Living for Christ daily?

This is the first post I've had in a while and since I didn't have that many to start it's probaly not a good thing but oh well.....

Tonight I got to do something I normally don't get to do anymore. Me and my Dad got to sit down a watch something on TV that really interests only us. Yes, the whole family was still in the room but my Mom and Laurie were looking for houses on the internet, Lizzie was already in bed and Grandma was just being Grandma. Just sitting there. But back to me and Dad. We were watching a special on Tom Brady and the 6 quarterbacks taken in front of him in the 2000 NFL draft. Brady was out of Michigan and didn't do a lot of things well. He was slow, his arm was mediocre at best, and at that time, didn't take hits well. From that point, he began to mature but, it took time. They had an interview of Coach Bill Belichick saying that in Brady's rookie season the Patriots "wasted a roster spot on a 4th string quarterback". Guess who that guy was. You guessed it! Brady! He was a waste. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time was a waste. But these type comments motivated Tom to be the best he could be. You see, NFL back-up quarterbacks sometimes only get one shot of doing something. In the second game of his second season, Brady got his shot. He came in and never looked back. He has been the starter of the Patriots ever since. As the show was ending, it explained that none of the quarterbacks that were taken ahead of him are still even in the league. They had all been cut. So they asked Brady how he treats practice and quarterbacking now since he has proven to be one of the best ever. He replied, "I don't go out each day knowing that I'm going to be the starter on Sunday. I want to earn it every single day."

I wonder if that is how we view Christ. Since we are Christians, do we just do what we want to? Or are we constantly striving, as Paul says, "the prize of the high calling"? Christianity is not something that we achieve and just do nothing. It is something that we work hard at. The Bible says we have to die to ourselves daily and "take up our cross" and follow Christ. I wonder if you are doing that each day.

All things for the Gospel?

Our pastor has challenged our local church to do "Whatever it Takes...". This can be very realitive. You might ask "Whatever it takes to do what?". Well in our case it's "Whatever it takes to see others come to Christ". When we look at what Paul has said in 1 Corinthians 9 he says, "I do all things for the sake of the Gospel." Can any of us truely say this? That everything we do throughout our day is for the Gospel of Christ. I don't know if we can or not but I think it is something we should most certainly strive for! We are so in tune with the Holy Spirit that whether we are "eating or drinking or whatever we do, we are doing it for God's glory and His fame." Think about how you might change your daily routine to see if could make Jesus known to friends and neighbors in a more effective way.

We'll see how this goes...

I was approached about doing a blog a few weeks ago and I wasnt so sure. I really don't know what to say or even think that my life is that interesting, but we will see how it goes.

Yesterday was my first time to assist in a funeral. It was for a dear man that passed away a week ago today. His name was Lanny Wilson and he was a deacon at our church. He was also 1/3 of the prayer group with myself and the Pastor every Sunday morning. He was clearly a man devoted to God and His Church. This man did everything and not only that, he did it all without ever complaining! What a rare thing these days! Paul talks about this in Philippians 2, where he commands us to do things without complaining or arguing. How often do we go through our everyday lives getting mad and frustrated at our boss, parents or teachers and then going to our good friends and telling them all about it? What would our conversations be like if we would truly put the commands of the Apostle Paul into practice?