“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5

Count the costs. Significance is often gained at the expense of our character as we are willing to lie and cut ethical corners to be viewed well by others. It makes us defensive when someone seeks to speak the truth in love. This ungodly pursuit embitters our hearts against God over disappointing and unchangeable personal issues like our size, shape, or color. Pursuing our own significance makes us vulnerable to a host of verbal sins, such as gossip, slander, boasting, lying, and immoral chatter. It’s why we are quick to violate basic principles of stewardship by burdening ourselves with debt in order to accumulate things that supposedly enhance our significance is long and serious.

Being driven to protect and advance our sense of significance renders us unable to serve others unless there is an advantage to be gained; unable to sacrifice for a cause that is not our own and unwilling to suffer for that cause if necessary; unable to surrender to any agenda that impedes the progress of our personal persona. In short, it cripples our ability to love God more than ourselves and to live to bring glory to God since, when we are compelled to glorify ourselves, we are unable to glorify Him.

What can we do about this? At the start of his letter to the Colossians, Paul notes that Jesus is the only true significant Person: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.” Yet, as Paul wrote to the Philippians, Jesus did not live to hold on to these things but rather poured Himself out for our benefit by humbling Himself in obedience to His Father.

Don’t miss the point! Jesus---who had every right to celebrate and advance His own significance---chose to serve, surrender, suffer, and sacrifice in order to bring glory to His Father and to rescue us from the grip of hell. As a child of God you already are significant! God is your Father. Significance is no longer a search but a secured reality. And once you are significant in Him, you are free to refocus your obsession to living to glorify His significance and not your own. So, let the attitude of Christ be in you. It’s a significant pursuit worthy of your obsession!

Dependence is Christ-like because…

Matthew 19:16-22: Just then someone came up and asked Him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”
“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” [Jesus] said to him. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
“Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered,
“Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.”
“I have kept all these,” the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?”
“If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.

A very wise, godly lady gave me some advice about a year ago. It was Grace’s mom, Lynn. She said, “Don’t ever acquire anything that you wouldn’t be willing to give away to someone in need.” God’s always using the people who know Him to give us messages to remind us that holding onto things, like stuff we buy, the things that we think are going to give us satisfaction and comfort, are only going to leave us dissatisfied. It’s a futile search to find things to fulfill us when all we need is to know our Creator. HE is the treasure we need to seek and find.

Ya know, this guy in the story from Matthew is not a “bad guy” and I’m not so sure that Jesus really wanted him to sell everything he had. Perhaps Jesus was just trying to see where this guy’s heart was, what he was really wanting in life. His response reveals that he preferred a life of ‘ease, predictability and comfort.’

A prayer: “Lord, thank you for all that you have provided for me. I know that “every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). The greatest of all gifts you given me is Yourself, a real and satisfying relationship with You! Everything else, my family, other relationships, my job, my house, my possessions are just icing on the cake. Enable me, by Your Spirit, to not hold onto the stuff the world has to offer and miss You. I pray these things in the name of the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit, Amen.”

There is perfect joy and beauty in this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief are over, every restless tossing past; I am now at peace forever,

Safely home in heaven at last.

Did you wonder I so calmly trod the Valley of the Shade? Oh, but Jesus’ love illumined every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me in that way so hard to tread; and with Jesus’ arm to lean on, could I have one doubt or dread?
Then you must not grieve so sorely, for I love you dearly still; try to look beyond earth’s shadows, pray to trust our Father’s will.
There is work still waiting for you, so you must not idle stand; do your work while life remaineth---you shall rest in Jesus’ land.
When the work is all completed, He will gently call you home; Oh, the rapture of the meeting! Oh, the joy to see you come!

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalm 116:15

"Because I [Jesus] live, ye shall live also.” John 14:19

“And so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Chapel with UGA Women’s Tennis Team at the 2010 NCAA Regionals

In the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 25-30, Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This past weekend, me, along with our intern, Emily Deans, had the opportunity to spend time with the defending ’09 SEC Champion Georgia Women’s Tennis Team. Our Dawgs swept Harvard on Friday to advance to the 2nd round of Saturday’s NCAA Regionals against the Clemson Tigers. On Friday night, me and Emily met the team at their hotel and had some time in the Word together. The verses above were the central passages of our talk that evening.

