Believing, Remembering, Responding

On the way to Bible Study on Tuesday morning, I heard the song, “Oh Glorious Day” sung by Casting Crowns.  The song has the same words as the hymn, “One Day,” but with a different melody.  Written by J. Wilbur Chapman, the words to the chorus express the truth and hope of the gospel in just a few phrases.

Living, He loved me

Dying, He saved me

Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever

One day He’s coming

Oh glorious day

This Holy Week we celebrated and remembered as the branches were waved on Palm Sunday.  On Maundy Thursday we gathered for the Lord’s Supper and remembered Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, how he served his disciples by washing their feet, his mandate to love and serve one another, and the betrayal.  The solemnness of Good Friday was a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus willingly made to suffer death on the cross so that we could be offered salvation, forgiveness of sins, and a relationship with God both now and for eternity.  What a difference 3 days makes as we now prepare for and anticipate celebrating our risen Lord on Sunday.  Oh what great love the Father has lavished on us.  God’s gift of salvation is free, but like a present it must be accepted and claimed before it belongs to the recipient.   How we respond to the gift and Giver should make a difference in our worship, words, actions, reactions, deeds, and thoughts because one day Jesus is coming again!  Oh glorious day!

He has risen!  He has risen, indeed!

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

     he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

     and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
John 14:6 

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:8-10

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

I John 3:1a

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3-5

March Madness

Once again, it’s the season for March Madness.  What an interesting, unpredictable, and surprising week it has been.  And there is still more to come.  It continues to amaze me what God chooses to teach me through sports.

* A team must earn the right to participate.

* Even though it has never happened before, a #16 seed defeated a #1 seed.

* A team’s ability does not depend on how they are ranked.

* Never give up.  The game is not over until the final buzzer sounds.

* Just because the majority of the people choose for a team to win the bracket doesn’t make it so.

* Teamwork makes a difference.

* Every team enters the tournament wanting and expecting to win.

* Coaches earn the respect of their team during the season not just during post season.

* Character shines brightly in the heat of the game.

* Changes may need to be made in order to play better defense or offense.

* No matter how many points the highest scorer makes, it still takes a team to play basketball.

* It’s best to concentrate on one play/one game at a time.

* The crowd may cheer loudly, but it’s the coach’s voice that needs to be heard, listened to, and followed.

* What happens in the first minute does not determine the final outcome of the game.  There is always hope.

* There are times for rejoicing and times of disappointment.

* It’s enjoyable when your team continues in the bracket.

May what I learn prepare, encourage, inspire, challenge, and motivate me as a participant in the game of life.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

I Corinthians 9:24

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:14

Making Lemonade

Instead of participating in a “Walk Out” this past week, the students at Arbor Preparatory High School, in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, chose to remember the 17 lives that were lost in the Florida shooting in a “Walk Up.”  As an encouragement, each student was given 17 sticky notes, with 14 to be written to fellow students and 3 to be written to adults.  The notes were then stuck on lockers or given to the recipient.  By the end of the day, every locker had notes attached.  From the custodians to the administrators, every person received a note of encouragement.

My cousin and her husband were 6 months into a pregnancy with identical twin girls when on March 9, 2017, they lost baby Esther Colleen to a stroke, brain issues, growth restriction, and poor blood flow.  In reaching out to family and friends, Katy Anne expressed, “Esther gave of herself.  We are still hopeful, but our hope lies in Heaven.  Though our sadness and pain are great, the joy and hope are greater.  It is not easy.  It is not understandable.  We will always wish she were here with us.  But we are still thankful for the Lord’s grace and favor with blessing us with Julianne Elizabeth and in keeping Esther Colleen safe in his hands until we meet again.”  Then, in honor of her life, Katy Anne and Jonathan asked friends and family to do acts of kindness and sacrifice on March 9.  People responded in amazing ways as they also wrote notes or told the recipients why they were expressing their kindness.  They paid for people’s dinner, took donuts to the police department, made and took sandwiches to share with the homeless,  took treats to the front office people at their daughter’s school, treated people to a free ice cream, gave four customers at a custard shop $5.00 to help pay for their dessert, and the workers at the Texas Roadhouse where Katy Anne works baked and took bread and a note to Chili’s and also bought a cake for the staff and sent a lot of love and prayers their way.  I love how Katy Anne and Jonathan, even in their sadness, chose to honor Esther Colleen by encouraging others to bless people with random acts of kindness in her memory. 

