It's Football Season

I love football. Played it for nine years in my younger day, but I still watch it whenever I can be it at a high school game or a college or pro game on TV. Several years ago two sportscasters were discussing the great professional running backs of all time. They came to Walter Payton, an all-time leading ground gainer in the NFL.

"What a runner," said the first commentator. "Did you know that all together, Walter Payton has gained over 9 miles rushing in his career?"

The second commentator thought for a moment and then responded, "And to think that every 4.6 yards of that way, someone was knocking him down."

Does that describe your life? ...a long journey with somebody knocking you down every few yards. Peter wrote to a group of people in 1 & 2 Peter who were getting knocked down and finding it difficult to get back up.

I have been doing a weekly series with our young adults called, "Living It Up!" You can follow along if you like by going to Paradigm Talk

"I AM LISTENING"

You may want to read Genesis 22:1-18 from The Message. Here are some thoughts as we approach this Father's Day.

A godly father is one who takes time to hear what is going on all around him and obeys God implicitly.

1. Abraham heard God speak (verse 1).
2. Abraham was not immersed in his own self-centeredness; he heard his son, Isaac, speak (verses 7-8).
3. Abraham heard God speak a second time in the midst of this difficult moment (verse 11).

Abraham's faith influenced not only his immediate family, but also the succeeding generations.

WHEN THE EXCITEMENT FADES

I have always enjoyed reading the final chapter of the Gospel of John. Biblical scholars have long debated why the 21st chapter was added to the Gospel of John. It seems as though the Gospel of John should have end with the last couple of verses of John 20.

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (Jn 20:30-31 NIV)

Chapter 21 begins like it’s an addendum or epilogue or a P.S. chapter (like the way we end many of our letters, and then have an additional thought to share with the people or audience we are writing to). John seems to want to add something to the Resurrection story that he believes is very important to his readers. John wants to emphasize the reality of the Resurrection!

I want to share three insights with you.

First Insight, Past Failures Haunt Us!

Peter:
He was suffering from the hangover of denial. He bragged that he would never deny the Lord. When a servant-girl confronted him, Peter, vehemently defended himself. He denied the Lord three times. In fact, on his third denial, he called down curses on himself. The rooster crowed. The Lord look toward Peter and their eyes undoubtedly met. How could he ever forget that last look? He wept bitterly. That memory of failure must have plagued him and harassed him.

Thomas:
Had his problems. He was a confirmed pessimist. He was known as “doubting Thmas.” Unless he saw the nail imprints in Jesus’ hands and could put his hand in Jesus’ side, he could not believe. He was controlled and haunted by his past doubts.

Nathaniel:
He was another doubter. He was a skeptic. When his friend Philip told him about Jesus, Thomas responded in John 1:46; “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

Two sons of Zebedee (two brothers, James and John):
Both were fiery kind of guys. They always stuck together. Rough and tough fishermen. Known as Sons of Thunder. James was nowhere to be found when the going got tough and the pressure was on. They had walked with Jesus but at crunch time, they became more concerned about themselves. At least John did come back at the cross.

Two others, unknown by name (possibly Philip and Andrew):
They all had a past that seems to have immobilized them. Jesus said, “Anyone who starts plowing and keeps looking back isn’t worth a thing in God’s kingdom!” Luke 9:62.

The problem with past failures is that they don’t stay in the past. They travel with you into the present. It brings frustration with your present. Returning to yesterday, brings frustration with today, the present. That is why they were at the Sea of Galilee. They were frustrated. They had lost purpose and meaning.

Second Insight, Failure Is a Demoralizing Experience!

Peter and his friends did what we often do after experiencing disappointment and failure. They went back to what they do were doing before Jesus had called them. The passage then tells us how they went fishing all night and caught nothing. The sense of failure and frustration was continuing. Most of the fishing in the Sea of Galilee was done at night. Despite the fact that they were expert fishermen (it had been their livelihood), the disciples labored throughout the night and caught nothing. It must have been an unusual experience for them.

Have you ever, like those fishermen, expended a lot of energy and resources in a project or task but failed to see any positive results? Everything seemed gone to these disciples, 3 ½ years, what does it show? Now they are trying to salvage something of their lives by running back to their past. They were trying to rebuild their broken dreams by reconstructing the past. But it can’t be done.

Third Insight, The Resurrection Buries Your Past, Changes the Present, and Impacts Your Future!

Jesus returns to Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, John, and possibly Andrew and Philip (we don’t know for sure if it was these two), because he wanted them to know that their failures and denials were not going to prevent them from being important instruments by which he was going to change the world. Jesus wasn’t finished with Peter or the others because of their failure. In reality he was just beginning with them.

Verses 4-8 demonstrate what God can do with a night or lifetime of failure. There may be no more of an inspiring or hopeful scene in all the word of God than this one. Here is Jesus Christ, and what do we find him doing? Cooking breakfast for a group that had abandoned him!

Jesus comes not only to places we worship, but to the places where we work, live, and play. Jesus wants us to experience the explosive power of the Resurrection in our everyday existence, as well. He wants to empower and transform the totality of our existence. The empty nets of the disciples were symbolical of their lives – empty! Jesus is willing to provide for lives in great ways, if we are willing to totally give ourselves to his kingdom. He always welcomes us back, even when we a defeated and have failed.