The longer I minister to these female athletes, the more I realize how much of a sacrifice they’ve made to be at this level of competitive athletics. Many of the sacrifices have been in the areas of their personal lives. It’s very hard to maintain close relationships with anyone-- other than your parents—when you have to train 5-6 hours a day, plus maintain your academic schooling. When they’re not training, they’re studying; and when they’re not studying they’re acquiring medical services for their injuries. When they’re not getting treatment, they’re eating and sleeping! There may be some time for internet messaging and texting a few family members, but, most of their time is spent with the people associated with their sport.

Imagine having this kind of life for 18-20 years straight! That’s all an average elite athlete experiences. No wonder they’re looking for various ways—some good, some not-so-good---to relieve stress and anxieties associated with their lifestyles! We know that many times they find temporary relief from alcohol, relationships and casual sex.

Well, where can an athlete find true real relief and true REST? Jesus has the answer. Himself. From the passage above, we find out several important facts about God and His Son, Jesus Christ:

• It gives God pleasure to reveal things to us about Himself.

• God reveals Himself through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus “reveals the Father to whom He desires”(v.27).

• God reveals Himself and His ways to those who come to Him in a child-like trust. The proud and boastful will not see God (v. 25).

• It is impossible to know God apart from knowing His Son! “Know” in Greek is “ginosko,” which means “to seek to know or investigate; an understanding that leads to a relationship that’s of value and importance.”

As we spent time with the Lady Dawgs, I shared a story from Andre Agassi’s recent book called Open. We discussed how it’s easy to think that God relates to us as other people do in our human relationships. On this point, we read an excerpt from Open in which Agassi relays a story about his father from when he was 10 years old: “My father likes to shoot the hawks with his rifle. Our house is blanketed with his victims, dead birds that cover the roof as thickly as tennis balls cover the court. My father says he doesn’t like hawks because they swoop down on mice and other defenseless desert creatures. He can’t stand the thought of something strong preying on something weak. (This holds true when he goes fishing: whatever he catches, he kisses its scaly head and throws it back.) Of course he has no qualms about preying on me, no trouble watching me gasp for air on his hook. He doesn’t see the contradiction. He doesn’t care about contradictions. He doesn’t realize that I’m the most defenseless creature in this godforsaken desert. If he did realize, I wonder, would he treat me differently?” Agassi goes on to explain how his relationship with his father was dependent upon how well he did in tennis. If he played well and won, his father was happy. If he lost, his father was a tyrant and verbally abusive.

For some athletes, they’ve been taught all their life that if they are successful, they are loved. If they win, they are accepted and valued.

God, on the other hand, knows our helpless spiritual condition. He knows that we are sinful and cannot do anything to change that. It’s in our nature and we’re born to make mistakes (Romans 5:6). We may be able to work our way to a sports championship or a successful career, but, we cannot work our way to God’s holy and perfect nature. We will always fall short (Romans 3:23).

What is the answer? Come to Jesus Christ. Rest in Him. Confess that you can’t do this life on your own. Stop trying to find your self-worth in performance. True rest only comes from God through His Son. If we know the Son, we will know the peace of the Father!

Ralston knew this solo trip would require weeks of planning in advance. He had every detail covered, including the contents of his back pack: one chocolate bar, a chocolate muffin, two small bean burritos, one plastic grocery bag, a mesh pouch containing a CD player, CDs, extra AA batteries, a mini digital video camera, a multi-use/knife tool, a headlamp, lip balm, two water bottles, one Camelbak/water pack, climbing ropes & harnesses. The only detail he did not attend to, however, was informing his friends and family where he was going and how long he’d be away.

