Dodgeball for Life - Playing on God's Team

Have you ever played dodgeball?

I used to LOVE dodgeball. It was my favorite day in gym class. We would play on the balcony in the old middle school and in that tiny space, during that gym period, we became warriors.

I loved playing dodgeball, but the picking of teams always caused my stomach to be twitchy.

I never wanted to be picked first - - too much pressure.

And I never wanted to be picked last - - too much embarrassment.

I just wanted to be part of the team and to play my role.

As Christians, we are all on a team. None of us were picked first and none of us were picked last. We were all chosen by God to play our individual roles on the team.

If we think about life as a game of dodgeball -- where we are facing our enemy or our opponent across a fine, thin line - - the balls in our hands are not rubber intended to cause pain, rather the weapons we have in our arsenal are: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

And we are called to: Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

We each have been chosen to be on God's dodgeball team and our goal in the game isn't to try and get the person across the line from us "out" by hitting him with a ball; rather we are called to use the balls in our weaponry to draw our opponent across the line to play on God's team. We can do this by: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. And by recognizing: Christ is all, and is in all.

God chose you for His team and He is asking you to help Him invite others to join.

Are you ready to play?

Scripture

Colossians 3:11-13

Quote of the Day

The game of life is like basketball...It can't be played alone.

Unknown

Question of the Day

How can you play your role on God's team today? 



Good People

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Acts 4:12-13

I hear on TV or at work or even at church about "good people". Generally, this is someone who is kind to others, who maybe is wise, who tries to help, and who keeps out of others "business". Maybe a good person to you is a humanitarian who serves the homeless or who works to end hunger. Maybe a good person is someone who teaches the best class at your school or who buys pizza for everyone in your club. Maybe a good person is someone we read about in the news who has donated $100 million dollars to a cause or a charity.

Not doubt these are all good actions...

But...Will these good persons go to heaven?

Nothing in the description above would suggest that these "good people" are heaven bound, because no where do we read that these "good persons" have individually accepted Christ as his or her Savior. They have done wonderful actions in the sight of the world, but they have not, based on our above description, done the only thing which will grant them salvation and ultimately a home in heaven.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name [Jesus] under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

In order to be truly saved from ourselves and a entrenched in sin and sorrow, we must turn our lives over to Christ. From that acceptance and from that growing relationship we will find that the good actions flow freely. We will display the wonderful love of Christ through our good deeds, but ultimately any good we do will be an outgrowth of that love and the relationship we each have with Jesus. 

What a wonderful title to be called a "good person" but one we should aspire to is to be called a "good Christian".

Scripture

Acts 4:9-15

Quote 

“Expecting the world to be fair to you because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.”

Unknown

Question of the Day

Are your good actions flowing from your relationship with God or from your desire to be good?

Today is an AMAZING day....

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28

Today is an amazing day.

Babies will be born - and men will die.

Businesses will be formed - and persons will declare bankruptcy.

Tests will be passed - and tests will be failed.

Life is a roller coaster.

One day you are up and the next day you are down.

So if all of this good and bad stuff will happen today, what makes it an amazing day?

Today is an amazing day, because God will make good out of everything for those who love Him.

Even the bad, icky, gross, awful, disgusting stuff...God will make it good.

Even the wonderful, glorious, happy, outstanding, overwhelmingly beautiful stuff....God will make it good.

Even the boring, blase, needless, annoying, sleep-inducing stuff...God will make it good.

God works for the good of those who love Him...

Right this moment - as I write these words as you read these lines - God is orchestrating life for a good outcome for you and for me. God loves us and promises us He will provide and protect us.

In this letter to the Romans, Paul isn't saying that God will keep bad, icky, gross stuff from happening - rather Paul tells us that God will take all of that bad, icky gross stuff and make it good.

God will take the death of one man and inspire the resurrected spirit in another.

God will take the bankruptcy of someone and guide them toward a path of wholeness and teaching to help another avoid the trial.

God will take a failed exam and help a student learn his mistakes so he can pass the next one.

God will and can do this and so much more. Our role, in the midst of the gross, icky, bad stuff, is to trust that God has a purpose and a plan; regardless of how trying the situation might be we are called to trust in Him...

To trust in Him and to know:

that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Because...today is an amazing day!

Scripture

Romans 8:18-30

Quote

When things don't go as planned, its because it wasn't in God's plan, no matter how much it meant to you.

Unknown

Question

What do you need to trust God about today?

Note: I want to apologize for not writing in the last week. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Keep reaching out to God!

Choosing between Good and Evil in the Garden

Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
   and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted,
   and every morning brings new punishments.

Psalm 73:13-14

Several years ago there was a sensationalized true story, turned into a book entitled "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" and then made into a movie by the same name, of a man who lived his life in excess and the story surrounding his trial for murder, his acquittal and his subsequent death. The story is a good one - but what intrigues me more is the title. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Midnight focuses on a point in time between yesterday and today; Garden defines a place of peace and well, good and evil are pretty self-explanatory.

In life we are always faced with making the choice between good and evil - - and sometimes the green grass on the evil side of the garden looks pretty good.

For some of us, it seems that individuals who break the rules and who live life focused on their own wants and needs are winning in life. They drive the best cars and have the biggest homes. They are famous - sometimes for being famous. They have unimaginable wealth and opportunities seem to fall into their laps without trying. And, they don't seem to be overly concerned with God or how He sees them.

"They", the over-priviledged and under-compassionate, do not seem to face the same consequences that the rest of us do; all while we see our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ struggling to pay their bills, find jobs and meek out an existence in a world which is experiencing a greater chasm between the haves and the have nots.

This reality might make us question whether or not we should be "good" all of the time when "evil" seems to always win.

This is what the wicked are like—
   always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

Psalm 73:12

But - even if it appears that they have everything we could possibly need or want, we must recognize that they do not have what we hold most dear...they do not have God.

Those who are far from you will perish;
   you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

Psalm 73:23

I do not believe that any of us wish harm on another person - regardless of how much that person may have hurt you. But the reality is that those who turn their backs on God and seek to place something in His place (money, position, prestige, popularity, etc.) will find that they are in fact walking on quick sand. Their lives may seem perfect, but their eternal life is destined to be a disaster.

Choosing to be good or to be evil seems pretty straight forward, but it is the hazy lines between what we desire and abiding with God which determine how well we will turn into God's embrace and turn away from the temptations of the world before us.

That book title, "Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil" is pretty much a vision of the place we have to make our most difficult choices in life. When the temptation is strong will you choose the side of good or will you be tempted by evil? You alone make that choice - and it is a choice.

Scripture

Psalm 73

Quote of the Day

"The devil's agents may be of flesh and blood, may they not?"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Question

When have you been tempted?