Tragedy struck on the first day of Winter Olympic Games; a luger named Nodar Kumaritashvili died as he went 90 miles per hour on the lightning fast track. IOC President Jacques came out yesterday and said they were ‘morally responsible’ for the luger’s death. Jacques Rogge went on to say that; “Everyone is responsible. It’s not a responsibility in judicial terms. It is a moral responsibility.”
Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota, came out in the public this week to say that he bore full responsibility for his department’s actions. “I extend my condolences from the deepest part of my heart,” Mr. Toyoda said.
“It’s my fault”. We don’t hear that very often in this ‘blame-someone-else’ society. We are a society that looks to blame someone or something else for wrongs that we commit. This is true from the youngest child to the highest dignitary. We look to blame our parents or our teachers or the church or the government or family genetics or our “weaknesses” or our “bad habits”. We look to blame people and things and everything for our problems. Everything, that is, but ourselves; “It’s not my fault”.
We pass the buck and blame others for all the ills in society; the homelessness, the broken homes, the poverty and hunger. We blame others for the spiritual and physical and moral decline of this nation. But that is wrong.
There is an old phrase “mea culpa” [(may-uh kul-puh, kool-puh)]that means “my fault” or “my blame” or “through my fault”. It is a phrase used as an acknowledgment of one's responsibility. No passing the buck; no excuses; "I am to blame; it’s my fault”. It is an acknowledgment of your error or guilt. Pretty simple, and yet we choose to blame someone else for our mistakes.
In the Apostle John’s first letter in the Bible, he addresses this issue. John writes; “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1John 1:8-10).
In other words, if we acknowledge our sins; not blame somebody else. If we take responsibility for what we did; not make excuses. Then God will forgive us of our sins and then He will cleanse us of our unrighteousness. The forgiveness is from God, but the confession needs to come from our own lips; with no excuses! “I blew it, God! And I take full responsibility for my actions. And I ask for your forgiveness.” Pretty simple; the choice is up to each of us.
"My Eyes Are Dry" by Keith Green
My eyes are dry My faith is old My heart is hard My prayers are cold And I know how I ought to be Alive to You and dead to me But what can be done
For an old heart like mine Soften it up With oil and wine The oil is You, Your Spirit of love Please wash me anew With the wine of Your Blood My eyes are dry
My faith is old My heart is hard My prayers are cold And I know how I ought to be Alive to You and dead to me But what can be done
I have a weird quirk that is probably only understood by hockey players: I CAN’T STAND TO THROW AWAY BROKEN HOCKEY STICKS. And what’s worse is that I save them even though they are broken. Not just my sticks, but other hockey players’ sticks I find at the rink! I realized this quirk today as I came home with 3 broken sticks after my hockey game this morning and after I drove around to ice rinks looking for broken sticks simply because I was restless after a busy week.
Many of the broken sticks that I have picked up over the years eventually found their way into the trash. But until they were thrown away I kept them. They work great for many other household needs, like stakes in the garden. In the past I’ve used them to hold the hood of my car or truck up; this works equally as well for the rear window on a topper for a truck. I never know when I might need one, so I keep them.
I have many other hockey sticks that are in good shape, ready to be used for the next hockey game, so there really isn’t any GOOD reason for me to keep a broken stick. Some of the sticks I have kept do have sentimental or historic value. But most of them are just old broken hockey sticks that are useless because they can’t really be repaired. Good for nothing but to be tossed on a shelf or in a corner to remember the good old days when it was once used as a mighty instrument in the hands of a skilled player.
Sometimes our lives are like broken hockey sticks; aren’t they? We feel as though there are areas of our lives that have broken parts and we wonder if we will ever be useful again. And yet, God in His great mercy, sought us out to let us know that He still uses “broken hockey sticks”. Maybe my weird quirk that saves broken things from the trash isn’t so weird after all.
Church history and the Bible are filled with stories of people whose lives were broken and seemingly useless. God, it would seem, can use “broken hockey sticks” that are repentant and submitted to His authority and His purposes. People like Abraham, David, Samson, Peter, Paul, and even the thief on the cross; all messed up their lives, made great mistakes, and blew it!. All of these men were at a point in their lives where they were “broken hockey sticks” and yet they were still used for God’s glory. All of them, along with so many others, were restored to a point of usefulness that brought glory to God.
If you are a person who has blown it, you can be assured that Jesus came to pick “broken hockey sticks” out the trash and redeem them for His glory. You can be assured that God’s strength can help you overcome your defeated past. Jesus said; “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them” (Luke 9:56).
Maybe along the way you’ve forgotten God; He hasn’t forgotten you. Call out to Him, won’t you? Even if you are a condemned thief, a boastful fisherman, a wayward “Samson”, or an overzealous Pharisee; God still wants you to come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. God can still use “broken hockey sticks” like you and me.
Call 1-888-NEED HIM. Someone is waiting to talk with you right now.
Matthew 9:12 "When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
“4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and BE SOBER. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day BE SOBER, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him..” (1Thessalonians 5:4-10)
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (1Peter 1:13)
“Be sober; be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1Peter 5:8)
"Sober Up" by One Bad Pig Drunk on music, drunk on sports Drunk on pleasures of all sorts Drunk on causes, drunk on work These can be good, but don´t be a jerk
Chorus: Sober up Your thinking´s dull Sober up You´re out of your skull Sober up Life could be super Sober up From your spiritual stupor
Drunk on men, drunk on women Drunk on thoughts that keep you sinnin´ Drunk on fortune, drunk on fame Drunk on the world and it´s such a shame
Drunk on drugs, drunk on thrills Movin´ fast through societies´ ills Drunk on power, drunk on self Say it again?...just say it yourself
Sober up Your thinking´s dull Sober up You´re out of your skull
Sober up Life could be super Sober up From your spiritual stupor
Tryin´ to walk the line Hey - you´re staggerin´ fine Don´t be drunk with wine Get your fill from the Holy Vine
Sober up There´s a better way Sober up Can you heat what I say?
