Reach Higher

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

 

When does God speak to your heart? When do you see the light?

 
 

Last weekend I went to the Big Ten Championship football

game in Indianapolis. On Michigan State’s final drive, or some might call it the Championship Drive, they had the ball for 22 plays, 82 yards and 9 plus minutes. It was a drive for the ages.

 

In dramatic style, with 27 seconds left in the game, down by 4 on third down and goal, LJ Scott - a true freshman - was hit by no less than 6 Iowa Hawkeyes. But he still managed to stretch his right hand out while holding the ball to break the plane of the end zone and score the winning touchdown.

 

This was an amazing effort by the Spartans to endure, persevere and overcome. There were many roadblocks in the way of their victory. It would have been easy to give up; to say “I can’t do it”. There was a worthy adversary working extremely hard to keep them from
succeeding. But finally they crossed the line; they reached their goal.

 

There are many roadblocks that can get in the way of hearing God speak to you. Paul mentions some of them in 2 Corinthians. Losing heart, self-centered motivation, preaching something other than Christ and Satan blinding people from seeing: All of these can blind you; can keep you from seeing the light of Jesus.

 

But Paul also wrote, ^6 “It was God Who said, “The light will shine in darkness.” He is the One Who made His light shine in our hearts. This brings us the light of knowing God’s shining-greatness which is seen in Christ’s face.”                      NLV

 

God opens our eyes to His light when the time is right. Years ago, one of my sisters shared the Gospel with me without a positive response. I wasn’t ready. But God cultivated my heart, and when I was ready, He brought someone into my life to draw me closer to Him.

 

The Spartans have a tag line this year given to them by their coach… “Reach Higher”. It is supposed to help motivate them when adversity strikes; when the game seems to be over; when it seems like they will never score.

 

As Christians, we have more than a tag line. We have a God who loves us, is always at work in our lives, is constantly drawing us to Him, has given us gifts to be used for His purposes and has called us to ministry.

This is the God who will never leave you; who will help you reach the goal that is at the end of a 22 play drive.


This is the God who will help you… “Reach Higher”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirty Years of Faithfulness

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

 

On August 10, 1985, my wife, daughter and I, with the help of family and friends, packed up all of our earthly possessions and moved to Columbus, Ohio. As I consider these past 30 years, there are many fond memories. It was a life changing move for all of us, and looking back, I can see how God has faithfully used people and circumstances in our lives.

 

The move was precipitated by my work. The couple who was our host when we first came for our interview and later to find a place to live, became great friends, and were probably one of the main reasons we moved to Columbus. God certainly used them as well as many others that we met over the years.

 

In September of 1985, our daughter started kindergarten. My wife helped in the classroom every day. The teacher saw something in her and encouraged her to return to school. God used that teacher to motivate my wife to do just that. As a result, she taught in inner city Columbus for 23 years.

 

Our daughter graduated from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. During one summer break, she worked at Damon’s Grill where she met her husband to be. Who knows how different her life would have been had we not made this move. God has been faithfully at work in each of our lives.

 

Looking back gives us twenty-twenty vision. We can see how God has been working when in the middle of life, sometimes we can’t. Hindsight allows us to recognize God’s faithfulness.

 

That’s what Paul was writing about to the Thessalonians. Keep in mind that the Thessalonian church was under extreme persecution at the time. Compounding this were lies that were being told that the rapture had already taken place. And guess what? The Thessalonians didn’t make the cut!

 

Paul explained first that it was a lie, and second that certain things had to take place before the Second Coming could happen. He wrote about the rebellion and the man of

lawlessness. He pointed out that the lawless one was under the control of Jesus. The bottom line for Paul was that, no matter what, God was in control; God was always with them; and God was always faithful.

 

Thirty years have flown by for us. During those years there have been some very difficult and painful times. Deaths, loss of job, a miscarriage, regretful decisions; things that still hurt even to think about today. But we know that through it all, God has been

God is the Rock that we cling to.

in control, always with us and always faithful.

God is always at work in your life. Just take a look back to see how.

 

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”                     2 Thessalonians 3:3