crosspoint church

Remarkable Comebacks and More Good Reminders

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I am a Cards fan. I admit it. I have been since around 1981 or so. I don’t really follow baseball as closely as I used to, but I was glued to the TV for the last few innings of the Nationals-Cardinals game.

It was 6-0 after 3 innings. It looked hopeless. I wasn’t too optimistic.

But something happened. Inning after inning, the Cards chipped away at the lead, scoring a run here, 2 runs there, and suddenly, we’re in the top of the 9th inning with a 7-5 ballgame.

Even then, I wasn’t overly optimistic. I may not win Fan of the Year, but I’m just being honest. I figured that the magic was about to run out.

But I was never more glad to be wrong. The Cards scored 4 more runs in very dramatic fashion and ended up winning 9-7. Yeah, it was awesome.

But the little gears in my brain started whirling and got me to thinking, “What else in my life have I given up on? What dream have I all but discarded and resigned myself to the fact that it won’t ever happen?”

I think the reminder for me and everyone else reading this is to not give up. If Jesus could find a way out of the grave, he can surely find a  way to give you the desires of your heart. If not, he’s bound to give you something way better.

So take it from this baseball equivalent of Eeyore. Don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel just yet.

Trust that what seems impossible to us isn’t even remotely difficult for God (yep, I stole that one from Crosspoint Church). Trust that God is able to do what he promised.

Even when you’re down to your very last strike, it’s not over. Not as long as God is in charge.

 

Kairos Revisited

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Tonight’s guest speaker, Pete Wilson from Crosspoint Church, spoke about idolatry in relation to the American culture.

We don’t have actual wooden and golden and stone idols that we physically bow down to, but we have idols, nonetheless. Our idols are internal, and are anything that we expect to give what only God can give.

Two of the biggest areas of idolatry are accomplishment and approval.

Accomplishment says that if you can get that raise or that promotion, you will find meaning. If you work more hours and earn more accolades through your job, you will have value.

Jesus says, “I give you meaning and value merely because you are Mine.”

Approval says that you spend your life trying to make other people like you and notice you. Approval dictates how you dress, look, speak, and live your life.

Jesus says, “I approve of you because you are My beloved and I have eternally set my affection on you.”

If you seek fulfillment in these idols, it’s like being on an endless treadmill where you’re always reaching and striving because nothing you do is ever quite good enough. It’s exhausting.

Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and overburdened and who work to the point of exhaustion, and I will give you rest.”

I really liked his definition of authenticity. It’s the practice of letting go of who you think you should be and who everyone else thinks you should be in order to become who you really are.

Authenticity is rare, so rare that those who dare to be their true selves will stand out like colors in a greyscale world.

As a recovering approval-addict, I appreciated tonight’s message. If I were honest, I’d have to repent on almost a daily basis of idols I have let slip into my life and given my time and attention to rather than God.

I think I for one want to step off the treadmill and find rest in my Abba as my only true source of contentment and fulfillment. Will you?