“I am #1. I am #1,” said Jamaican track star Usain Bolt after he won Olympic gold and set new world records in both the men’s 100 & 200 meter dash! Ah yes, all eyes have been on Beijing, China for the last two weeks as athletes from around the world have competed and provided memorable performances that will not soon be forgotten. American swimmer Michael Phelps achieved the impossible by winning a gold medal in every event he participated in (an Olympic record 8 gold medals!). Incredible! Misty May and Kerri Walsh won their second straight Olympic gold in women’s beach volleyball, and Nastia Liukin followed in the footsteps of her father (Vaieri Liukin won a gold medal as a gymnast for the Soviet Union in 1988)with her gold medal performance in women’s gymnastics. Without a doubt, the Olympic games have provided lots of excitement for fans and fulfilled the life-long dreams of many Olympic athletes.
In between my tuning in to watch many of the Olympic events, I started to think about what these athletes actually have to do in order to make themselves into world-class athletes who can compete with and beat the best athletes their sport has to offer. For most of the Olympic athletes, training to be the best is not a hobby that is done a couple days a week in their spare time…it’s their LIFE!! It consumes their time, their energy, their goals, and their dreams. The pursuit of Olympic gold captures the entire focus on their lives. Some athletes live away from their families to receive the best coaching and training facilities available. Traveling around the country and the world to compete in events to get ready for the Olympics becomes the norm, and the “normal” teenage life of school, family, and friends can take a back seat for just one chance at Olympic glory.
I am reminded of the verse in 1 Timothy 4: 7-8 “…Rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (NIV).
Maybe training to be an Olympic athlete doesn’t consume your life, but what does? Is it the pursuit of success as a student, being popular, being the best-looking, having lots of money, dressing the coolest? What place does God have in your life? Are you too busy for Him, does He control your time/thoughts/dreams/goals, or are you somewhere in between?
Whatever you do, whatever you pursue, whatever you devote your time to…don’t leave God in the dust.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Anticipation
1st Thessalonians 4:14-17
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Are you ready??
Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Divine Passion
What are you passionate about? Sports? Your preferred presidential candidate? A favorite video game or TV show? Having your own personal space? Being seen as a capable individual?
I think one of the greatest tragedies of our day is how we perceive growing up as giving up – giving up on the big dreams and the deep passionate cravings of our soul. We are told over and over again all the “logical” reasons why we “can’t” do or be all we dreamed we would do or be – and the older we get, the more responsibility we take on, the more logical we become, the more we begin to see our dreams as “pipe dreams”, “wishful thinking” and ultimately, unattainable fantasies.
This is especially tragic for the Christian. So often we get caught up in the busy-ness of life we forget where real, abundant life comes from. We lose our “heart” for Christ – we lose our passion for that relationship – and with it we lose our courage to step out in faith and let God do amazing things in and through our lives. Christ said He came "that they [Believers] may have life, and have it abundantly.” He did not come so that we could be redeemed from our bondage to sin only to find ourselves in bondage to the demands of daily living! He came that we might have LIFE – real ABUNDANT (passionate) life that the unredeemed cannot even imagine. Where did we lose sight of that? How did we fall into the carefully designed trap of mundane living?
I think it’s a matter of heart over mind. Note, I did not say heart instead of mind. God gave us our mental faculties too and reason must play a part in our decision making processes. However, in our day and age, too often we use our minds instead of our hearts when we should be using them in conjunction with our hearts . . . and our hearts should more often be taking the lead in the matter.
“For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programs. It cannot be lived exclusively as a moral code leading to righteousness.” (excerpted from The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge)
If you are a child of God, I challenge you to stop – listen to the whisperings of your heart in the quietness of your mind. Some will say, “But ‘the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked’” (Jeremiah 17:9). And to that I reply – Yes, True – for the unredeemed! But we who are in Christ are new creatures – old things (the deceitful, wicked heart) are passed away and ALL things (including our hearts) have become NEW (2nd Corinthians 5:17). This is why Psalm 37:4 can say, “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (emphasis mine).
For the Believer who is walking with Christ, the heart is the one thing we should be listening to above all else. God’s ways are not often “reasonable” from a human perspective – but He is not tied to human ways or reason – His ways are not our ways (Romans 11:33). We must remember that we really CAN “do all things through Christ.” If our hearts passionately follow God and we follow our hearts, we will not give up as we grow up – rather, we will find ourselves in the most amazing position of actually living out our biggest dreams.
So, Christian, stop and listen to the divine passion God has given you. Don’t listen to the “nay-sayers” – trust God, follow your heart, have the courage to believe He can accomplish it, and watch Him do amazing things in and through you!
I think one of the greatest tragedies of our day is how we perceive growing up as giving up – giving up on the big dreams and the deep passionate cravings of our soul. We are told over and over again all the “logical” reasons why we “can’t” do or be all we dreamed we would do or be – and the older we get, the more responsibility we take on, the more logical we become, the more we begin to see our dreams as “pipe dreams”, “wishful thinking” and ultimately, unattainable fantasies.
This is especially tragic for the Christian. So often we get caught up in the busy-ness of life we forget where real, abundant life comes from. We lose our “heart” for Christ – we lose our passion for that relationship – and with it we lose our courage to step out in faith and let God do amazing things in and through our lives. Christ said He came "that they [Believers] may have life, and have it abundantly.” He did not come so that we could be redeemed from our bondage to sin only to find ourselves in bondage to the demands of daily living! He came that we might have LIFE – real ABUNDANT (passionate) life that the unredeemed cannot even imagine. Where did we lose sight of that? How did we fall into the carefully designed trap of mundane living?
I think it’s a matter of heart over mind. Note, I did not say heart instead of mind. God gave us our mental faculties too and reason must play a part in our decision making processes. However, in our day and age, too often we use our minds instead of our hearts when we should be using them in conjunction with our hearts . . . and our hearts should more often be taking the lead in the matter.
“For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programs. It cannot be lived exclusively as a moral code leading to righteousness.” (excerpted from The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge)
If you are a child of God, I challenge you to stop – listen to the whisperings of your heart in the quietness of your mind. Some will say, “But ‘the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked’” (Jeremiah 17:9). And to that I reply – Yes, True – for the unredeemed! But we who are in Christ are new creatures – old things (the deceitful, wicked heart) are passed away and ALL things (including our hearts) have become NEW (2nd Corinthians 5:17). This is why Psalm 37:4 can say, “Delight thyself also in the LORD: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (emphasis mine).
For the Believer who is walking with Christ, the heart is the one thing we should be listening to above all else. God’s ways are not often “reasonable” from a human perspective – but He is not tied to human ways or reason – His ways are not our ways (Romans 11:33). We must remember that we really CAN “do all things through Christ.” If our hearts passionately follow God and we follow our hearts, we will not give up as we grow up – rather, we will find ourselves in the most amazing position of actually living out our biggest dreams.
So, Christian, stop and listen to the divine passion God has given you. Don’t listen to the “nay-sayers” – trust God, follow your heart, have the courage to believe He can accomplish it, and watch Him do amazing things in and through you!
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