Committing Errors

Posted on October 15, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Committing Errors
Romans 7:21

Almost two years ago exactly, October 14, 2003, millions of Chicago Cubs fans wept. They saw a stellar season go down the drain. Two things happened in the fatal 8th inning of the Cubs vs. Marlins game that night in Chicago. The first bad thing was an uncaught foul ball hit into the left field stands. The other bad thing was an error by the shortstop (Alex Rodriquez) which gave the Marlins the chance to score many times that inning. I remember it like it was yesterday. My heart still hurts. As you might imagine, I am a huge Cubs fan.

That error cost the Cubs a chance at the World Series. It’s like committing a sin which will keep you out of Heaven. Can you even imagine such a sin? I may yet see Alex Rodriguez (the shortstop who committed the error) in Heaven. Committing an error that keeps the Cubs out of the World Series may or may not be the unpardonable sin.  As for us, we commit errors or sins as we call them, quite often. Is any one of them big enough to keep us out of the World Series, I mean Heaven? From my understanding, our sins can be forgiven, all of them. Period.

Unbelief in God is the only sin which cannot be forgiven. Look at the logic behind that statement. How can a sin be forgiven if one does not believe in the only one with the right and power to forgive sins? We have a wonderful and merciful God.

Unfortunately, committing errors (sins) is a way of life which doesn’t end with baptism. We don’t become perfect saints when we become Christians. That is simply when we are initially forgiven. It’s a struggle to live a less error filled life. We need to be in God’s word. Meditating on what we read. We need to be on our knees in prayer. We need to be ready to do battle with the enemy, not the opposing baseball team, but Satan. Read what our verse of the day says. It speaks about our struggle to live with fewer errors.

I pray we will all commit to the struggle of living more Christ-like lives.

Sin

Swinging at Bad Pitches

Posted on October 7, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Swinging at Bad Pitches
Galatians 5:23

One of the most difficult Christian disciplines is self-control. Eating, anger, lust, television watching, shopping, drinking, and other types of addictive behaviors are curbed when a person possesses self-control. I relate this to baseball when a batter faces a pitcher. Since the baseball playoffs are taking place now, I think some baseball analogies may be appropriate for the next couple weeks.

The batter steps up to the plate. The pitcher gets the signal from the catcher, pauses, and then looks the runner back to first base. Another pause, a stare at the catcher, the windup and the pitch. Fastball down the middle, strike one! Another pitch, another quick strike. But now the count is 0 balls and 2 strikes. For some reason, there is an unwritten rule in baseball that a pitcher does not throw a strike on this ball/strike count. This batter has never been known for discipline. He’s a free swinger, always swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He has no self-control. The pitcher stares at the catcher, he sees the sign, the catcher wants a curveball low and outside of the strike zone. Here comes the slow and winding pitch towards the plate and then it swoops way outside the strike zone; the batter swings nonetheless.

The batter did not have self-control. As Christians, when we act in a way that isn’t in accordance to God’s will, we are actually swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. I believe not having self-control in any matter, no matter how small, is outside of God’s will. When was the last time you swung at a bad pitch (exhibited no self-control)? Was it at the buffet restaurant you visited last week? Was it when your child misbehaved and you got angry? Was it when a co-worker messed up a project and your bad attitude got the better of you? Was it when you went shopping for shoes and you bought three pairs? Or was it when you sat down to watch an hour of television and stayed there for five hours?

There are so many ways we swing at pitches outside the strike zone. Let us pray for more self-control, and strive to swing only at strikes from now on. We’ll be better batters (I mean Christians) for having this discipline.

In Christ,
Brian 

Christian Graces

Give Thanks in All Circumstances

Posted on September 24, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Give Thanks in All Circumstances?
I Thessalonians 5:18

At the end of First Thessalonians, Paul gives us a bunch of exhortations. A few of these exhortations (things he wants us to do), just aren’t done by Christians very much. I want to look at two of them today.

Let me begin on a lighter note. Verse 26 says to greet the brothers with a holy kiss. Okay, it’s obvious why we don’t do that.

Now onto the more serious matter. Verse 18 says we are to give thanks in all circumstances. Am I the only one that finds that one difficult. I am personally not living in the best of circumstances. I don’t mean physically. The present circumstance in which I’m living, is total uncertainty about many aspects in my life.

The Bible says I’m to give thanks in this circumstance? That’s unbelievable! But if things go right, this circumstance should lead me to a closer relationship with God. And for that, I should be thankful, very thankful.

I’m sure there are some circumstances in your life that may not be the greatest either. But … if we are living right, have a good spiritual support system from our Christian brothers and sisters, our elders, and ministers, and if we are going to our Father in prayer as we should, a closer relationship with God will result. I think that is one way in which we can give thanks in all circumstances.

Struggles

Interdependency

Posted on September 17, 2005 by gophumek | Permalink 0

Interdependency
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

A teacher of mine once told us about how he almost froze to death. He was camping with some young Boy Scouts in a mountainous area in Arizona. He found out the biblical truth concerning friendships and closeness. In his case, it was physical closeness. He and his fellow Boy Scouts slept that night in the mountains close together. This was the way they stayed warm. Well, this is the way they kept from freezing. I don’t know how warm they were.

Look at Ecclesiastes 4:11, “Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” The surrounding verses also look at how important others are to us. We should never become “dependent” on another person. But we should be “interdependent” on one another. There is a big difference. We are made to need one another. It’s a circle. We are made to benefit from others. But we are also made to be beneficial to others. This is the idea of interdependency.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 brilliantly shows us the God given gift of interdependency. Is it time to re-evaluate your life? Are you a part of an interdependent body of Christ? Is your church family using its individual gifts to help one another? Do you have a small circle of friends that possess this interdependent spirit? I believe God desires us to live according to his biblical guidance. I believe God wants us to be interdependent people. And remember, God is the creator and sustainer of life which, like it or not, cannot be lived in isolation.

Servanthood, Struggles