It’s the 4th Quarter, So Finish Strong!

If you’ve watched football, you’ve seen it.  At the end of the 3^rd Quarter, the players on both teams will often stretch a hand skyward with four fingers extended.  What’s their point?  To remind one another that the game isn’t over yet – it’s not time to quit or sit – it’s time to give all they have to seek victory. 

Can you imagine a coach’s response if a player said, “I’m saving myself for the next game, Coach, since this game is almost over.”?  I’m confident the coach would utter lots of unkind things, including the query, “What in the world are you saving yourself FOR?”   Fair question.

As a Follower of Jesus Christ, it seems I’m entering a period of life that could be termed my “4^th Quarter”.  How old is that?  Old enough to know that most of my effort as a believer and servant of Jesus is past.  The game isn’t over for me yet, but the days that lie ahead are certainly fewer than those that lie behind.  So, what am I supposed to do in this situation? 

Many adults dream about the chance to stop working a 9-5 job, drawing a monthly check you’ve been counting on, and spending sunny days on the beach or the golf course.  After a hard-working life, isn’t the 4^th Quarter for our leisure and rest?  Well, consider these words from Scripture:

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.   James 4:14 NLT

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.   Mark 8:35. NLT

Does that sound like Jesus intended us to put our feet up on the couch or lean back in the recliner?  Don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing sinful about wanting to spend a little time beach-combing or trying to sink a 20-foot putt.  We all need a break sometimes.  But you weren’t redeemed to become a lazy beach-walker.  You weren’t bought by the blood of Christ to share the good views at the Masters Tournament, but to share the Good News of the Master’s sacrifice!

Here’s what being a 4^th Quarter adult SHOULD mean to you:  You are still important to the Kingdom of God.  God has spent a lifetime building His truth and service and value into your life.  Now is not the time to quit or sit.  Now is the time to Finish Strong!  Can you hear the Coach saying, “What in the world are you saving yourself for?”  Leave a Legacy of Faith by serving and giving strong to the end.  The game isn’t over until Christ calls you home.  Until then, how about “leaving it all on the field”, as the players say?  If you’d like to connect with other 4^th Quarter adults who are determined to continue making a difference for the Kingdom, check out http://4thq.org/.  YOU may be the person in your church that rallies others to Finish Strong after they assumed they were ready to ease off into the sunset.

Just one final thought from Scripture.  This one comes from 4^th Quarter King David as a reminder to us all: 

Be strong. Have strength of heart and do it.  Do not be afraid or troubled, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not stop helping you. He will not leave you until all the work...is finished.   1 Chronicles 28:20

Teach kids in Children’s Church.  Hold someone’s hand at Hospice.  Take a mission trip.  Just don’t quit and sit.  It is, after all, only the 4^th Quarter.  So Finish Strong. 

Jacob

Why Doesn’t God Use Me?

In a world where so much need exists, what are you doing about it?  We are often overwhelmed by all the pain, unkindness, and need that exists around us.  I suppose we collectively think, “One person can’t really make much difference anyway.”  Then we go on about our business, living as we wish, generally seeking our own good in a world that would benefit from our sacrifice, not our self-satisfaction.

I just returned from the Dominican Republic and had the opportunity to visit ministries that work with children there.  It’s appropriate that I mention South Texas Children’s Home (STCH) International – an organization committed to seeing God work in the lives of children in that country, as well as in the US, Peru, and Costa Rica.  (https://www.facebook.com/stchm.international/).  Their efforts are making a difference for Christ, but I want to focus on two Dominicans with whom STCH has partnered that are individually making a difference. 

Raquel is a lovely woman who has a heart for the poor and those who need to know Christ who began tutoring children on the street.  Her ministry expanded to the chicken coop on her father’s property and continued to grow.  Now she leads a beautiful two-story school that educates 178 children, helping them know the love of Christ and expanding their learning opportunities.

Cesar used to be a taxi driver, but when delivering his clients to their restaurant destinations, noticed orphaned boys waiting to search through the trash for their next meal.  God impressed on Cesar that the boys needed more than physical food – they needed to be loved and cared for in the name of Jesus.  He enlisted other faithful followers of Christ to help and began an orphanage for boys, now caring for twenty, ranging in age from 3-18. 

As I write their brief stories, I have to wonder why God hasn’t done something amazing through MY life?  It’s at this point that we all start to make excuses or point out the small things that may have been accomplished by those of us who are mildly committed to making a difference for Christ.  But why not more?  What is different about Raquel and Cesar?  They are poorer, less-educated, and haven’t left the area where they were born.  Yet they have seen God work through them and around them in ways most of us can’t imagine.

