Bring together or tear away

We all have the ability to bring people closer together with our actions or pull people away. There was a college basketball team a couple of years ago in which the team just missed the NCAA tournament after going 20-9. The next season they were supposed to be a major team that was going to go far in the tournament. Instead the team went 9-23. The team’s best player that was up for a national player of the year honor couldn’t hit a shot. He would still score 25 a game but it would take 30 shots to make it happen. They stopped working together and fell apart. The same thing can happen in our lives and in the church when we don’t fight for unity.

Unity is important in our lives and in church. Paul tried to bring to church in Thessalonica back together in the end of his book. Paul shares this in 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.”

There was a lot of division in the church and Paul’s goal was to bring the people together. The truth is what Paul hoped the individuals and the church would find. This truth was God’s will. If the people focused on this truth, the problems would go away. Paul often wrote to a scribe like figure and the fact Paul wrote the end of this book stands out. Paul wanted to unite the people.

We can bring peace. This section of scripture focuses on the matters inside the church, but can apply to our overall lives.

In our lives ask yourself…

Am I promoting unity or not?

At home?

At work or school?

With our friends?

With people we don’t care for?

We have the chance to bring peace in our lives.

That basketball team didn’t have unity, but the coach and team worked at it and the following year, they made the NCAA tournament and had the biggest win total change in college basketball. When we live in peace, good things happen.

How can you make peace happen in your life?

Have a great day.

One goal, one purpose, I can’t wait for March Madness

March Madness is awesome. It’s one of the greatest sports tournaments. Every year we start out with over 300 Division 1 basketball teams and in a couple of weeks we will be down to 32 then 16 then 8 then 4 then 2 and eventually a champion. It’s a fierce battle and often the most talented team doesn’t win. Anyone in sports knows it’s not always the most talented team that wins the championship.

A couple of years ago the NBA flipped when LeBron James, Dewayne Wade and Chris Bosh came together as a team, but this didn’t mean championships. You had three elite basketball players and two role players starting. There were major growing pains. In order for the team to win, somebody couldn’t be the star. You had to sacrifice for the overall goal, to win the championship.

Life requires sacrifice to accomplish goals. I absolutely love my kids and my family. In order to have a family and four kids, Hailee had to deal with four pregnancies. The ups and downs of morning sickness, all the good and the bad pregnancy brings on. She made a huge sacrifice in order for us to have the family we have today. I am extremely thankful for what she has done.

As a Christian we have to look at what is our purpose daily. Here are three different versions of the same verse, Ephesians 1:11.

In him we were also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conform. NIV

Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. NLT

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. The Message

We has a special meaning in this verse. It’s pretty distinct from a general we. This goes into the fact that now both Jews and Gentiles are untied through God’s blessings in Jesus. The word chosen in the NIV is a Greek word eklerothemen. This means to cast a lot or appoint or obtain by lot according to the Bible Knowledge Commentary. One cool thing, it’s the only time the word is used in the New Testament. Some people thought because they came from a faith background they were better set with God, this isn’t the case. God’s love was not for one group of people, it was for everyone, those who came from a faith background and those who did not.

Being in Christ allows us to be free and to have a greater purpose. I was angry and depressed even though I didn’t show it before having faith. I had trouble forgiving some of the people that treated me wrong. Through Christ, I am forgiven and I have the ability to forgive others. I can join with others in sharing this message. Every week I join together doing Campus Life with people from Assembly’s of God, Non-Denominational and Wesleyan Churches to reach people and teach about Jesus. We all come from different backgrounds but unite for one common goal and purpose, to share Jesus.

In order for a team to win they have to sacrifice. I am looking forward to this tournament and what could happen. I am extremely thankful for the sacrifice my wife made so we can have the family we have today. I also look forward to uniting with my fellow believers in Christ for the purpose of reaching more people for Christ. When you look at your life, what is your goal? What is your purpose? Maybe you need to change in order to move forward with where you feel your life is going.

Have a great day.

Overcoming difficulties to succeed

Nothing is ever handed to us. Everything requires hard work and effort. Last night as Hailee and I were relaxing we had The Blind Side on. It’s based on a true story (Not the complete true story), and a great story. This was after watching the first Number 7 seed win the NCAA championship. With my ADD mind this changed my thought to how MSU was looking for next years team and what new recruits our team signed. I found a recruit with a remarkable story.

On sports writer Joe Rexrode’s blog, it mentioned how MSU signed three star recruit Marvin Clark. I didn’t know much about him. I read and it seemed like he was a pretty good player and a good find for MSU. Then near the end of the story their was a remarkable story about his life.

Check it out…

Such a great story to overcome. I have been reading through 2 Corinthians 7 for the past couple of days. It talks about how people were doing the wrong thing and finally repented as individuals and as a church. There have been plenty of times I have regretted an action I have done and have needed to repent. Clark could have gotten mixed up in a bad situation and his life would be going a different direction. He was able to overcome the bad in his life and turn his life to the positive.

Clark has a great story, but we each have a story. Maybe you are happy where your life is at right now, that’s awesome! If you have something you wanted to work on, maybe it’s time to move forward from the past. Do whatever it takes to make that happen. You can overcome.

Have a great day.