Sober up Your thinkin´s dull Sober up You´re out of your skull Sober up Sober up Sober up...
I love to exercise; it is a good discipline to have for our daily lives; it helps us handle stress, and often we feel better about ourselves for not carrying excess weight.
At the facility where I work out, I noticed a flood of new membership starting in January. I think that a lot of these new members are people who are following through on a New Year’s resolution; and for the most part that is a good thing. On some nights, however, it is hard to get on a machine or use a particular piece of equipment. I realize that if these new members are just following a new resolution, it is possible that they will soon drop out and go back to their routine of not working out.
But what if these people, like me, have had an epiphany and decided that they didn’t need to have extra weight on their bodies? What if these people have concluded that being healthy is a goal that they want for their lives?
Actually, I hope that it is true and they are able to follow through and that it isn’t just a short term new phase they are going through. I hope that if they have had a wake-up-call that they can lose weight and make a change that will affect the rest of their lives.
After September 11, 2001, church attendance went up for a brief bit in America. People had a wake-up-call that caused them to look outside of themselves to God. Spirituality and religion became part of everyday conversations as people sought answers to get rid of the “extra weight” they were carrying emotionally. “God, where are you?” could be heard off the lips of atheists who seemed open to a God whom they didn’t believe to exist. They say that there are no atheists in foxholes, and I saw that in the weeks and months that followed these tragic times in the history of USA.
I had hope that this wasn’t just a short term new phase that people were going through. I hoped that if they have had a wake-up-call that they can make a change that will affect the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, when the memories cleared, and life became “normal” again (although it never has gone back to normal), people who were seeking God went back to their old routine of not needing Him.
Throughout the history of man this has been the case. All throughout the Old Testament we can read stories of God telling us not forget Him when life becomes good. In other words, He doesn’t want a relationship with us just when things are bad. God wants to spend time with us throughout our days; no matter what kind of a day we are having.
When Jesus was on this earth, He cried out as He saw how mankind had rejected God. Jesus said; “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).
God is calling out to you who made the New Year’s resolution to search for God in 2010. To you who said; “There must be more to life than this!” To you who said’ “I have to do something to get rid of this extra weight that I am constantly weighed down with from my past”.
My friends, if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3:15). Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2Corinthians 6:2).
SUNDAY SCHOOLby Phil Keaggy Give me more darkness said the blind man, Give me more folly said the fool, Give me stone silence said the deaf man, I didn't believe Sunday School. Take it away said the hungry man, Although I'm starving I'll get by. Take it away said the thirsty man, I'll find a drink before I die.
I've got plenty of time to think of Heaven, But right now there's too much on my mind. And I've had enough of that religious stuff And besides I can't relate to your kind.
Leave me alone said the lonely man, Don't want to let go of this feeling. Leave me to roam said the wanderer, There's too many cracks in my ceilings.
I've got plenty of time to think of Heaven, But right now there's too much on my mind. And I've had enough of that religious stuff And besides I can't relate to your kind.
Give me more darkness said the blind man, Give me more folly said the fool, Give me stone silence said the deaf man, I didn't believe Sunday School.
It was 25 years, 7 months ago when I got the news; Cathy was pregnant with child number 3. My heart sank. I wanted more children, but had thought that we would wait another couple of months so that we could save up for…..the usual excuses; so I went to my parents for prayer.
My mom had some great wisdom for me on that memorable day which I have never forgotten. Before she prayed, she asked me some simple questions like did I have any food that day; did I have a shower that day; did I have a change of clothes that day.
I really didn’t see her point as I answered“yes” to EACH of her questions. She said that she was grateful that God was still providing for her. “For you?” I asked her; “What does my situation have to do with you?” She quickly reminded me that I was one of her children (they had 10 plus some who died prior to birth) and that God was still providing for her as a mother; He hadn’t let her down.
She said to me; “Tom, when you are hungry, naked, and sitting on a curb, then I will complain to God for not providing for one of my children; and you can have what is left of Him when I get through”. She told me that not only was my attitude all wrong, but so was my focus; I needed to look to God for provisions; that I needed to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
That was Cathy and my wedding theme and through my mother, God was reminding me of the words that Jesus said; reminding me that my Heavenly Father would provide all I needed for this child just like He was for the other two. And then we prayed and God showed us His provision.
Today my daughter celebrates her 25th birthday. She has turned out to be a beautiful woman who is full of life and new adventures. She graduated from high school as a National Merit Scholar and graduated from college with high honors and with a double major . She still bursts into every situation with the joyful radiance that she brought into my life on that cold day in February twenty five years ago.
So “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA!”; you were the precious gift that God used in my life to start to learn to trust Him for all that I need. And you know what; God has never missed a beat in providing for ALL of her needs; as well as for ALL of the other 5 children; we ended up having 6 children. Our Heavenly Father has provided cars, and clothes, and food, and shelter, and so much more that we need to keep a notebook to write them all down!
Matthew 6:24-34 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