Once his truck is loaded with his backpack and bike, Ralston sets out on his journey that ill-fated April morning. He parks his truck in a nearby tourist lot, gets on his bike and begins an 8 mile ride into the Park. By 1:15 pm that afternoon, he arrives in Horseshoe Canyon, dismounts his bike and U-locks it to a nearby juniper tree. He then begins hiking to his next attraction, Blue John Canyon. When he arrives at the bottom of the canyon, he immediately pulls out his climbing gear and starts up the wall. By 2:41 pm he is a quarter of the way into his climb and begins maneuvering over a series of chock stones, which are large refrigerator-size rocks nestled in the narrow deep slot canyon.

What happens next marks the beginning of what Ralston describes as an experience “nothing short of hell.” Three seconds play out a tenth of their normal speed as a rock---or more like a boulder--- loosens from above and falls. It crushes Ralston’s right hand, pinning it and his right arm against the wall. For six days and five nights, Ralston is trapped in the canyon, attempting to preserve his food and water rations, till finally he resorts to collecting his own urine in his Nalgene bottle and drinking it to keep from dehydration. The daylight gives Ralston hope, but as night falls, the canyon grows “bitterly dark and is an unbearably cold place of lonely solitude; an arctic prison without a warden and but one abandoned inmate, forsaken even by the supposed ringleader of the underworld.” Ralston then says, “There is no other spiritual energy, good or evil, on which to project love or hatred. There is only one emotion in hell: unmitigated despair wrapped in abject loneliness.” (Between A Rock And A Hard Place, 2004 Atria Books, pg. 238)

By the evening of Day Five of this “hell experience,” Ralston finally succumbs to what seems an inevitable fate: death. “I understand that this is the end, that I won’t survive the night, and the thought does not stir me, because I have stopped fighting for control. Letting go of my desire to dictate the outcome of my entrapment releases a disconnected feeling of lightheartedness that vaguely approximates bliss. I’ve recognized a great truth: Some other marvelous force is in control, and has been all along. Give it whatever name I want, all I know for sure is that I don’t have to sweat it out anymore, because I’m not in charge.” (pg. 247)

As you read about Aron Ralston’s story, perhaps you are in the middle of a time of great adversity. Are you caught “between a rock and a hard place?” Perhaps you’ve experienced some kind of life circumstance that’s left you discouraged and feeling like you’re in a “bitterly dark and cold place of lonely solitude.” Maybe your heartache and sadness has resulted from a stressful relationship, a break-up or even divorce. Or maybe your challenges have stemmed from a terminal illness or health condition; adjusting to retirement or the ending of an athletic or professional career; an uncertainty about the future; the death of a loved one or child; or a sickness that has brought you to a point of surrender. Maybe an insecurity has been exposed in front of very critical eyes. Since economical crisis hit our country a year ago, loss of employment has resulted for many people. Maybe that’s your situation. And, of course, there are many who suffer with depression.

When you lay your head down on the pillow at night, do you ever wonder if there is anything or anyone worth living for? Sometimes when we get alone with our thoughts we think there is no way out of the circumstances and we’re totally alone. We think it’d be much easier to die than to live with the unbearable pain. It would seem so much simpler just to give up.

But then, a new day dawns and after a long night of suffering and despair, you begin to sense this “Marvelous Force” as the sunlight peers through the windows of your bedroom. “For His anger lasts only a moment but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, ‘I will never be shaken.’ O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To You, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: ‘What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.’” (Psalm 30:5-10)

Each new day brings with it hope because you realize that you’re not in control and more importantly, that you, in fact, are not alone. The Marvelous Force is God’s Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence around you in times of adversity. Listen to how Jesus Christ describes-- His third--- Person of the Trinity:

“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer…But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:7-10, 12-14)

If you invite God’s presence into your life, He will reveal to you areas of your life where you fall short. Upon your confession, He will then give you His grace, mercy and His righteousness (Romans 10:9-10). Because of His sacrifice on the Cross, you can be made new (2 Cor. 5:17); “new” in the way you think and live. As you experience God’s presence and get to know Him by reading the Bible, you will begin to know His heart, His character, and His attributes. You will know how to make decisions concerning your life situations because a part of Him lives in you which directs your thoughts and desires.