The Coffee and Church Experience

This will probably start a coffee war. Dunkin Donuts encourages Americans to be busy and on the go. "America runs on Dunkin." Its a great drive through atmosphere. Starbucks is all about creating an experience through music, friendly baristas, hanging out, and enjoying the socialization and relationships that can develop. Its about rest and relaxation. Green Mountain makes me think of independence and "The Green Mountain Boys." However it wasn't an independent spirit that won the Revolutionary War. It was the intedependency of the State malitias to forge a war as a Continental Army. Now how does this all fit into the community of believers? My choice for coffee? You guessed it. Yes, I am *$ addicted.

The Four Seasons

Spring is only a week away. I can't wait as I am not really a winter person and here I am living and ministering in Maine. Go figure. This got me to thinking about seasons. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says that "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." We live in four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. I think of Spring is a season for planting, Summer as a time for harvest, Fall as time for storing or consolidating, and Winter as a time for lifelessness or hibernation.

There are seasons in in the church too. Right now Paradigm, a ministry to twenty-somethings that I am facilitating is in the growth mode (harvest time). There has been a 100% increase in attendance within the last four weeks. This has me and these young adults rejoicing. At the same time it has me thinking about the next season to come and what should be done.

Bill Hybels in his book, axiom, describes the leaders responsibility to know the seasons. He mentions five. Four of them compare with the seasonal changes I have already mentioned. They are (1) season of growth, (2) season of consolidation, (3) season of transition, (4) season of malaise, and (5) season reinvention. We might apply these seasonal changes not only to organizational changes but also to personal changes in our lives.

Your Financial House In Uncertain Times

The Difference Between Prosperity, Recession and Depression:
“During prosperity you are annoyed because the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive canned food you buy for them; In a recession you are delighted that the dog and cat won’t eat the expensive food; and in a depression you begin to look thoughtfully at the dog and cat.” - unknown

The financial crisis we are facing is consuming our thoughts. How can we insulate our ourselves from the recession around us? What should we do when a recession comes to our house? Is there a way out of a personal recession?

Consider the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-16). Elijah had said that there would be no rain or dew in the next few years. And there wasn’t. In fact it would be 3 ½ years before it would rain again. The Lord had commanded Elijah to go to the brook at Kerith Ravine and there the ravens would feed him and he could drink from the brook. But now, even the brook has dried up and God directs Elijah to go to Zarephath where a widow also had been commanded of the Lord to supply him food.

The drought was still present. Everyone was suffering. No one (not even God’s servant) was immune from the effects of it. And now he comes into the community and the first person he meets is this widow. What he saw must have been utterly discouraging. He saw a thin, haggard woman with deep lines burrowed into face. Anxiety and suffering had made their mark. Her clothing probably matched her face, faded and threadbare. She tottered and groped as she searched for a few sticks. She and her child faced their last meal. It was beyond their imagination that there might be hope. All her assets were exhausted. There was very little left.

It was a moment of supreme test of faith! For Elijah, it meant depending on this widow who had almost nothing, to be obedient and provide for his need that which she apparently believed she did not have. For the widow of Zeraphath, it meant believing the word of the Lord, “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.”

Ever come to a point where you feel you have reached the bottom of the barrel? There is nothing left to reach for – there is nothing left to give? That’s recession!

Here are three timely principles for us to remember at such a time of financial crisis:

1. Don't Panic.

Don’t give up! I am a New England Patriots fan. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them during them. In their 2004 Super Bowl, with 1 ½ minutes to play and the score tied, 29-29 against the Carolina Panthers, everyone, including the John Madden, commentator for CBS, were talking about the Patriots need to use up the clock and regroup during overtime. I kept shouting at the TV, “No, No, No! Go for it! There is plenty of time.” Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady apparently must have heard me. New England moved the ball down the field and won the game on a field goal during regulation play. There was no panic and there was no need for overtime.

It’s when we are desperate and do not panic that God can engineer our winning moment. The first thing we must do when the recession reaches into our house is not to panic.

2. Trust God.

Sometimes our faith is more like when I was a young boy and was being taught by my father how to swim. Splashing wildly with both arms and kicking with one leg, I cried out, “Look at me, Look at me. I’m swimming!” But all the time I was holding onto the bottom of the lake with my big toe. Many of us are like that in our faith. “I have faith!” we declare, but it is an untested faith. It is a tentative faith. One toe remains on the bottom.

It is an enormous step of faith for some of us to abandon our fears and trust God with our meager resources. Later that same summer, my dad took me out on a row boat far from land and dumped me in some deep water. I quickly learned to swim. Dad was never far from me. (Too often our faith is like Credit card faith.)

Elizabeth Elliot once said, “To know God is to trust God; to trust God is to obey God!”

Proverbs: 3:5-6 NIV

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will direct your path.”

During a financial crisis, the worst thing you can do is stop giving! Don’t stop tithing. Don’t stop helping others. Don’t stop being generous! The promise to the widow was (vv. 14): “The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.” The promise of God to you is “I will supply all your needs according to Christ riches in glory.” (Philippians 4:19)

3. Someone Is Always Watching.

That someone is God! In Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21: 1-4, it was Jesus who watched the widow drop her two small coins in the offering at the Temple. Those coins represented all she had in the world and she was willing to turn them over to God. That’s faith! Jesus commended her faith, for she gave out of her poverty, not out of her riches.

Someone was also watching after the widow of Zeraphath. It was the Lord who directed Elijah to the widow with the solution. Give what you have and God will provide more than enough for your needs. Your jar of flour will not be used up and your jug of oil will not run dry until the day that the Lord gives rain on the land. The way out of your personal recessions is through your continued liberal and faithful giving.

And it was God who was watching out for Elijah! God used a widow who was about to cook her last meal to provide for him. Give what you have and God will provide more than enough for your needs.