On Monday evening Tami and I were able to attend the Texas Rangers game against the Houston Astros. Earlier in the day I was not really excited about going to the game because I had been out for some work event every night for the previous week. I remember telling Tami that I just wanted to go home and curl up in my recliner and do nothing. Our six-year-old nephew, Jackson, and his dad were going to the game with us, though, so I knew once we got ourselves going it would be a fun evening. Jackson loves baseball and I could see the excitement in his eyes as we were getting ready to leave.
The Rangers played an amazing game and ended up winning 12-0 with Derek Holland pitching a complete game shut-out. As fun as it was to see that part of the game, the real highlight came from the Rangers’ Alex Rios. He plays right field for the Rangers, and last night he did something that only two other players have done this year in baseball. There have been 2,340 games played this year, and only three players have accomplished this great feat. Alex Rios hit for the cycle, which means that he hit a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game. So if I had backed out of going to the game that day I would have missed out on seeing something that very rarely happens in baseball.
That got me thinking about going to church. There are mornings that people wake up and they are tired because of a long week and they know how hectic the coming week is going to be. It’s not that they don’t want to be in church, but they are fighting fatigue and the busyness of life. Let me encourage you today by the lesson I learned while sitting at the baseball game. Once I got there I had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it. I was able to see a little boy who had the greatest night because he watched the Rangers win. In fact, not only did they win, but they won big. I had the opportunity for some quality friendship time, which always brings a smile to my face, and last of all I saw a feat that I’ve never seen in person at a baseball game before.
Remember these things the next time you are struggling with going to church because of everything happening in life. You are going to worship the God who loves you and has a plan for your life. You are going to be with people who love you and want to encourage you in your spiritual journey. You are going to hear the Word preached in a way that will challenge and inspire you to keep pressing on. And you will see God do things in the lives of people that only He can do.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Looking for Love
The Bible teaches us in I John 4:8 that we are to show love to those we come into contact with on a daily basis. In fact, it says that if we don’t show love, then we can’t know who God is because God is love. I’m blessed in my life because I see that verse displayed on a daily basis. I never cease to be amazed by the outpouring of love I see from people around me through actions, words, emails, and many other ways. They serve as a constant reminder of how I am to respond to others because Christ is my Savior.
We have three dogs, and each of these dogs has its own way of showing that it loves you. Duke will just come and lay on my lap when I’m sitting down and relaxing at the end of the day. He is content to just lay there because he wants to be with me. Lilly is the one you find ready to play if you show any inkling that you want some activity. She will chase down anything you throw, get in the pool, or just follow you wherever you go inside the house. Tula is the funny one because she gets in bed and wants to have contact while sleeping. I’m not into that contact stuff because it gets too hot, but if you move to get her off of you she will readjust to get close to you again. I’m really blessed because she likes that contact with Tami much more than with me! All three of these dogs love us and are so excited just to have us around. It doesn’t matter if we’ve had a rough day, if we forgot to put food in their bowls before going to work, or even if we scolded them for doing something they shouldn’t have done. The moment we call them or show an interest in them, they are right there by our sides because they want us to love on them.
That’s how we as the church are to react to each other and to the world. We should ask ourselves: What can I do today to show God’s love? That’s what we’re commanded to do as a part of His family. Who are the people that I can offer to help, send an encouraging word, or maybe forgive because they’ve hurt me? This is not the easy way; if we did it the easy way, we would walk away from relationships or look for ways to hurt those who have hurt us. Let’s not follow the way we’d do it, but let’s follow the pattern set by Christ.
We have three dogs, and each of these dogs has its own way of showing that it loves you. Duke will just come and lay on my lap when I’m sitting down and relaxing at the end of the day. He is content to just lay there because he wants to be with me. Lilly is the one you find ready to play if you show any inkling that you want some activity. She will chase down anything you throw, get in the pool, or just follow you wherever you go inside the house. Tula is the funny one because she gets in bed and wants to have contact while sleeping. I’m not into that contact stuff because it gets too hot, but if you move to get her off of you she will readjust to get close to you again. I’m really blessed because she likes that contact with Tami much more than with me! All three of these dogs love us and are so excited just to have us around. It doesn’t matter if we’ve had a rough day, if we forgot to put food in their bowls before going to work, or even if we scolded them for doing something they shouldn’t have done. The moment we call them or show an interest in them, they are right there by our sides because they want us to love on them.
