Walk by Faith Through the Minefield

   A while back I was a coach for a soccer team. It was the beginning of the season and many of the girls hadn't played together. The team needed to work on working together. I decided to do a team bonding day.
   I set up a grid and put cones in the middle. The girls got a partner and a ball. They had to start on one side of the grid and dribble through a gate on the other side of the field. The catch was they had a blindfold on. Their partner had to guide the girl with the ball through the grid without touching a cone, which was a mine.
   Many of the girls did well at following directions from their partner. No one touched any of the mines; but, some of the pairs took longer than others. For certain girls it was difficult to give directions or to listen to directions.
   This activity teaches good communication. I have told my girls that talking and communication are different. At one point in the season we were in a huddle and everyone was talking at the same time but no one was listening. Communication involves talking and listening.
   In our lives, we also feel like we are walking through a minefield at times. We have so many problems and stress and we don't know how to get past them. That's when we need to stop and communicate with God. That means we talk to God and then listen to what he is calling us to do. We may not actually hear him talk but we know he works through coincidences. If we listen God tells us which way we need to go to get around our problems (mines). We just need to walk by faith instead of by sight.
   So, do you feel like you are in a minefield of problems? Have you tried communicating with God to ask him for help? Are you walking by faith?

   2 Corinthians 5:7, Psalm 119:115, Proverbs 3:5-6

   Image from here.

I'm Busy

  Once there was a man who was very successful at his job. He got to come into work when he wanted to, he chose when he left, he was paid a salary many people could only dream about, and he went home to a large mansion where he lived with his family.
   One day this man was walking through the office. He was about to take his phone out to catch up on emails when he looked at one of his employees. She was usually a hard worker but she was at her desk crying. The man went back and forth for 30 seconds. Should he ask her what's going on? No, she would get over it and he had to get home. He had more work to do.
   On the way home he stopped at a red light and saw a man on the side of the road with a sign. It said "Homeless, please help, God bless." The man wondered why the man was homeless and thought about helping. Then he thought, "he will probably just use the money to buy beer."
   The man finally got home. His wife welcomed him at the door and he gave her a kiss. Then his son came bounding up to him. The man hugged his son and he was about to ask his son about his day when his phone rang. The man put his son down and saw that his boss was calling. He said, "I need to take care of this." Then he answered the phone. By the time he got off the phone and had dealt with the problem his son was already in bed and his wife was about to go to bed.
   Why am I telling you this story? What was wrong with this man's life? Some of you may say, "nothing." Others may say this man is too busy. If every day continued in that same pattern for that man then he is too busy. Yes, you can work hard for your family but work can become an idol, or can take you away from what really matters.
   Billy Graham once said: "We hurt people by being too busy. Too busy to notice their needs. Too busy to drop that note of comfort or encouragement or assurance of love. Too busy to listen when someone needs to talk. Too busy to care." This man had the chance to show his employee, the homeless man, and his family that he cares. Instead, if he continues down this path, he could lose everything that really matters. Yes, it is nice to have financial security, a big home, a good car, a cushy job, etc. However, when this man is older who will he have to share his life with? The greatest commandment comes down to loving God and loving others. If we love God then we will love others.
   What could this man do to show he cares? He could take 5 minutes or more out of his day to ask his employees how they are doing. He could give the homeless man some food. He could spend time with his family. It may mean that he takes a pay cut, loses a promotion, or has to say no to big projects but none of those things matter in eternity.
   So, are you too busy to show God's love to others? What can you do to show love to others today?

   Romans 12:9-13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Matthew 6:25-34

   Image from here.

Jesus Doesn't Give Up on You

   I loved my dog Yoyo. When he was alive, we used to play a game every Sunday. We would come home from church and I would let him outside. I would then hide in the house in different places. Someone would let Yoyo in. Now, if you knew Yoyo, you knew that he doesn't have a very good sense of smell. He would run around searching for me anywhere from 1 minute-10 minutes. I would laugh and call him if he had a hard time finding me; but there's one thing you could say about Yoyo, he never gives up.
   Yoyo would search for me and he wouldn't stop till he found me. He did that because he loves me. There's someone who does this for you and his name is Jesus. Sometimes we run away from Jesus, like Adam and Eve ran and hid after they sinned. God knew where Adam and Eve were but he still searched for them until they were ready to say: "here we are (I'm paraphrasing here)."
   We run away from God in our sin as well. We decide we know better or we don't want to follow God's will (like Jonah) and we run and hide. God, in his everlasting love and patience, searches for us. He calls us back to him. Sometimes we don't want to come back. We like our sin and want to stay in it. God still waits and calls. Sometimes we feel unworthy to come back to God because of everything we've done. God still accepts us back. He is the Good Shepherd who brings us back to his flock because he loves us unconditionally.
   So, have you run from God? Do you realize that God loves you and calls you back to him because he loves you? Will you follow God no matter the cost?

   Hebrews 13:5 and John 10:27-30

   Image from here. 

Freedom Bought By War: Independence Day

   Many, many years ago America declared independence from Great Britain. That didn't mean that we were automatically free. We had to fight for it. We had to go to war. We fought for many years and we prevailed because we didn't give up. That's why we are a free country today. But, there is another battle many are still fighting today for freedom. I'm not talking about physical freedom, although there are people who still are not physically free. I'm talking about spiritual freedom.
   Many years before America was ever even thought about, there was another battle that happened. This was the most important battle ever in the history of Man. The battle was won, but the war isn't over (even though we know the ending). Jesus died on the cross to save us from sin. Jesus won the battle we couldn't ever win. Jesus fought the devil and won. He won all of our souls back. Now, we still need to choose him, but we are free to choose Jesus.
   I said the war isn't over because it's not. We know the ending (check out Revelation 19-22). Jesus wins. That doesn't mean that the Devil has given up. He still fights us every day. He tries to make us slide back into sin. He doesn't want us to follow Jesus. He wants us to stay in captivity of sin. He doesn't want us to be free.
   Jesus gives us freedom. He takes away our sin. If we accept/invite him into our hearts, if we believe that he came to save us from our sins, if we confess that we are sinners he frees us from sin.
   So, have you given your burdens to Jesus? Have you chosen to follow Jesus? What can you do to grow in God today?

   1 John 1:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 6:23

   Image from here.