Our culture is one that is devoted to sports. The whole year is set for all kinds of sports and many of them over lap one another. I always thought basketball was done by the end of March, but now seems to go into the summer months or what I call the "dog days of summer". Of course, football started in the fall of the year. But today, it seems football starts in August!
I grew up a Baptist and attended a southern Baptist church till I entered Jr. High School. The reverend always talked of the sin and the importance of salvation. He would have me so frightened by what he spoke of the hell-fire thing and how it would be on those who rejected Jesus, that in every main service I was in, I would go forward to receive JESUS again! Those services were an entire hour, no more and no less, it was an hour long service in the word of God!
Today, we see the pastors wanting to keep a service at or about 30-minutes, for we are told that people get distracted after that amount of time. They figure a 30- minute service will suffice and people will want to come back to the service and it is certain that a 30-minute service would be about making the people happy, right? But in all of that thought process, is it all productive to seeing people move forward in the plan God has for their lives?
My question is this: if we have found some time with the Lord during the week, should we not be glad to be with other Believers for church time,to spend time together in the Word, in worship and in prayer? Should we not be glad to spend the time, no matter how long it takes in worship, in the word of God......... to come and bow down, to give glory to the Lord? Would not the Lord would be happy to see us all together with one heart in worship to Him? Should we not be excited to enjoy other believer's company, have opportunity to pray for them, worship together with them in praise to our Father God? Should we not want to glorify Jesus in all that He did for us.....on the Cross.....and not be concerned about the time?
I see people drawn into the sports thing! They gear up for the season ahead, you know, by purchasing the new team jacket or t-shirt with the team's logo on it and yes a certain number of their favorite player! They do not mind the price of the tickets, or the cost of the new T-shirt or the weather thing going on at the time of the scheduled game time. They set the schedule for the games they really want to watch.If they have it in their home, they set a time for people to be over, of course at game time, and serve some special snack foods which usually have salsa, chips and guacamole as the center theme for their food activity before, during and after the game. The amount of fat and salt comes into play at that time and what should be avoided, if any sandwich is served, like the foot-long hot dog or the foot-long sub? And then, what is served for a refreshment, soda pop or..........some other drink of choice?
No doubt food is truly important to our diets of retaining our healthful vigor!
In scripture, we see Jesus teaching on the hillside and then asking the disciples where they should get something to eat....in all of the teaching, they had no concern for the money, it was of no issue, the issue was there was no place to buy the food! He saw the people come to hear Him teach that day............................AND JESUS already knew what He was going to do! HE WANTED the disciples to get active and participate in the plan of God for the lives of those people WHO CAME TO HEAR AND RECEIVE THE WORD.
What and where we set our focus though will determine our outcome......whether it be for victory or defeat! Will we be active and participate in the lives of those God sends our way?
Again, looking at the game, and the time it is on, and you know those overtimes can be lengthy as well. So, if we figure just for game time, with the half-time activity, you can figure over 3 hours. So if it goes into over-time, look out!
But the average person cannot sit for over 30-minutes to hear the Word of God! I stand in amazement of how this can be in this day and age! Of all that is going on in the world today, are we so set to entertain ourselves with the worldly things and miss what God has for us to do and especially for today in the lives of others?
I can understand a child being distracted, as they are young, have come into a world they are just learning about, and they are in awe of what they view on T. V. But I also stand in awe, and wonder how do grown-up people get to the place they have to be entertained. I understand the amount of work a football player must do while he is in training which includes the exercise, the right foods and restful sleep that all play a part. I am in awe those who can run and still hold onto the football even in the rain and never lose control. Again, I think of the conflicts that arise through these games and some of it turns ugly. Some games turn into a free for all, the "have your way and speak the filth to others" who are made in the image of God! Yet those who keep their tongues and truly want to be in the game and play as a team see the greater advantage. These look out for others and not just for themselves or what they can get away with at the time. These people just love the game and want to participate in the game with team members.
God wants us to have fun, and truly God does want us to enjoy our life here and be team members on His team! Our lives are for but a moment, just like opening that soda pop can, and the mist of vapor is gone in an instant. So is our lives....for in one moment we are here and in another moment we are gone...........AND did we do anything for the kingdom of God? Will we make a difference while here in this world and would anyone know that we had been here or that we were followers of Jesus? Should I redirect my focus to the Lord and see how the Holy Spirit will direct my day? Does He really desire us to spend hours in front of a T.V or sitting in a stadium in twenty degree weather to see grown men pass the pigskin.............and is it really made of pigskin?
We see and hear of the testimonies of those who play the game and give glory to God, and do we actually see their lives mirror that God is a part of their lives and see His hand on them in some way? I ask myself, "Will our lives mirror God's way of being and doing?"" Will people see Jesus in us?"
Yes, our attention and what we spend time with will determine our outcome. Will people know whether we devote our time to worship, to prayer, to see others set free to serve the living God or will they know us to be that family that served the best foot-long subs in the city during the big game? If I truly have that intense and unfailing love for others, will I seek to speak on the goodness of God and of His unfailing love? If I am to attend a game party, will people know me to be a follower of Jesus, one who knows Him intimately or will they know me as the follower of some football team?
Our granddaughter was a part of surprise party back in the spring for a neighbor across the street from them in the Camas area. When the surprise party had started, all the people gathered, they cheered the teenager who turned a year older, and when the guests were satisfied with cake and beverage, they mingled with others. Now some of those attending were from the young lady's and her parents exercise group and some were from her school. Of course, our granddaughter was there, having fun, but she was worshiping Jesus with songs in her heart( meant she was singing out loud) and she was praying for other people there at the party. This older gentleman came to find our daughter and son-in-law..............close to the end of the party.......he wanted to meet the parents of this young girl of the age of four who had a song in her heart toward Jesus,and who wanted to pray for others. He wanted to know who raised such a fired-up young lady for God! Will we be the fire starter for others to see and be a part of or will we be the other guy? I pray others will see us as they see our granddaughter, the one who kept moving through the crowd and talked of Jesus. I BELIEVE JESUS WAS IN AWE THAT DAY OUR GRANDDAUGHTER DID WHAT SHE DID FOR HIS GLORY. AMEN! It was a birthday party, but for her it was a day of worship towards the Lord!
Our granddaughter practices praise and worship with her parents daily. She hears the Word of God and they have books to read to her about the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. She is accustomed to praying as we prepare to eat a meal or drive to church. We have seen her take up to five minutes or so just to worship and then pray for people at church. (the children, her friends, Bella, Abbey and David, the pastors, her mom and dad and of course Grammy and Grandpa)
Her life is effervescent with the life of God! She tells others of who He is. Her focus is a lifestyle. Will people know what has captured our ATTENTION? WILL THEY KNOW US TO BE ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS, ONE WHO SPEAKS TRUTH, DECLARES HIS GLORY AND SEEKS THOSE TIME OF ONENESS IN PRAYER TOWARD OUR CREATOR? WILL THEY KNOW US TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD? WILL PEOPLE KNOW US TO HAVE BEEN WITH JESUS? TRULY IT IS TIME TO FOCUS ON THE ONE WHO SAVES, HEALS AND DELIVERS......AMEN........will we get involved in God's plan...?
You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at (http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV)
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