Titus 3:3-8

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%203%3A3-8&version=NIV;NLT

 

Might as well jump. Jump!           Go ahead, jump.
Might as well jump. Jump!           Go ahead, jump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8LdRJqjjRM

 

In 1984, the rock group Van Halen, released a song by the title of Jump. The chorus wasn’t real creative.

 

My daughter was 4 years old at the time. After dinner I used to play the record really loud and we would jump around together. When it came to the chorus, I would lift her up by both hands singing “Jump”!

While she would laugh and giggle.

 

Today, when either of us hear the song come on the radio, that person will get the other on the phone, crank up the volume so that we can both hear it and relive the memory. We’ve been doing this for years.

 

That’s an example of how you invest in your children; how you invest in your spouse; how you invest in those you love. By spending time with them; pointing them in the right direction; doing everyday things together.

 

Titus was assigned to disciple the churches that Paul founded on the island of Crete.

There are many instructions in this letter including how to set up Elders and how to relate to various groups of people. But none are more critical than these.

 

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵ he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ⁶ He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷ Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.         NLT

 

Of all the things Titus could do for the believers on the island of Crete, the most important was to point them to Christ. Of all the things you or I can do for others, the most important is to point them to Christ.

 

My daughter will soon give birth to her third child, or I should rephrase that to say “our third grandchild”. I’m not sure she has introduced her kids to Jump, but for sure she has pointed them to Christ. Let us do the same for those who the Lord has brought into our lives to love and to serve.

 

 

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Coaches! Who needs ‘em!

2 Timothy 3:1-2, 10-17

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Timothy%203%3A1-2%2C%202%20Timothy%203%3A10-17&version=NIV;NLT

 

My experience with high school coaches was not very positive. First off, they always called you by your last name. They couldn’t say Joe; it had to be “Hey Williams”. It wasn’t very friendly. Secondly, they always yelled at you like you had committed the worst unpardonable sin; as if there was something wrong with you personally.

 

I remember one football practice when I was blocking a defender and the running back ran into me. The coach yelled, “WILLIAMS! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!!!” My thought was, “What about the running back. Couldn’t he have run around me instead of into me? Why don’t you yell at him”?  But, like I said, it was a “thought”.

 

My coaches were never encouraging. Their instructions were always negative; putting you down; saying what was wrong with you. To make things worse, they did this not just to you privately, but in front of the whole team; all of my peers that I wanted to impress... Coaches! Who needs ‘em!

 

However, Paul was Timothy’s coach. He wrote 2 Timothy while in prison, knowing that his time on earth was short. He wanted to instruct and encourage Timothy in his faith. Here’s what he wrote to his “dear son” in the faith.

 

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet

the Lord rescued me from all of them.

 

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.     NIV

 

Paul was preparing Timothy for ministry by instructing him, in the context of their relationship, while living out his life before him. Granted, scripture is to be used, not just for teaching and encouragement, but also “rebuking and correcting”. But Paul makes the point that this is done in the context of a loving, patient relationship with an eye towards the Lord.

 

Coaches! Who needs ‘em! We do! Life is full of pit falls, hardships and struggles. You can’t avoid them. How you handle your struggles is what makes the difference. How do you learn from those problems? How do you grow? Who helps you?

 

Scripture tells us that God disciplines those He loves. He does this through, scripture, relationships and life experiences… even coaches. The struggles of life often provide the greatest opportunity for us to strengthen our faith and grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

Hopefully, each one of us will be able to give everything that we have; leave it all out on the field of life; give 110%; and to be able to say with Paul:

 

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.    2 Timothy 4:7-8 NIV

 

 

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Charlottesville Justice

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015%3A50-58&version=NIV;TLB;NLT

 

On August 13 of this year, there was a deadly incident that occurred after two days of protests, counter-protests and confrontations. It ended with a young woman being struck and killed by a white supremacist who purposefully drove his car into a crowd. No matter where you turn today, the battle for justice seems to be lost.

 

The same was true during Jesus’ lifetime. He was born into a world where the invading Romans ruthlessly ruled and the Jewish religious leaders imposed their legalistic interpretation of the law, which was used to control the masses. It was used to judge and condemn. There was no mercy or grace.