Back to the Aron Ralston story….it has quite an incredible ending! On Day Six, in a final desperation to save his life, Aron Ralston does the unthinkable. He purposefully breaks his arm and then takes a knife tool and saws through the muscles, veins and ligament tissues, freeing the remainder of his right arm from between the boulder and the wall! When he is found by rescuers, severely dehydrated and bleeding (it could have been much worse if he hadn’t used a tube like piece from his Camelbak as a tourniquet), his story quickly makes national news.

Ralston underwent 3 major surgeries to ward off potential bone infections and to repair the damaged arteries and veins of his right arm. Ralston then received a prosthetic device, which he now uses as he continues to go on mountain bike and rock-climbing adventures. Ralston has written a book about his experience (Between A Rock & A Hard Place, Atria Books, 2004) and does inspirational speeches around the country. He has appeared on the David Letterman Show and in other television and magazine interviews as well.

In the final chapter of Aron Ralston’s book, he explains: “For all that has happened and the opportunities still developing in my life, I feel blessed. I was part of a miracle that has touched a great number of people in the world and I wouldn’t trade that for anything, not even to have my hand back. My accident in and rescue from Blue John Canyon were the most beautifully spiritual experiences of my life. When we find inspiration, we need to take action for ourselves and our communities. Even if it means making a hard choice, or cutting out something and leaving it in your past. Saying farewell is also a bold and powerful beginning.” (pg. 342)

My prayer for Aron Ralston is that he would seek wisdom and inspiration from God. I pray that he will experience the grace and love of Jesus Christ and recognize how glorious Christ is! It is through Jesus Christ that we have access to God and a chance to experience true joy!

His Word tells us that He allows adversity to point us to His Son!

“…we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:4-5)

Here’s how writer Beth Felker Jones describes the power of stories: “I love the way a story can carry us into another world, a world of imagination and mystery. When a story captures our heart, we dive into it! We sink deep into the waters of the world the author has created for us and learn its geography. We fear what the characters fear and love what the characters love. Most of all, I love what happens when we come out of the story world. We come up from under the water of imagination and take a deep breath of air of our own world. But it isn’t the same world it was before we dove into the story. The story world changes our world. It helps us imagine possibilities we couldn’t possibly have seen before. It suggests new dreams to guide us, new fears to horrify us, and new hopes to inspire us. The stories we love have power. They change our lives.” (Intro from Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages of the Twilight Saga)

I once heard a man say, “There’s a good book in all of us.” I believe that’s true. We all have a story. And as long as we’re breathing, our story is on-going. It had a definite beginning (when we drew our first breath), it has a process (the present), and it involves an uncertain future. Perhaps one question we’ll ask ourselves at some point is “What is God’s role in my story?” Or more importantly, “Who is writing my story?”

Psalm 139:16 “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.”

