Motivated

Posted on January 29, 2011 by jesustrek
Li Na

Li Na recently rallied from match point to make a comeback against the number one tennis player in the world, Caroline Wozniacki, in the Australian Open semifinals. When she was asked what motivated her comeback, Li Na had this answer for reporters: “Prize money.”

We Christians don’t have to earn our reward from God. He has freely given us our heavenly prize by way of the grace he has shown us through his Son Jesus Christ.

However, his grace motivates us to do our best to live up to our calling. Phil.3:13-14 says, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Posted in Christian Living, Communion Meditations, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Truth Be Told

Posted on January 28, 2011 by jesustrek

Stephen Wilce resigned from the position of director of defense technology in New Zealand last September. The following month a military court found that Wilce had fabricated amazing stories about his life. He claimed to have competed in the Olympics, served as a helicopter pilot in the military, been a British spy, played on an international rugby team and been a folk music guitarist.

Investigators found that none of this was true. Wilce admitted that he had been making up stories about himself since he was a child.

Perhaps we all have a tendency to embellish the truth about ourselves in order to impress others. We want people to like us, and we would like to feel that our lives have some significance.

We shouldn’t feel the need to stretch the truth about ourselves in order for God to love us more. He loves us just as we are. Oh, that’s no excuse to remain as we are; God expects us to always be seeking to become more like he wants us to be. But there is nothing we can do to make him love us any more than he already does.

That’s the unembellished truth.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

Posted in Christian Living, Communion Meditations, Current Events | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Important Speech

Posted on January 27, 2011 by jesustrek

The King’s Speech is a British movie that tells the story of King George VI, who sought to overcome his serious speech impediment with the help of a speech therapist as World War II was unfolding in Europe.

The plot reminds me of another leader who dealt with a speech problem in a time of great crisis. Moses, when called by God to lead the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt, offered a number of excuses to try to get out of the assignment. One of them was that he wasn’t a good speaker. “Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Exod.4:10). The Lord responded by telling Moses that he would help him to speak, and that he would send his brother Aaron to share in the speaking duties (Exod.4:14-17).

Things turned out pretty well for Moses and the Israelites. As a matter of fact, Acts 7:22 describes Moses as “…powerful in speech and action.”

I suppose the lesson is that God will help us to speak whenever he wants us to say something important. We just need to trust him more.

Posted in Christian Living, Current Events, Leadership | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Winter of Our Content

Posted on January 26, 2011 by jesustrek

My wife and I moved a year ago this month. I don’t advise anyone to move in January in Indiana, but that’s what we did.

Considering our circumstances at the time, you might think we would have had a winter of unrest, to say the least. I had just resigned from a ministry without knowing where my next position would be. We planned to live on my wife’s income from her part-time job until God gave me my next assignment. We had found a temporary place to live, which meant moving twice.

On top of all that, I was in the middle of a slow recovery from major surgery on my left (dominant) hand. I was unable to help load and unload our belongings. Karen had to drive the truck back to the rental dealership. There was snow on the ground, and more was coming down as I followed behind in our car.

You would think we would be at least a bit discouraged about our circumstances, but we weren’t. Maybe we were naïve. Or maybe we were experiencing what Paul felt when he wrote “…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…” (Phil.4:12).

I just know that as I drove along the highway on that cold, snowy day, I was feeling quite satisfied to be in God’s hands and following his will. It was going to be a good winter.

Posted in Christian Living | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

No Slam Dunk

Posted on January 25, 2011 by jesustrek

University of Kentucky basketball player Stacey Poole recently fumbled away a ball while trying to execute a flashy dunk rather than simply shooting a layup. When head coach John Calipari asked Poole why he didn’t just lay the ball in the basket, he replied, “Because you don’t understand my game.” To which Calipari responded, “I do. That’s why I’m not playing you much.”

Jesus teaches that those who want to do great things for the Lord will first have to prove themselves faithful in what might seem to be small matters. Matt.25:21 says, “His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

I fear that many players on the Lord’s team feel that their Coach is keeping them on the sidelines for no good reason. They are ready to plant a new church, go to a foreign mission field, write the next top song on the Christian charts, start a nationwide revival or perform some other great feat for the kingdom.

Perhaps God has something like this in mind for you to do. But maybe he is just waiting to see if you can make a layup.

