NFL Predictions and HOPE

I'm so ready for football, It is right around the corner and I am already making my predictions. That is the fun thing about the preseason, there is so much hope, your favorite team that has been lousy for the last few years now has a chance to go all the way. As a Texans fan my hope is often diminished by week 3 or 4. But this year hope overcomes reason, that's right I again predict that the Texans will go deep into the playoffs. They will lose in the AFC championship game to the Jets. I hate the Jets, but I think they will go all the way to the big game and lose to the Cowboys. Thats right that is my prediction, the Cowboys win it all.


That all sounds crazy I know, but hope causes us to go against the grain, it us gives the ability overcome worldly expectations and dream beyond our ability and ranking. In Romans 5 the Apostle Paul shares with us the power of hope.

"1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5 NIV

The hopeful predictions Paul gives in Romans 5 are founded in Jesus Christ. Jesus has never dissappointed us, He has never failed us, and He never will. There are those who expect us to fail, who look at the resources we have and they predict that we will fall on our face. Without Jesus we have failed, and will continue to fail if our hope is in ourselves. Predicting that the Texans win in the playoffs may seem farfetched, and it is; but what is real is that God's love guarentees us the victory. Whatever struggle you are facing today is actually a pathway to victory, because that struggle leads us to understand that we need God. May the God of grace and love give you strength and fill you with hope.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Praying in the name of Jesus, one of the most traditional things I do. You know what I mean, you pray and at the end you say "in Jesus name, Amen." If you don't say the "in Jesus name" it just doesn't count. That's what the Bible says anyway, right? ... uhhh what? Why are you looking at me that way? Your saying that I'm missing the point? Oh wait, your saying that I am flat out wrong? Ouch!

"9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." John 14:9-14 NIV

When Jesus said to Philip "don't you know me?" He was being very personal. Jesus reminded them of His greatest strength, which was His realtionship with the Father. It was a relationship that went deep, one in which Jesus was so connected to the Father that He knew His Father's will. You know how some old married couples can finish each other's sentences, they do that because they are connected. They have the same desire and will. When Jesus said that we are to ask for things in His name He was not saying that He is the magic genie that makes wishes (prayers) come true. What Jesus is saying is that when we pray in His name we are asking out of a relationship in which we are so connected to Him that we know His will, we know what He desires, we can finish His sentences. To pray in the name of Jesus is to declare a moment by moment relationship with Him. To pray in the name of Jesus is to live in the name of Jesus, to live His will every moment, to live in the Father and the Father live in you. To live in the name of Jesus is to be empowered to overcome temptation and worldliness. To live in the name of Jesus is to be so empowered that we use our talents to love and help others. To live in the name of Jesus is to have the power to do the right things no matter what the dilemma. "In Jesus name" it is not a way to end a prayer, it is a way to live. May God be glorified as we seek to be close to Him. In Jesus name, Amen.

I Already Miss LOST

I am already missing my favorite show, and today I was thinking about how sad it is that I cannot look forward to another season. Anyway these are some thoughts that I forgot to publish last month. Better late than never.

The series finale made sense. It had a very Luke 15 Prodigal Son feel to it. They were lost at first, and at the end the father welcomed Jack back where he belonged, with the people that he needed most. Independently he was lost, but with those people he was found. Very cool.

Other Lost Thoughts.
Were they dead on both the island and on the flash sideways world? I think they were dead only in the purgatory flash sideways world. That doesn't mean they all died at the same time. Hurley might have lived for hundreds of years as the new Jacob before he died. Sawyer and Kate made it off the island. Who knows how far into the future the flash sideways was. My big question is what happened to cause the isalnd to sink? If you remember it was sugmerged at the begining of the final season. Someone removed the stone. Any thoughts out there? I imagine there will be books and graphic novels for years to come that will fill in those blanks.