One of our first thoughts when we hear someone claim to have witnessed a miracle is that there must be some sort of natural explanation. After all, even if they do occur, miracles are not the norm in nature.
In the Gospels we are told there was a similar response relating to Christ’s resurrection When the Jewish priests were told the report of the empty tomb, they spread the tale that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body (Mt.28:12-15).
Even believers reacted this way. When Mary Magdalene initially saw Jesus, she made a natural assumption, supposing He was the gardener (Jn. 20:10-15). When the disciples heard the report of the women who had gone to Jesus’ tomb, they thought the women were spreading rumors or false tales (Lk 24:11). Later, when they saw the risen Jesus, these same followers thought they were seeing a ghost or hallucination (Lk 24:36-43).
Throughout history many have had similar responses regarding Jesus’ resurrection, attempting to come up with naturalistic theories to explain away the resurrection. These attempts were far more common in the nineteenth century than they are today. Even if we were to ignore the majority of the information in the Gospels, appealing only to those historical facts that are acknowledged by virtually every scholar who studies this subject, both conservative and liberal, we still have many major responses to each of the naturalistic theories. Not surprisingly, comparatively few scholars today think any of these alternative hypotheses really works.
For example, few critics have proposed that Jesus never died on the cross but instead “swooned”---fainted and only appeared dead. Dozens of medical studies have shown how death by crucifixion really kills and how this would be recognized by those present. Most of these reports argue that the chief cause of death in crucifixion was asphyxiation (death from being unable to breathe). It is even easy to ascertain when the victim was dead---he remained hanging in the down position without pushing up to breathe. Additionally, a death blow frequently ensured the victim’s demise. The prevailing medical explanation of Jesus’ chest wound is that the presence of blood and water indicated He was stabbed through the heart, thereby ensuring His death.
But many scholars think another serious problem dooms the swoon theory. If Jesus had not died on the cross, He would have been in exceptionally bad shape when His followers saw Him. Limping profusely, bleeding from His many wounds and probably even leaving a bloody trail, stoop-shouldered and pale, He hardly would have been able to convince His disciples that He was their risen Lord---and in a transformed body at that! Many historical reasons and the near unanimity of scholarly opinion indicate that Jesus’ disciples at least truly believed they had seen Him resurrected. On such grounds the swoon thesis is actually self-refuting. It presents a Jesus who would have contradicted the disciples’ belief in His resurrection simply by appearing in the horrible physical shape that is demanded by this view!
But could the disciples have stolen His dead body? This approach has been almost ignored for more than 200 years because it would not explain the disciples’ sincere belief that they had seen the risen Jesus—a belief for which they were clearly willing to die. Their transformations need an adequate explanation. Neither would the theft hypothesis explain the conversions from skepticism by James, the brother of Jesus, or Paul, occasioned by their own beliefs that they had also seen the risen Jesus. These facts are noted even by the critical scholars.
Might someone else have stolen Jesus’ body? This approach addresses nothing but the empty tomb. It provides no explanation for Jesus’ appearances, which are the best evidence for the resurrection. Further, it fails to account for the conversions of James and Paul. Besides, many candidates for the body stealers would have had no motivation for taking the body. This alternative accounts for far too little of the known data. It is no wonder that critics virtually never opt for it.
There are myriads of problems with hallucination theories, too. We will mention just a few. Hallucinations are private experiences, whereas our earliest accounts report that Jesus appeared to groups as well as to individuals. Further, the dissimilar personalities witnessing the appearances clearly militate against everyone’s inventing a mental image, often at the same time. So do the reactions of those disciples who responded to the reports of the resurrection by doubting. The conversions of James and Paul are extremely problematic for this view, since unbelieving skeptics would hardly desire to hallucinate about the risen Jesus. And if hallucinations are the best explanation, then the tomb should not have been empty!
Could the resurrection accounts have developed later as mere stories that grew over time? A few of the potential responses should be adequate. Here again, the fact that the disciples truly believed they had seen the risen Jesus is highly problematic for this view, since it indicates that original accounts were derived from the eyewitnesses themselves, not from some later stories. Further, the fact that these appearances were reported extremely early, within just a few years of the crucifixion, attests that at least the core message was intact from the outset. Moreover, the empty tomb would be a constant physical reminder that this was not just some ungrounded tale. Both James and Paul again provide even more insurmountable problems for this view, for these skeptics were convinced that they has also seen the risen Jesus; tales developing years later fail to account for their conversions.
For reasons such as these, most critical scholars today reject the naturalistic theories as adequate accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. They simply do not explain the known historical data. In fact, many liberal scholars even critique the alternatives that are periodically suggested!
Here we have a strong witness to the historical nature of Jesus’ resurrection. Naturalistic theories have failed. Further, many historical evidences favor the resurrection. Taking all this together, we have strong reasons to believe that this event actually occurred in history. After all, the more thoroughly the alternative theories fail, the more we are left with the evidences themselves, and they are powerful indicators that Jesus rose from the dead.

