers, and can actually change situations for our benefit (how arrogant are we?). We really should give ourselves a break, and stop worrying.

Okay, let's end with the song from the Lion King.
Hakuna Matata, such a wonderful phrase,
Hakuna Matata, it means no worries, for the rest of our days,
its our problem free, philosophy, Hakuna Matata.

A new what?????

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. It is finally 2009, ten years ago, everyone was cautious of Y2K. At this time in history, the economy is about the only thing that concerns people. However, with every day that passes, we come one day closer to the return, the second advent, of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. We are told in Paul's second letter the the Corinthians, that if we are in Christ, that means sealed and saved, then we are a new creation, with old things gone, and new things coming. That means, if we have admitted that we are sinners, and need someone to pay our debt, and have believed that Jesus is capable of settling that debt because of who he is, and have confessed our beliefs, then we are "in" Christ.

Therefore, if we are in Christ, then old things are gone, and the new has come. That means, that we can leave those OLD habits in the past, we can leave depression in the past, we can leave broken hearts and lives in the past, because the new has come. You might say, "well you don't know my circumstance". That's true, but Jesus does, and he can feel where you are coming from. He was rejected, spat upon, beat, and then hung on a tree to bleed to death. All of that, so we can have a new creation in Him.

Decide today, that we won't dwell in the past, but rather we will push toward the "new and better promises" that we have in Christ. Stand up, put one foot in front of the other, and start walking toward the new life Jesus has promised.



“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”- 2 Corinthians 5:17