FINISH STRONG

by Barbara Chadwick

I just finished the book, Through My Eyes, by Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker. I mentioned it two weeks ago.  I am impressed. I’m impressed with Tim’s desire to make his life count for Jesus, and his desire to be the best that he can be in whatever he does.

He is a two-time winner of the NCAA National Football Championship with the University of Florida and he is the first-ever sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. But what shines more for me is that he loves the Lord.

Here are two statements he made before the 2008 BCS National Championship Game:

- I have never been more nervous than I was headed into the BCS National Championship Game
- After all of the hours, days, and months in the weight room, it was time for all of that to pay off.

 The score was 7-7 at halftime and stayed close through the third quarter. In the fourth quarter with time running down Tebow made a touchdown with a jump pass from the four yard line to cinch the game. They won 24-14 and became the 2008 National Champions.

 He writes: “After the final touchdown I walked over to Coach Meyer. He pulled off his headset, opened up his arms, gave me a great big hug and said, ‘Atta boy. Great job. You finished. I love you.’”

 The next paragraph says, “As great as that was, how much greater will it feel when we get to heaven and Jesus takes off his headset, opens up His arms, gives us a big hug, and says, ‘Atta boy. Great job. You finished. I love you.’ … Finishing strong; It’s great for football. You have to finish in football; you have to learn how to finish in the weight room, through the line, finishing a sprint everything gets hard. Finish. Eventually some people are going to stop, some people are going to quit, and some people are going to start going slower, but the people who can finish and finish at the same pace or stronger than when they started, those are the ones who are going to succeed… Those are the ones who are going to have an impact in this world and on the lives of others around them. How much more so in life to finish strong. For yourself. For the world. For others. For the God who created you."

At the end of the book he says, “As I’ve said before, ‘I don’t know what my future holds, but I do know Who holds my future.’ With that in mind, I’m pressing on toward the upward call of Christ Jesus, seeking to continue living in the way that always brings glory to him.”

 Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7,  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness.  And we can hear God say, “Atta boy. Great job. You finished. I love you.”

Dry

By Barbara Chadwick 

“You have dry eyes.”

“How can that be? My eyes are constantly tearing up.”

“Yes, I know, but those tears are not quality tears. They do not provide enough lubrication.”
I thought the ophthalmologist was a little crazy.  Later, I thought, that’s so spiritual. You know what I mean?  Sometimes we are spiritually dry. We pray at morning and evening devotions, at meals, at Sunday School and Church prayer meetings but they are not quality prayers!  Sometimes they are rote prayers – saying the same words every time or sometimes we say words that we think are expected of us.

So at first I thought well that’s wrong!
 
But what are the options?

#1 -  We could stop praying and going to church and telling others about God’s love and wait until we - feel - the Spirit. That’s spiritually dangerous. That would be like someone who is dehydrated waiting until it felt right to drink water.

#2 - We continue praying as always. We continue to do those things we were taught because we know that God is faithful.

Psalms 37:7; 23; 27 encourages us to wait for the Lord.  Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him…  A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand… do what is good, and dwell there forever. For the Lord loves justice and will not abandon his faithful ones.

Did you notice that the scripture says, wait expectantly? – like waiting for a loved one to arrive at the airport; knowing that when the passengers deplane and that special someone walks into the terminal it will be very sweet. When we come into a prayer time expecting God to be there He hears and His response to us is very sweet.

and the Lord holds his hand?  You know those times when you held the hand of a child, keeping them safe from traffic, from the river, or from the crowd of people at the fair and the child pulled out of your grip and ran into harm’s way? Do you remember how scared and frustrated you felt?  But, don’t forget that Jesus says in John 10:29, …No one can snatch them (believers) out of my hand.  The Lord holds our hand.

So:

WAIT,

              EXPECT,
                                   DO GOOD

and mentally picture yourself enfolded within God’s capable and faithful hand.

KNOWING

i was born “KNOWING”

i knew how to sing and sang on pitch before i can remember

i knew how to engage people of all ages in conversation as soon as i could talk

i knew the way into the kingdom of God and completely embraced it by the age of six

            for every time i fell, literally and figuratively, i knew why

BUT

for all the ways that “KNOWING” made my life easier, blessed, different, special

there were 1000 ways it made it harder

i’ve wasted and squandered countless hours

            on being a “know-it-all”

            on crying – fighting – pouting because i didn’t “know what to do”

            on covering up a myriad of things because

                        i was afraid it … i would become “known”

KNOWING – instinctively understanding …

            what to do – what to say – where to go – how to react – when to leave – when to stay

A submitted KNOWING

            Blesses Me – Blesses Others – Blesses God

An UN-submitted KNOWING IS sin!

God in His gracious, loving, patient way is showing me, teaching me, allowing me to discover ways that my “KNOWING” is wrong … even a kind of “UN- KNOWING” or “NOT KNOWING”. He’s revealed Himself, His KNOWING, as sufficient, reliable, and trustworthy.

Now … today …

                                                 i live in the land of “i don’t know”

                                        amongst a people who say “you know”

                                                in a world that is “dying to know”

and yet …

            in the midst of NOT KNOWING

i can rest quietly, content, and confident

                                    because i know  …

i am KNOWN

BE PREPARED

by Barbara Chadwick

I am reading a book on the life of Tim Tebow, the quarterback. It is very interesting to me, not because of all the football action he describes (I’m blond after all and just don’t get all that!) but because of how God has worked in his life.

Did you know that his mother was told that she should abort him? A doctor told her that “it” was just a “mass of fetal tissue” or a “tumor.” Amazing!

But, Tim says, “In the delivery room, my parents tell me that I entered the world without much fanfare, followed immediately by a blood clot that was bigger than I was.” The physician (a different doctor) told his dad, “Mr Tebow, your child is a miracle baby. I can’t explain how it happened, but despite all odds, he beat them. Only a small part of the placenta was attached, but it was just enough to keep your baby nourished all these months.”

In chapter nine he quotes Colossians 3:23-24: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. That has been a mantra for him. He always pushes himself to do his best work.

In chapter ten he talks about being prepared:
“Being a competitor, I wanted to be out there helping and felt that I was ready to be involved whenever the coaches felt they needed me. The hardest part was no knowing – warming up to stay ready and then not knowing when your number will be called. It was a ‘wait, then hurry up, and then wait again’ situation, like much of life. You never know when an opportunity to help, to do something good, to lift up someone, or some situation will come your way. Always be prepared so that you can do your best when it’s time.”

Today I played the piano for a funeral of a friend - a godly man who was an example of Christ’s love and compassion to all who knew him. I made a number of mistakes and remembered this quote from Tim Tebow. I felt a little ashamed because I realized I had let too many hours of too many days slip by without practicing or touching the piano. God gave each of us talents and He expects us to develop them and be prepared to use them.

Chapter sixteen begins with a quote from Luke 12:48:  From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. His parents instilled this truth into all their children and they all put every effort into whatever work they undertook. Tim is a hard worker. He pushes himself to always set new records and give back to God what God has entrusted to him.

What a great example. Thank God for my Christian friend who was an example to family and friends and thank God for Christian sports figures who point to Christ in their actions.

IS GOD GLORIFIED IN YOUR LIFE?

By Barbara Chadwick

We went to a couple’s retreat in Walden, CO this week-end. Great fellowship and good food and just getting out of town was just what we needed.

Here are some things we learned.  (The italics are the words of the speaker.)

Christians are to be dispensers of grace (Ephesians 1:4-7)

Is your speech filled with grace?  Do your actions show the love of Christ in your heart?  Does your attitude bless people? During your regular daily routine, how often are you aware of God’s presence in your life? We need to pray for God to nudge us with a reminder that He’s still there and that He wants us to reflect His grace and love.

Our great hope is the basis of our rejoicing even in the midst of trials (I Peter 1:6-7) “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

So I say, keep your eyes on this hope. Fix your eyes on Jesus

Important truths about trials:

      -          Trials are temporary

-          Trials are necessary

-          Trials are purposeful

Comfort one another with these words: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus…. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through… The one who calls you is faithful…”                                              I Thessalonians 4:16-18; 23a;24a.

So I say, FINISH STRONG! And may God be glorified in your words, your actions and your attitudes.

Stay Connected

Stay Connected

By BarbaraChadwick

A message popped up on the computer screen: “You must plug into a power source immediately.”

That got me to thinking:

As a Christian we cannot operate without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. There are times when I feel that my Christianity is very shallow. It seems that my prayers don’t go past the ceiling. I try in my own might to make my spirit in tune with God’s Spirit and it doesn’t happen. I’m in a real funk – not really good to help or encourage anyone. Jesus told His disciples, I am going to send you what the Father has promised (the Holy Spirit) but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. Luke 24:49

Then there are times when I’m actually physically weak – ill. My brain says: “You can’t do this or that thing in church. You don’t have the strength.”  Then I’m reminded of when the Lord told Paul, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.  2 Corinthians 12:8

The apostle Paul talked a lot about the power of God in our lives. He told Timothy,  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.  2 Tim 1:7

He told the Ephesians, I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Ephesians 3:16-21

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Ephesians 6:10

I pray that we will stay connected to our Power Source – Jesus.

Citizens of Heaven
by Dr. Kenneth Chadwick

We are bombarded on all sides these days with political messages. Elect me and I will bring in the millennial reign. I know what is wrong and I can fix it better than anyone else. Promises, promises and more promises is what we are fed on a regular basis.

 What is wrong with America cannot be fixed by the Democrats or the Republicans separately or collectively. What is wrong is sin and needs a sin solution. The solution is found in one person alone. That was the person Jesus Christ who died and was raised on Easter Sunday.

I am not saying that you should not vote and vote wisely. What I am saying is that a political solution will not solve a spiritual problem. Col 3:1 “So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.” He was raised from the dead and in baptism we have been raised with him we need to seek the things of God. We are citizens of another country and are not of this earth. Php 3:20 “but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”