• We’re not the only women in our men’s lives, and that hurts our pride.
• We’re not someone’s favorite, and that hurts our pride.
• We’re not somebody else’s top priority, and that hurts our pride.
• We don’t feel special, and that hurts our pride.
• We don’t get the promotion, and that hurts our pride.
• We don’t win the fight, and that hurts our pride.
• We’re not paid what we’re worth, and that hurts our pride.
• We’re not paid at all, and that really hurts our pride.

I’m going to give some prideful statements which may reveal insecurity in an athlete’s life:

• “I didn’t get the win today. I hate playing this sport when I’m not the best.”
• “My score was the lowest out of anyone’s today. What an embarrassment. I’m better than this!”
• “My coach didn’t pay attention to me today.”
• “The only friends I have in my life are those on the team. I don’t have time for anybody else because they just won’t understand me.”
• “One of my teammates just broke my personal record. That pisses me off!”
• “This team would not be able to win without me.”
• “I can’t help it, I’m a perfectionist.”

Moore states: “Here’s how pride can cheat us out of intimacy, because intimacy requires transparency!

Here are some additional quotes that will clarify what pride is:
“We will never feel better about ourselves by becoming more consumed with ourselves.” -B. Moore
“Although perfectionists seem very insecure, doubting their decisions and actions, fearing mistakes and rejection, and having low opinions of themselves, at the same time, they have excessively high personal standards and an exaggerated emphasis on precision, order and organization, which suggests an aspiration to be better than others.” –R. Winter (psychiatrist)
If we were dead honest with ourselves, we’d come to the conclusion that pride is not a good thing after all. Sort of conflicts with what our sport culture is telling us, huh? Well, let’s just say what pride really is…sin.
I recently got to meet a gentleman who works as a chaplain in the summer Olympics. His name is John Ashley Null. In his book (“Real Joy: Freedom to be Your Best”) he addresses the problem of sin in our lives. To put it in athletic terms, Null explains that we all have a “scorecard” which illustrates how our good works, behavior, etc. fail to meet God’s requirement of holiness and righteousness . Null states: “How did your scorecard read before you realized you needed God? The sins on our scorecard means you are separated from God and sentenced to death and eternal separation from Him. The sinful scorecard presents God with a really difficult problem. If He gives us our just deserts, He has lost a relationship with us forever-the very purpose for which His love created us. Yet, if God simply chooses to overlook our guilt when we want to come back, He destroys the very basis on which we are able to have a relationship with Him. That’s because to have a good relationship, you need to understand yourself, understand the other person, and agree on how you are to get along.” (pg. 66-67)
God created us for a relationship with Him! That relationship is possible through His Son, Jesus Christ. Today, take time to read Psalm, Chapter 139. You will be amazed at the love our Heavenly Father has for you, regardless of how you perform, what you look like, what you’ve done—good or bad, or what gifts and talents you do or do not possess

Isaiah 26:9 "I long for You in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks You, for when Your judgements are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness."

• Insecurity can inhibit us from becoming the woman God intends for us to be. Beth Moore states that insecurity is an epidemic, but not incurable. “ I’m sick to death of insecurity. It’s been a terrible companion. A very bad friend. It promised to always think of me first and meticulously look out for my best interests. It vowed to stay focused on me and help me not get hurt or forgotten. Instead, insecurity invaded every part of my life, betrayed me, and sold me out more times than I can count. It’s time I got healthy enough emotionally to choose my lifelong companions better. This one needs to get dumped.”
Beth calls her first Chapter, “Mad Enough to Change.” Well, nothing could be further from how I’m feeling. I’m sick of feeling insecure. I’m tired of trying to excuse my feelings by defining them as being “overly sensitive.”
Ephesians 2:10 is the verse Beth paraphrases and points us to, and it’s really what God is saying to us: “I have appointed you to accomplish something good. Something that matters. Something I prepared for you before time began. Something meant to have a serious impact within your sphere of influence.”

The Bible says this, "For GOD loved the world in this way: HE gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." -John 3:16

Do you know what you believe? Do you know the "why" behind what you believe? What truths or proof do you base your beliefs upon?