On the news this week, a story was featured about a police officer who pulled a lady over because he noticed that the two children in her car were not riding in the proper type of booster seats to help them ride safely.  The woman told the officer that even though she knew the kids needed the seats, she could not afford them.  Instead of writing the young mother a ticket, the officer gave her an escort to the store and purchased the car seats for her children. 

In junior highs and high schools across the country, it’s not unusual to find a student or two eating alone.  Denis Estimon, a student at Boca Raton High School, in Florida, remembers that feeling well.  As a first grade Haitian immigrant, he felt left out, especially at lunch.  Although Denis is now one of the most popular kids on campus, he has never forgotten that feeling of aloneness.  Knowing he could help with the situation, Denis and some of his friends started a club at their high school called “We Dine Together.”  The members of the club make it a point to go into the courtyard during their lunch period to make sure people have someone to visit with.  Because of the club, newcomers feel welcome and friendships are being formed.  Other students are also taking the lead to talk and visit with their peers.  Denis Estimon has graduated high school, but his club lives on.  This year he is traveling to over 100 high schools to teach students how to set up clubs in their school so that every student can feel accepted and valued.

Life sometimes gives us lemons.  We have a choice of what we will do and how we will respond.  This week, whether it’s for yourself or for you to share with others, may the lemonade you make be extra sweet.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:31

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9 

Good Hearts

No act of kindness,

no matter how small,

is ever wasted.

- Aesop

Today I shall behave as if this is the day I will be remembered.  - Dr. Seuss

Coaches have the opportunity, responsibility, and privilege of teaching more than just their sport.  Character, integrity, citizenship, manners, and sportsmanship are taught, modeled, and learned through participation in sports.  Last week, the Bryan igh School VikingsHigh School Vikings basketball team played in the playoffs.  After the game was over, and the fans had gone, the basketball players went up into the stands and helped the custodian pick up the trash on the home side bleachers.  They are learning that life is more than what happens in a game.  No matter the final score of the game, these young men and their coaches are winners.

In another momentous basketball game, Jordan Bohannon, Iowa State’s sophomore point guard, had a chance to break the 25 year school record of 34 consecutive free throws in Hawkeyes’ games.  Twenty-five years ago Chris Street broke the record that still stands today.  On January 19, 1993, Chris was on his way home, after a night class and team meal, when his car collided with a snowplow and he was killed.  Not only was Street an amazing athlete, but also a much respected young man, both on and off the court.  The school has since retired his #40 jersey as well as named the outstanding player award in his memory.  During the game on February 25, 2018, Jordan tied Chris’ consecutive free throw record and then the play came to break the record.  As season ticket holders, Chris’ parents were in the arena.  Right before the go ahead shot, Jordan glanced up in Section KK at his older brother, Zach.  He was going through with the plan they had discussed.  Without trying to make it obvious, Jordan Bohannon purposefully threw the ball short of the basket so that he would miss the free throw.  He immediately, pointed toward the ceiling.   He went on to make the following two free throws in the game.  When interviewed Jordan stated:  “Obviously that’s not my record to have.  Obviously that record deserves to stay in his name.  I’ve been really close to his family these past couple of years.  … Just listening to his story, honestly, it’s really gotten me emotional these past couple of games because I knew what I wanted to do.”  After the game Bohannon tweeted, “Life is much bigger than basketball.”  What an amazing example of unselfishness, respect, and heart.

May what overflows from our hearts also be a blessing to God and his people.

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Luke 6:45

A generous person will prosper;

     whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Proverbs 11:25

Show me your ways, LORD,

     teach me your paths.

Psalm 25:4

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22