Go to Entertainment Weekly to check some rather deep thoughts on my favorite show: http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20313460,00.html

The 80 / 20 Rule

In Jim George’s book “A Husband After God's Own Heart” he shares a story about Bud Wilkinson, the legendary coach of the University of Oklahoma football team from 1947 to 1963. Coach Wilkinson once described his game as "50,000 people who desperately need exercise watching 22 men who desperately need rest."
Unfortunately, that's the situation in most churches today. Most of us have heard of the 80 /20 rule; 80% of the work done in a church, business, or organization is done by only 20% of its people. As God’s people we are blessed by His grace and love. Motivated by love God sent His son to this earth to die for our sins. By that act of love we receive the gift of life. It was not a gift that we earned; we received it out of His grace. The apostle Paul once said “by the grace of God I am what I am”, he was one of the hardest working ministers that the church had ever known. So what is the point, it is grace and love that motivates individuals to do good works. Rescue from laziness and apathy is found in the grace and love of God. It is by grace that we are motivated to do more, and it is out of love that we give of ourselves to help others. I encourage you to connect with God in a personal way that would help you appreciate His love for you. Moments with God inspire us to get up and help others, to love others, to give, and to serve. It is by the grace of God that any one of us would become part of the 20% that changes the world. - Vic

“9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”
1 Corinthians 15:9-11 NIV

Facebook. Colossians Series

I have been preaching a sermon series through the book of Colossians called "facebook, what is your status?".

If you own a computer, you probably are on a social networking site called Facebook. On Facebook, people have a place to update their status; it allows us to tell our friends what we are doing or what's on our mind. Your Facebook status basically informs your friends of what you’re doing or feeling. The status of things like our heart, attitude, and thoughts are often determined by where we are going in life. Whenever I’m about to take a vacation my excitement is difficult to contain (it is usually mentioned on my Facebook status). In every moment my status is influenced by the excitement of wherever I am about to go or what I am about to do. Funny thing about facebook is that most us update our status with mundane updates like "I went to the dentist today", "I had a great burrito", or simply "my kids are driving me crazy". The world may look at our status update and say "who cares", but as we read Colossians we begin to see that God cares deeply about our status, he cares about the little things, the simple things, or even the difficult we go through in life. I’m excited about this series because I love the message of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossian church. Paul was reminding the Colossians (and us) that we are to live a life that honors and acknowledges God. He also wanted to remind them that their hope in Heaven and their faith in Jesus would give them the strength to live a life that honors Him. Most importantly our status should always include Him, because with Him we have life.

Happy Independence Day

July 4, 1776 was over 230 years ago, but the events of that day impact what we are doing right now. In the declaration of Independence these words were written:

“We think it is obvious...That all men are created equal. That they have a god given rights, that no one can take away including LIFE, LIBERTY and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

No part of the Declaration of Independence is more right than those words. Only God gives life, freedom, and the blessing of true happiness. Over 230 years ago those words were written to declare independence from oppression, however those words also declare a dependence upon God. Whether it is overcoming oppressive regimes or sin; freedom can only be found in a relationship with God. Today as we celebrate our independence as a nation, do not forget to celebrate our dependence upon the God who gives us real freedom and the blessing of His love and grace. May God bless you this 4th of July.

90 / 10 Principle

Some of you might have heard of the 90/10 Principle written by the author Stephen Covey.

The Follow is from Stephen Covey: I would like to share with you his 90/10 Principle. What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. We have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. We cannot stop the plane from arriving late, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. How? By our reaction. You cannot control a red light., but you can control your reaction.
Here is an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just what happened. What happens when the next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus.
Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter. Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?A) Did the coffee cause it? B) Did your daughter cause it? C) Did the policeman cause it?D) Did you cause it?
The answer is D. You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day. Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need,to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves.You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.
Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Vic's Thoughts: That all makes sense doesn’t it? Some will say it is impossible to react that way, but before we dismiss this idea and say “I can’t control how I react to negative things” I simply ask “where is our faith?” I am a recovering legalists, I relapse sometimes. When I do relapse I find myself trusting me more rather than God. I find myself easily angered, frustrated, and full of excuses of why nothing is my fault. Whenever anyone ever calls me out for being sinful or divisive I simply say this is me, deal with it. To say and believe that we can’t change, that we can’t be more encouraging, or joyful is to live without faith. That is the danger of legalism, it refuses to grow, it settles for less, and it ignores the transforming power of Jesus to turn even the worst of sinners into a kind and loving spirit. To live by faith believes that the spirit of Jesus is continuing to transform us into a loving, obedient, and encouraging members of His body (of His church). To live by faith, is to live a life connected to Jesus every day. We can’t control the events that happen around us, but with the power of Jesus we can control how we react to them. Jesus gives us a reason to live with love and joy. Connect with Him today!