 

Into this world, Jesus made a point of healing those who others would never touch. He didn’t differentiate who he loved based on their nationality, ethnicity or religion. He didn’t care whether you lived in poverty or were wealthy and powerful. He showed justice for all.

 

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”   Luke 4:18-19 NIV

 

God has instructed us that it is more important to live justly than to be religious.

 

⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.   Micah 6:8 NIV

 

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, that because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, the battle for justice in our own life is already won! Now it is up to us, to share that Good News justice with the world; to show God’s love and forgiveness to those who He has brought into our lives.

  

⁵⁶ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.       NLT

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers, since future victory is sure, be strong and steady, always abounding in the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted as it would be if there were no resurrection.   TLB

 

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Do as I Say, Not as I Do

Matthew 23:1-12

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023%3A1-12&version=NIV;NLT

 

I think the first time I heard someone say that, it was a football coach, or it might have been a teacher. For sure, it wasn’t my Dad! He gave me rules to live by, held me accountable and lived them out in his own life.

 

In Matthew 23:1-12, Jesus is speaking to those who are his followers. Later in the chapter his words are directed at the Pharisees, the teachers of the law and the religious leaders in general. It’s a scathing indictment of how they live their life, not by the Law of Moses which they preach, but by their own set of hypocritical rules.

 

Jesus’ primary concern was for those whose faith was sincere; for those who were trying to follow the law; for those who were trying to live by faith.

 

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. ³ So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. ⁴ They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.          NLT

 

Here are a couple of stories that I believe illustrate what Jesus was teaching his followers:

 

Years ago, my wife and I opened our home to a young man that I had worked with while in full time ministry. He lived with us because he had nowhere else to go. I remember him making a statement once when I asked him about making a decision to follow Christ. He responded, “I could never be as good as you”.

 

Apparently, somehow I had given him the impression that to be a Christian

required more than just belief and faith. It required living a certain lifestyle of being “a good person”; of being “a nice guy”.

 

In Keith Miller’s book, The Taste of New Wine, he tells the story of meeting a young woman who was considering faith in Christ. During the course of their conversation he tells her that God loves her unconditionally, just as she is. Her response to him is, “So your church will love me just as I am? Because I live with my boyfriend.”

 

There may be people in your life that don’t follow Christ. Think about how your life impacts their decision for, or against, Christ? Do they feel like they can’t live up to your standards? Or do they see that Christ came to save broken people; that you are one of those broken people; and that he loves them just as they are.

 

For us, it all boils down to these words:

 

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”     Matthew 22 NIV

 

  

 

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It’s Mine!

Acts 4:32-35

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%204%3A32-35&version=NIV;NLT

 

What parent hasn’t told their child in a firm, authoritative voice, “You need to share with your brother or sister!”? And conversely, what parent hasn’t heard their child respond in a defiant, angry voice, “It’s mine!”?

 

Sharing doesn’t come easy for many of us. In fact, the old adage, “The one who dies with the most toys wins”, would seem to apply to America as a whole.

 

For the most part though, the first century church in Jerusalem didn’t have a problem with sharing. They pooled their resources so that everybody’s needs were met. Some even went to the point of selling their property or possessions and turning the proceeds over to the apostles.

 

There’s a familiar verse in Psalm 50 that states, ^“For all the animals of the forest are

mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.” This reminds us that God owns everything. He is the creator and sustainer of all that was and is and will be. But is that all there is to it?

The context of Psalm 50 is not that God owns everything, but that His people are more interested in looking good by making showy displays of religious righteousness, rather than getting things right in their relationship with God. It’s the same complaint that Jesus had with the religious leaders of his day. And if we’re honest, the same issue continues today.

 

Therefore, you and I need to answer these questions. Am I the lord of my life, or is Christ the Lord of my life? How am I using the resources that God has given me; my time, talent and treasure? Am I helping to meet the needs of those less fortunate? Or am I in the competition to see who has the most toys?

 

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind… And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them.           NIV

 

The first century church has set an example for us to follow. The resources that God has given to us are intended to build His Kingdom; to meet the needs of others; to share God’s grace. Think of the impact we could have if we were all “one in heart and mind”.

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/