Well it’s the longest day of the year and there’s lot of sunlight out there. So get out and enjoy it! And remember what a wonderful gift you posses as you go
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV)
Keep Fighting!
Oh and Happy Birthday West Virginia!
I am so stoked today I can’t hardly stand it. As most of you know, I am a huge WVU fan. And West Virginia ended up the Orange Bowl last night with a pretty impressive victory over the Clemson Tigers. My excitement is to such an extend that I could barely sleep last night and I can’t hardly stop myself from posting on Facebook!!!
Pretty ridiculous really, That much joy from watching 20 year old kids play a game? Especially when you consider that all I did was sit on my couch in my climate controlled room watching the game on my High Definition big screen TV. I didn’t practice, I didn’t call a play, I didn’t run a play. All I did was claim that team as my own and cheer away – and believe. (Although, I can say I was pretty nervous in the first quarter!)
And yet, the joy overflows this morning! I wonder if it will last past the time I walk through the office doors!
Wow, sort of reminds me of something else. Something else that I did absolutely nothing to attain, except to believe. Something that was done for me, for free. Something I didn’t ask for, but has been given.
9-11Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah! (Romans 5:9-11 MSG)
Double Joy! Maybe even Triple Joy!
And this joy is unstoppable.
So in reality the effects of this game will wear off – and the old Mountaineers will lose again sometime in the future(maybe), but the true joy that comes from the Messiah, the Christ is there forever.
Pretty sweet uh!
Football season kicked off last night in grand style. I even found myself slipping out of bed a few times to check out what happened to the Pitt overtime game and the USC game. Finally a sport to watch again ( sorry baseball fans!)
Anyway, as most men know the uniforms are half of the deal when the team takes the field. Several times after the last few years teams have changed colors in the locker room before entering the field for the game with the intention of creating come motivation and inspiring the crowd. Even my wife tells my boys “looking good on the field is most important”.
Anyway, earlier this week Nike released it’s new “Pro Combat” uniforms for a few selected schools. And you guessed it the Mountaineers were in the mix this year. They will were their uniforms against Pitt later this year. It’s amazing the buzz this has created with Mountaineer fans, and I assume with the other team’s fans that are in the mix this year. I can only assume the players are pretty excited as well.
So why? Why is the uniform so much more than just a shirt and britches? Why is so important that your uniforms like so tough and bad? Why do teams like to wear that menacing all black? We know, because it tells who we are. It expresses what we feel about ourselves. In football, its say I am ready and I am playing hard and I am going to play as good as look. We look the part that we want to be.
So what about our life, especially our spiritual lives? Well check Galatians out:
26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ Galatians 3:26-28 (New International Version)
Paul says Jesus Christ is our uniform! Can you think of anything more menacing in spiritual warfare then to be wearing the son of God? We are clothed with him, we have put in on!
For some odd reason, I have made the picture of the new WVU uniforms my background on my computer. Really, I am not sure why. But I can say that every time I see it, I get a little bit of extra motivation, as if I were putting those one someday. Which is really sort of childish, isn’t’? But what I am realizing is in the spiritual battle, I am wearing a uniform that is so much cooler and lighter weight and refreshing then the Pro Combats from Nike. The question is will I play like it today!
Put on the uniform that Christ gave you, and realize that you look ready for combat in them. Play like it today!
Growing up in West Virginia, I never thought much about them, but my recent Memorial Day tour de West Virginia, with my children, I was reminded again about this roadside attraction that is very common to West Virginia, although not exclusively there. All over the state on the side of the road you can find two things – barns painted with Chew Mail Pouch and a blue cross flanked by two yellow ones. No, the barn and the crosses are usually not found together, and yes it’s the crosses that I am talking about. I had seen them all my life essentially, and although I regconized the event they are meant to acknowledge, they really had become so common place, that I drove by these for years and really just ignored them.
But on my recent trip I told the story of why they are there to my boys. The fascination with the crosses was new again and for the entire weekend, they pointed out every time they saw one the side of the road. Our favorite being out on a small island at the very end of the New River where it meets the Gauley and becomes the Kanawha.
So, two things. First, its pretty amazing someone will stand up and get the message of the Christ out with there in some a bold way like this. Its interesting to Google about these crosses and see how many people have heard about Christ because of these crosses. (try it Google “three crosses West Virginia”)
Secondly, sometimes, we need reminders to keep us focused. We need a guide to keep us going, and to keep the promise fresh and new. Isn’t it great when with youthful exuberance you can yell “there’s a cross”, or “there’s the Lord” in your own life!
Recently I have been listening to this song by Everyday Sunday
I will stand up now
I will not step down
I will do my best to wear this crown
But I need You as You guide me through today – Stand Up Now – Everyday Sunday
Get out there today and stand up, wear your crown, and maybe the thought of these crosses on a moutain in West Virginia will help guide you today. What crown you ask.. Check it here:
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Ps 103:1-62 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
For some reason when I posted this this morning, it posted as May 1, instead of June 1. Weird Stuff….. So here is June 1st post at the end of the day!
I witnessed the second longest soccer game of my life on Friday night! ( for those who don’t know, the game was delayed 2.5 hours because of lightning before it even started this time and then went all the way down to PKs again before the Buccaneers pulled off the great victory), Anyway, after that game we loaded up the family truckster and meander our way through Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky and eventually spent 2 days explore the coal fields of West Virginia on our way back to “grandma’s house”. We witnessed historic sights, interesting architecture, backwoods that make banjos play in your mind, beautiful aspects of nature that show God’s handiwork, excellent tourists traps, and strange oddities. We even took a mental trip trough family history as we traveled to Butchersville, WV, just outside of Weston and toured the grave of heroes where so many of my historical grandparents lie, and then spent a great day with family. But even after all of that goodness, there is still something about going home. So today, we will embark of quite a straight shot(as straight as you can in West Virginia) south to our home.
That sort of reminds me of the Christians life. Its not a perfect comparison, but I need to provide you some encouragement today to get your going after an awesome holiday weekend. As much as we love the things that we put our hands to here, we are always looking to someplace else. Our focus in life is not the roadside attractions, nor other great things of this world, but our focus in is our Savior who helps shape and direct our lives.
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (New International Version)
Enjoy the day, and keep your focus