It's Been a while.............

Okay, so a lot has happened since my last post. I was on a roll with the once a week posting, and then life happened. I have a lot on my mind and a lot in my heart that I want to share with people. Here is a list of some things that have happened the last 6 weeks.

1. My father spent 9 days in a hospital and my siblings and I have moved him to live with my oldest brother to rehabilitate his health.

2. My wife and I brought Dawson Maddox Michael Reed into the world!

3. I took a 4 day, 3 game, guys only trip across the U.S. watching football.

4. I have realized that I am called by Christ to live every moment of my life doing things that affect the Kingdom of God in a positive way.

I won't get into details about 1-3. There is too much. So I will take advantage of this forum to express what the Spirit of God is putting on my heart.

In today's message Matt T. spoke about how being good at something like a team one must practice to be able to perform at a high level on game day. Every team is only a strong as it's weakest link, ask my friend the chain and see how much it can tow when a link is broken.

I am going to go on a tangent here for a second. Do you know what a major difference between a teaching pastor and a congregant? I have noticed that a lot of teaching pastors out there have notes and an outline, but rarely appear to be reading from them. Why? Because the message of the Holy Spirit is written in their hearts and it is a part of them. They can quote verses and speak messages from their hearts just like you and I can tell a story about our child being born or our first kiss which our significant other.

For me to execute item #4, I must practice! What is my practice? For one, it is to have the word of God in my heart, not on my bookshelf collecting dust. For two, it is to spend time daily communicating with God and listening to his whispers. ( If you didn't know, it seems that God whispers much more than he screams, so if you are looking for a scream from God to hear him, good luck!)

But what does having God's word in my heart have to do with getting ready for the game? Let's remind ourselves what the game is, it is to live every moment impacting the Kingdom in a positive way. So when do we play the game? Every moment of every day. At work? Yes. At home? Yes. Out with the guys on bowling night? Yes.

If someone struggles with lust in their heart, speaking Matt 5:28 can give them strength. Jesus fought temptation by quoting the scriptures. If you think you can be successful at playing the game by opening your bible once a week at church to read along with the message and then another time during a small group and read along, and not put the scripture in your heart (memorizing) and speaking it out in your life, you are fooling yourself. Do you think Michael Phelps or Tiger Woods, the greatest in the world at what they do, only practice a few hours a week by watching other people practice? Of course not! They spend many hours a week with intense training and practice to get ready for their games. They have practiced so much they can do what they do in their sleep!

If you expect to be successful at item #4 without putting the word of God in your heart, you need to wake up. Don't lie to yourself and think you can win the game all alone!