That’s how we as the church are to react to each other and to the world. We should ask ourselves: What can I do today to show God’s love? That’s what we’re commanded to do as a part of His family. Who are the people that I can offer to help, send an encouraging word, or maybe forgive because they’ve hurt me? This is not the easy way; if we did it the easy way, we would walk away from relationships or look for ways to hurt those who have hurt us. Let’s not follow the way we’d do it, but let’s follow the pattern set by Christ.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
How Could I Not Remember?
Last month, Tami and I went to spend a few days with family in Arizona. One afternoon, while we were outside in the pool enjoying the 108-degree day, I was eating a snack and felt a part of a tooth chip off. I was surprised and started getting depressed thinking that this must be what happens as a person gets older. You’re having a good time laughing and eating a snack one minute, then a part of your tooth chips off the next. I told Tami what had happened and started worrying about eating. The good news is that I didn’t stop eating but enjoyed every meal and snack I ate while gone, but I knew that I needed to get to the dentist as soon as we returned home to get the problem fixed.
Last week I went to the dentist to go through the normal cleaning and find out about my chipped tooth. As the dental hygienist was putting on my bib, one of the more humiliating things about going to the dentist, I explained to her about my tooth that had a chip in it. She began looking at my records and noticed that I’d had a problem back in 2008 with the same thing happening. I was shocked because I didn’t remember that event, but she assured me it was right there in my records. In fact, she said it was tooth number 24, and when she asked me to point to the tooth, sure enough—it was the same tooth. She told me that it had been chipped and they filled it so this was nothing new. I sat in that chair during the rest of my appointment trying to remember the day I had a chip on that tooth repaired at the dentist office, and here I sit a week later with no recollection of that event ever happening in my life.
Thinking about that incident it felt like the Holy Spirit was trying to teach me a lesson about God’s forgiveness. So often we can get caught in the trap of letting past failures or sins hinder us from moving on with God. We become fearful that God will bring up the sin again as a reminder that He has something on us if we don’t walk the line. Yet, the Bible promises us that when God forgives us of our sins and failures, they are totally gone from His memory. I don’t know about you, but that’s hard for me to imagine because I remember a lot of my sins and failures. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and assured me that just as I couldn’t remember ever chipping and having that tooth filled five years ago, God doesn’t remember any past sins or failures even from yesterday if I live under the forgiving power of Jesus Christ. We are reassured of this by the promise that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
Don’t allow your past to dictate what God wants to do with your life in the future. Just as I couldn’t remember a chipped tooth, we all need to remember that when God forgives, He forgets.
Last week I went to the dentist to go through the normal cleaning and find out about my chipped tooth. As the dental hygienist was putting on my bib, one of the more humiliating things about going to the dentist, I explained to her about my tooth that had a chip in it. She began looking at my records and noticed that I’d had a problem back in 2008 with the same thing happening. I was shocked because I didn’t remember that event, but she assured me it was right there in my records. In fact, she said it was tooth number 24, and when she asked me to point to the tooth, sure enough—it was the same tooth. She told me that it had been chipped and they filled it so this was nothing new. I sat in that chair during the rest of my appointment trying to remember the day I had a chip on that tooth repaired at the dentist office, and here I sit a week later with no recollection of that event ever happening in my life.
Thinking about that incident it felt like the Holy Spirit was trying to teach me a lesson about God’s forgiveness. So often we can get caught in the trap of letting past failures or sins hinder us from moving on with God. We become fearful that God will bring up the sin again as a reminder that He has something on us if we don’t walk the line. Yet, the Bible promises us that when God forgives us of our sins and failures, they are totally gone from His memory. I don’t know about you, but that’s hard for me to imagine because I remember a lot of my sins and failures. Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and assured me that just as I couldn’t remember ever chipping and having that tooth filled five years ago, God doesn’t remember any past sins or failures even from yesterday if I live under the forgiving power of Jesus Christ. We are reassured of this by the promise that, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
Don’t allow your past to dictate what God wants to do with your life in the future. Just as I couldn’t remember a chipped tooth, we all need to remember that when God forgives, He forgets.
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