Posted in Christian Living, Sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Joy of Life

Posted on January 23, 2011 by jesustrek

My wife and I once took into our home a young lady who was going through an unexpected pregnancy. She made arrangements to have her child adopted by a Christian couple.

When the baby arrived, I got to spend some time with that precious, beautiful girl in the hospital. I remember holding her on my chest while she slept. Our hearts beat together, and I was filled with joy to experience being a small part of helping that newborn have a good, safe start in life.

We kept in touch with the adoptive parents, and about five years after her birth, we visited the little girl and her family. The youngster acted shy at first, but she soon warmed up to me, and eventually jumped up into my arms for a big, long hug.

She occupied the exact same position on my chest as she had five years earlier. Once again our hearts beat together, and I felt a rush of pure joy.

I urge you to get involved with the pro-life movement in some significant way. It will do your heart good.

Posted in Christian Living, Culture | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Save All the Babies

Posted on January 22, 2011 by jesustrek

Columnist Michael Kinsley recently promoted his pro-abortion views in an article he wrote that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. He tried to argue that frozen human embryos are not human beings. He says that the test of this belief goes something like this: Suppose there was a fire destroying your house and you had the choice of rescuing either a one-year-old baby or two test tubes containing an embryo each. Would you really go for the test tubes and let the baby die?

I would try to save all of the babies.

What would you do?

Posted in Christian Living, Culture | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Knowing What to Do

Posted on January 21, 2011 by jesustrek

Someone once asked me why I never coached a basketball team at some level. I never had seriously thought about it. I do like the game, and I think I have a basic understanding of how it should be played. I can usually tell you what I believe should have happened in a certain situation.

Then it occurred to me—there is a huge difference between coaching and analyzing a game. The analyst tells what should have taken place; the coach has to decide what should happen next. One gives advice after the fact; the other offers leadership at the critical moment.

The Bible says that among King David’s men were the “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do…” (1 Chron.12:32).

I think most churches need more “men of Issachar”. There are all kinds of people who can tell you how the church did the wrong things in the 1970s or the right things in the 1990s. However, few and far between are the people who understand the times today and know what to do right now.

The current times certainly present a lot of challenges, but along with those challenges we find great opportunities. Let’s pray that God will raise up insightful leaders in his kingdom, and that churches will be blessed with people who are knowledgeable and who understand what God’s people must do in the times in which we live today.

Posted in Christian Living, Church, Leadership, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Keeping the Peace

Posted on January 20, 2011 by jesustrek

Tension was high as elected officials debated about how to run the local government. There was no consensus about how to proceed, and the discussion was getting heated. At this point, a wise, experienced former politician who was in the audience was granted permission to speak. His advice was well-received, and the meeting was soon adjourned before tempers got out of hand.

I learned about this incident from a report in the local newspaper. A few days later, I ran into the former politician, who happens to be a friend of mine. I told him I had a Bible verse for him—“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matt.5:9).  We shared a laugh and went our separate ways.

Peacemaking is not an easy job, but there certainly are a lot of opportunities. Conflicts often arise in government, at work, in the family and even in the church. When such situations occur, we are all blessed when children of God say and do things to bring peace out of turmoil.

Posted in Christian Living | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

What’s Your Sign?

Posted on January 19, 2011 by jesustrek

“What’s your sign?” used to be a common conversation starter. Most everyone knew the answer to the question, even if they knew little about the zodiac and had serious doubts that the position of the stars had anything to do with how their day would go.

Suddenly things have changed. There has been a huge shake-up in the world of astrology. A 13th sign of the zodiac has been added, and many people have had their sign change. According to this new information, you may have just had a complete personality overhaul without realizing it!

I’ve long thought that Christians should pay no attention to the signs of the zodiac. First of all, because common sense tells us that our horoscope has no influence on our day, or how we should make decisions.

Second, the Bible ridicules the idea of horoscopes. Notice the Lord’s sarcasm in Isaiah 47:13—“All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.”

If you didn’t already believe that horoscopes are at best a silly waste of time, the recent changes should convince you. Don’t put your trust in anything or anyone who is subject to random changes. Put your trust in Jesus. Heb.13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Posted in Christian Living, Communion Meditations, Current Events | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment