What Happened To My 2009-2010 Colts?
My Colts! What Happened?
Well, I have to confess, in January of 2010, I was more than a bit disappointed in the result of that year’s Super Bowl. After the Colts went up by ten points I thought we were on our way to another championship. The newspaper’s headlines stated “Super Letdown.” Maybe so, however, we know that disappointments will come. Not everything always goes our way. The Super Letdown is actually a very minor inconvenience compared to the struggles many go through each and every day with the loss of gainful employment, a home that can no longer be afforded or loss of a loved one.
In the book of Hebrews 2:8, God lets us know that, at present, not all things are under our control. We will experience disappointment, some very minor like our favorite team losing, and some very severe such as the earthquake disaster that hit the island nation of Haiti a few years ago. Hebrews goes on to tell us that, even though these things are true, we can still look to Jesus who went through the same types of struggles and disappointments so that He can be a faithful minister. When difficulties arise remember the words of our Lord regarding tribulation in this life, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
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Wisdom From God
In the first chapter and first and second verse of the book of Psalms, the writer gives some very sound instruction. It reads, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord…” Verse three goes on to tell us that if we will keep this simple rule, “Whatever He does will prosper.”
Who you listen to is crucial in the decisions you make which leads to the outcomes you experience. With that in mind, you better be careful where you get your advice. The Bible is full of illustrations of this, for example: 2 Chronicles 18 tells the story of Jehoshaphat (King of Judah) aligning himself with Ahab (King of Israel) for battle. Jehoshaphat wisely suggests that before they march into battle to “first seek the counsel of the Lord.” However, Ahab invites 400 prophets to come who only tell the king what he wants to hear. So, they all give the thumbs up!
Instead of being satisfied with this, Jehoshaphat suggests hearing from a “prophet of the LORD” for a second opinion. Ahab reluctantly calls for a prophet that he despises because he never prophesies “anything good” about him. Sure enough, this prophet tells that calamity awaits and sure defeat, and Ahab says “I told you he never prophesies good about me.”
Rather than listen to this one godly prophet, they take their advice from the crowd and go into battle only to suffer great defeat. The same thing will happen to us when we take our advice from a crowd. I would rather listen to one wise person than a crowd of fools!
Just because a number of people are saying the same thing doesn’t make it right. We will only bring trouble into our lives if we surround ourselves with advisers whose only thought is to tell us what we want to hear.
Be blessed,
Pastor Chris
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We Are Followers of Christ
In 1 Corinthian 3:1-4, the scripture tells us this…”Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,” and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not mere men?”
It is interesting to see how the Apostle addresses this idea of sectarian pursuits, that is, belonging to this group or that group. There were those who thought it was of utmost importance to be associated with Paul while others felt that belonging to the sect of Apollos was the way to go. Paul sets the record straight time and time again. It is neither belonging to Paul or Apollos that is of any importance in what defines a disciple. But it is only by following Christ that we receive our worth.
Paul continues his letter to the Corinthians in verses 5 through 7,”What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” According to the Word of God, what is vital is that we find our worth, not in following any one person or organization for that matter, but in Christ alone. “For it is in Christ that we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Be blessed.
Pastor Chris Hayden
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