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. Ephesians 2:8-9
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:34
I was talking to my mother a few days ago and telling her about a situation with one of my football players I have been dealing with. My mother has always loved me being a football coach and, although she does not always understand the many aspects of my job, is always able to give good advice. I was telling her about a young man who has been an issue for me since the first day we met. He has made a few bad decisions that have lead to several problems for him at home and at school. I was explaining my dilemma to my mother about whether or not to keep him as a member of our team or not. I explained that the easy decision for me would be to tell him he is no longer on the team and have one less problem to deal with, but I am hoping his being involved with a team will be what helps to change his life. There is an old saying among coaches that goes, “Some young men need football more than football needs them”. This is definitely the case with this young man. As my mother and I were saying goodbye from her visit, she asked me for the young man’s first name. I told her his name and she said, “If not for the grace of God, that could be me”.
The following day, while in the church service, the pastor asked for prayer for a young girl who has been diagnosed with cancer that has attacked most of her body. A picture of this little girl was shown on the screen and I immediately thought about my daughter, Sydney Love. I wrote on the back of a piece of paper, the little girls name and Sydney Love’s name and said to myself, “If not for the grace of God”.
My life has been full of God’s grace and I was never more thankful for it than at that moment. As I listened to the sermon, I quietly prayed within my mind and thanked God for His unending grace. I also prayed for the little girl who is suffering from a horrible illness. I prayed for God’s grace to be poured on her. I also prayed for her parents. I prayed for the dad, who loves his girl as much as I love mine, and is dealing with the frightening thought of losing her. I pray God will remind him of the grace of God that is present even in her hospital room.
Pray today and thank Him for His grace that is ever present in our lives. The same grace that protects us, is the same grace that saves us from our sin, and carries us through the challenging days of our lives. He promises to hear our prayers, even when we feel very small in the world. Not only does He hear our prayers, but He also hears the prayers on our behalf from His own Son. His Son, who is sitting at His right hand, praying for us constantly.
Chad
Monday, August 27, 2018
Monday, August 6, 2018
You have a job to do!
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, Colossians 3:23
My wife and I have spent the past few days preparing to move our daughter back to college for her sophomore year. I thought year number two would be easier but I have found that I dislike it as much this year as I did on the first. One of my assigned duties for the move was to pick up a trailer at the rental place for us to move furniture. I woke up on the morning I was scheduled to pick up the trailer feeling sick. I have been blessed with a life that has been relatively free from any type of illness. So, on the rare occasions when I have a fever, it totally throws me off. I walked into the office at the rental place and was greeted by a very nice young lady who was working for the day. We talked for a few minutes while she did the paperwork for my rental. I left the office, backed my truck into a parking lot, and found my assigned trailer. My problems began immediately. The trailer I was to pick up was very large and heavy. I realized quickly there was no way to lift the trailer onto my truck other than by using my “brute” strength. So, there I stood, only person in sight, sweating from a fever and the summer heat, with a heavy trailer to lift. I finally was able to lift the trailer onto my truck only to find the hitch on the trailer was broken and would now have to be removed from my truck. The young employee walked out to the parking lot to check on me and I realized she was several months pregnant. I told her about my problem and she walked behind my truck, stood over the trailer hitch, and began to try to lift the trailer. Of course, I stopped her and said, “You are pregnant. I am not going to let you lift this trailer”. She moved away and said, “But I still have a job to do”.
She quickly reminded me that, just because I did not feel well, I still had a job to do for the day. Not only were my wife and daughter depending on me to get a trailer, they were needing me to load that trailer before the next morning. The following days success was dependant on me getting a trailer and loading that trailer. The rest would not happen without me completing my duty for the day regardless of how I felt at the moment or what was working against me. Now, I am still not sure why a young girl needs so much stuff in a college apartment, but that was not my job for the day!
The young lady at the rental place also reminded me that, as a follower of Christ, I still have a job to do. He does not tell us that, while doing His work, we will always feel well, everything will go our way, or there will not be struggles. In fact, He tells us the exact opposite. He knows there will be days when we do not feel well, the daily struggles of life will get in the way, and all will seem against us. But, we still have a job to do and He expects it to be done. He tells us in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Not only is there a lot of work to do, there are not many workers to do the job. He still needs His work to be done.
Ask Him to give you the strength to continue His work. Regardless of the trials we face, the overwhelming harvest, and the limited amount of workers, there is still plenty of work to be done. I prayed today and asked God to give me the patience, wisdom, and strength to do His work. I also thanked Him for the hundreds of days when I don’t have a fever to deal with and a heavy trailer to lift!
Chad
My wife and I have spent the past few days preparing to move our daughter back to college for her sophomore year. I thought year number two would be easier but I have found that I dislike it as much this year as I did on the first. One of my assigned duties for the move was to pick up a trailer at the rental place for us to move furniture. I woke up on the morning I was scheduled to pick up the trailer feeling sick. I have been blessed with a life that has been relatively free from any type of illness. So, on the rare occasions when I have a fever, it totally throws me off. I walked into the office at the rental place and was greeted by a very nice young lady who was working for the day. We talked for a few minutes while she did the paperwork for my rental. I left the office, backed my truck into a parking lot, and found my assigned trailer. My problems began immediately. The trailer I was to pick up was very large and heavy. I realized quickly there was no way to lift the trailer onto my truck other than by using my “brute” strength. So, there I stood, only person in sight, sweating from a fever and the summer heat, with a heavy trailer to lift. I finally was able to lift the trailer onto my truck only to find the hitch on the trailer was broken and would now have to be removed from my truck. The young employee walked out to the parking lot to check on me and I realized she was several months pregnant. I told her about my problem and she walked behind my truck, stood over the trailer hitch, and began to try to lift the trailer. Of course, I stopped her and said, “You are pregnant. I am not going to let you lift this trailer”. She moved away and said, “But I still have a job to do”.
She quickly reminded me that, just because I did not feel well, I still had a job to do for the day. Not only were my wife and daughter depending on me to get a trailer, they were needing me to load that trailer before the next morning. The following days success was dependant on me getting a trailer and loading that trailer. The rest would not happen without me completing my duty for the day regardless of how I felt at the moment or what was working against me. Now, I am still not sure why a young girl needs so much stuff in a college apartment, but that was not my job for the day!
The young lady at the rental place also reminded me that, as a follower of Christ, I still have a job to do. He does not tell us that, while doing His work, we will always feel well, everything will go our way, or there will not be struggles. In fact, He tells us the exact opposite. He knows there will be days when we do not feel well, the daily struggles of life will get in the way, and all will seem against us. But, we still have a job to do and He expects it to be done. He tells us in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”. Not only is there a lot of work to do, there are not many workers to do the job. He still needs His work to be done.
Ask Him to give you the strength to continue His work. Regardless of the trials we face, the overwhelming harvest, and the limited amount of workers, there is still plenty of work to be done. I prayed today and asked God to give me the patience, wisdom, and strength to do His work. I also thanked Him for the hundreds of days when I don’t have a fever to deal with and a heavy trailer to lift!
Chad
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