Don’t knock it until you try it

My belief

I grew up with a great intense love for playing sports. Most sports that is. I liked tough sports. Sports like baseball, football, and basketball. It was great to get in there and hit hard, run fast, or even get a little physical with the other players. This is what I spent a large part of my child and teen years doing. However, there was one sport that I had absolutely no desire to try. That was GOLF! There was not one bone in my body that though it was cool to stroll around in preppy clothes and hit some sissy little ball with some sissy little stick. Then walk up to the same sissy little ball and Do it again!

This all changed for me a few years ago. I was on vacation with a few friends and they wanted to go play golf. I was not that excited but I said what the heck. I will try it once. I could not believe how hard it was to hit that little ball, to speak nothing of making it go where I wanted it to go. There is an insane amount of precision and fundamental mechanics to correctly controlling a golf swing. Then the scenery on the course was awesome in real life. Golf courses are some of the most beautiful places you can ever hangout. I am now an enthusiastic golfer that loves to play whenever I have the chance. I can’t get enough of my continued improvement, the strategy, and again the wonderful scenery of the course. And it is all because I let go of my preconceived notions and gave it one chance.

I bring this up because I have a friend and colleague that is at the end of his rope. He feels broken, empty, and with no point to his life. I have been telling him over and over again that Jesus is the answer to fix all of those problems. At times I think he is so close to making a decision for Christ. He has never been into “religion” and is insanely skeptical. I continue to pray for him that he will give Jesus a chance in his life. I am 100% certain that when he comes into a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus that he will find JOY, PURPOSE, CONTENTMENT, and ANSWERS for life. As a rough and tumble sports guy, I didn’t see how there was anyway in the world I was going to ever like golf. But once I gave it a chance there is nothing else that I would rather play. I am sure my friend knows that I am talking about him and I promise you that when you give Jesus a try there is nothing else that you will ever want either. Every question will be answered! Every worry will be solved! You will finally have a GUARENTEE in life! It does not matter what happens to you in this life because Jesus is the best insurance policy there will ever be. Give Jesus a fair shot in your life and HE WILL PROVE IT!

Scripture

Matthew 11:28

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Application for Life

If you don’t feel there is any point to life or you think we just do the same old routine things in life and then fade to black. I beg you to reconsider. Look around you at all of the DESIGN that surrounds us. We are not alone. There is an awesome Creator that wants you to find Him. He has placed his Word here with us to explain where we come from, what our purpose is, and where we are headed. What does it hurt to check it out? Put the Bible to the test and give Jesus a chance to give you the life you need.

Xtreme Jesus!

My Belief

We have just seen the USA lose it’s AAA credit rating and our economy be even more significantly weakened. We have a very divided government and nation. It is almost 50/50 split against itself toward two different ideologies. As a result, there are a few “Buzz” words that are being thrown around like crazy. They are extremist and compromise. Both sides of government and both halves of this country have people with very dug in extreme views and all of the national media screams that there must be compromise between the two sides.

With such a wide gap between beliefs in this country it makes me ponder what I should do as a follower of Jesus. What would Jesus do? Is Jesus an extremist or a God of compromise? Well, I think anyone that studies the Bible will say that Jesus has a very EXTREME point of view punctuated with an incredible offer of love an mercy. I can’t think of any of the economic and social issues that divide us where Jesus does not draw a hard line in the sand. The Bible talks more about money than any other single topic. It speaks of how we are not to serve or love money and how we are to be excellent stewards of what God has given us. This financial responsibility is also to be accompanied by an attitude of charity and serving those in need. On most social issues Jesus also takes an uncompromising position. God clearly indicates that abortion is murder, homosexuality is an unnatural detestable sin in His eyes, and to replace God with anything is a down right offence to God. So in my opinion there is no ability to compromise on any of these issues as a follower of Christ. God blesses those who obey and curses those who turn to their own way. While God takes this unwavering position He also offers an unbelievable gift of mercy. Anyone who has compromised these issues may come humbly before Him and ask for forgiveness. He will grant it to all those that seek Him and desire a personal relationship with Him threw His Son, Jesus.

Scripture

2 Tim 3:12-14

¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,

Application for Life.

God does not compromise on His Word and as His Children we may not either. We must stand firm on the Word of God and as Paul said to Timothy, “Men will go from Bad to worse, but you Timothy CONTINUE”. We are to be salt and light to this world and that is guaranteed to make us unpopular with the majority of people. We are to stand firm even if it cost us everything. All of this is to be done with the absolute punctuation of Jesus’ Extreme Love for the world. We will not compromise with the unforgiven sinner, but we must offer them the same love that Jesus would offer us.