Mark 4:16-17 "And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. But they have no root in themselves; they are short-lived. When affliction or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately stumble." How many people have passed through your life where their faith and excitement about God and His Gospel faded because they cared more about what people think and what they'd have to give up to follow Him whole-heartedly?

Mark 4:18-20 "Others are sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, but the worries of this age, the seduction of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." How many people have passed through your life who have let the desires for "financial security", a relationship with another person, and/or selfish ambition enabled them to miss all the blessings God had for them in their time on earth? Perhaps they've missed out on all God created them to be?

Mark 4:20 "But the ones sown on good ground are those who hear the word, welcome it, and produce a crop: 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown."
Matthew 6:19-20 "Don't collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where theives break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where theives don't break in and steal."
Romans 10:15 (Isaiah 52:7) "How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!"

Daniel 11:32b (NASB) "The people who know their God will display strength and take action."

Mark 12:30 (HCSB) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."

"What the heart loves, the will chooses, and the mind justifies." -Thomas Cranmers, Archbishop of Canterbury

What does love do? I think it drives us. It compels us to do great things. It makes us look up. It makes us hope, and it propels us to do extraordinary things!

The Apostle Paul talks about a love that compelled him to endure a lot of rough stuff in his life. He describes the source of his passion when he says, “Because of [Christ] I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ…” (Phil. 3:8)

Think about someone you love right now. Maybe it’s a person you know you can’t live without. Your love for this person is so deep that perhaps it has motivated your drive to succeed in your sport all your life.
What or Who is the driving force behind why you do what you do?

Some of the greatest athletic performances in history have come out of a passion and love for something or someone. If you love Jesus Christ, compete out of a love for your Savior! Give your performance to Him Who loves you unconditionally!

1. A welcoming of regular attendees and guests
2. 20 minutes of singing/worship (with choir and singing from hymnals...the books placed in the pews)
3. A "special music" time. Basically, one of the better vocalists from the choir would do a solo and the song he/she sang had something to do with the topic of the sermon to be taught that morning.
4. Then, the pastor (minister) would come up and "preach" from a large pulpit that looked sort of like a large lecturn that you see in some classrooms at universities (except this one would have a big cross on it).
5. Finally, immediately following the message from the pastor, there would be an "invitation." This is where the pastor encourages those who would like to pray to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior to come to the front of the room where he is standing, which was usually off the stage and in front of the pulpit. This is a time that Baptists sometimes also call "doing business with God."

Well, I was taught throughout my life that being a "Christian" was more than just attending church. Hence the old saying, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car." I was taught by Sunday school teachers (the class you attend before "big church" with the pastor) that if you pray to receive Christ you will become a "born again Christian." This "born again" process or decision then follows with baptism, which is symbolic of a burial (death to sin--going under water) and a "raising to new life" (spiritual life--cleansed, up out of the water).

So, a natural question is, where does this term "born again" come from? Is it just a term the Baptists made up or does it come from some Protestant manual or theologian? Well, the answer is that it comes from God's Word, the Bible. The "born again" phrase was actually quoted by Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John, the third chapter, verses 5-8. It says, "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

This "born again" process happens when we place our faith in Christ's sacrifice for our sins on the cross. It's a supernatural act of God, on our behalf, to save us from our sin. It is God who places His righteousness (His Spirit) on us at the moment we confess that we're sinful, that we need Him, and we tell Him we want to receive Him into our heart. The apostle Paul explains this rebirth in Romans 8:9-11: "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you."

Mark Cahill, a full time evangelist, quoted this statistic once, "10 out of 10 people die. Have you ever thought about where you're going to spend eternity?"
I had the opportunity this past week to pray with someone who wanted to receive Christ as her Savior. All she did was come to God (in prayer), ask for forgiveness for her sins, placed her faith in what Christ did on the cross, and she then asked God to take control of her life. Is she "born again?" In terms of what Scripture says, yes! Jesus stated, "I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well...Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:6-9