This passage in James 5 always has baffled me:

¹⁷ Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! ¹⁸ Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.

Elijah was human, just like me.  Just like Raquel and Cesar.  Yet God accomplished big things through their their lives.  Certainly, prayer was a huge part of the process for each of them, so I can be convicted about that!  But the biggest difference between them and me (and perhaps you) is that they DID SOMETHING in response to God’s revelation of need.  When God shows me a need, I usually expect someone ELSE to do something about it.  Or I just change the channel.  Maybe it’s time to get up and do something – anything – that will point people to Jesus.  Then when I ask myself, “Why doesn’t God use me?”  The answer will be, “He is.”

Jacob

Does Christmas make you feel Optimistic? Or Hopeful? There IS a difference!

The glass.  You know the one.  Psychologists think you either see it as half-full or half-empty.  That distinction, they say, determines how you view and experience life.  But for some of us, it’s neither.  Instead, our “life-glass” might seem nearly or completely empty.  Or worse still, it seems like life has stomped our little glass to smithereens!  How optimistic can you be then?

Optimism, you see, is based on your assessment of your circumstances, both present and future, in view of your personal expectations.  Optimism is then dependent on at least “seeing light at the end of the tunnel”, so to speak.  We can be optimistic even when life seems to be against us as long as we believe it will get better.  But it’s tough to be an optimist when you discover you have terminal cancer.  Or worse, that your child does.  It’s tough to be optimistic when your finances have tanked just when your job disappears.  Is hope really any different?

While optimism is based on OUR thoughts and feelings and assessment of our futures, hope is based on something outside of ourselves.  When we can believe in something greater than ourselves or our circumstance, HOPE can flourish.  That’s what Christmas is all about.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.   John 1:1-5

THERE is the light at the end of the tunnel you were looking for!  Since before time began, the God who made everything determined to also make Himself personal and knowable to us.  He determined HE would be the Light when there is no other light in your life.  HE would be Life for you when your own life seems to betray you.  And no matter how dark things get, even when optimism fades, HE does not.  Instead of optimism, God brings Hope.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.² Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.  ³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us….   Romans 5:1-5

When we celebrate the coming of Jesus this time of year, we tend to focus on four promises that the Christ-child brings: Love, Joy, Peace, and Hope.  When Paul wrote these words, I doubt he was thinking specifically about the birth of Jesus.  In fact, the books of Matthew and Luke that describe the birth of Jesus were still years from being written when Paul penned Romans.  But the truth of what Jesus brought us has been there from the beginning – before time began.  Hope, you see, is based on something outside ourselves.  Because the One who offers us hope is the same One who offers us His love from the foundation of the world; His peace through Jesus’ sacrificial life, death and resurrection; and His joy even in the midst of those dark nights when we can’t see any light at all except for His.

Is hope better than optimism?  Absolutely.  Because no matter what, HOPE doesn’t disappoint.  We can hope because God is faithful – even if the glass is shattered.

Celebrating the hope we have in Jesus Christ,

Jacob

Don't Stop Short of Christmas

Do you always use a GPS-enabled navigation system to find your way when you're headed somewhere new?  A few months ago, I relied completely on one while traveling in another country.  I ended up in the middle of a cow pasture.  Literally.  I was faithfully following the directions the system was giving me because I had no idea where I was going!  Now I'm convinced a map would have been a better idea.

Over two thousand years ago some wise men, or Magi, took off on a long trip not knowing exactly where they were headed.  They didn't have a map or a nav system, but they had something better.  They were, of course, being directed by the Star appointed by the Creator God to guide them to His Only-Begotten Son.  What was the star?  There's not really enough time to deal with that here, but there are certainly other lessons to be learned from the journey of these travelers from the East.  The story is only recorded in the gospel of Matthew:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”…and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  (Matthew 2:1-2;9-11)

You know the story as you’ve seen it portrayed in countless Christmas pageants - three young guys dressed in bathrobes and paper crowns presenting gifts to the baby in the manger, surrounded by mini-shepherds, angels, and anthropomorphic animals.  Though the church pageant scene doesn’t exactly jive with the Biblical account, it all fuses into an amazing story of worship.

So were there three wise men?  The Scripture doesn’t say.  Three gifts mentioned gives rise to that idea.  Some middle-eastern church traditions say there were twelve.  Did they have names?  I’m sure they did, but we don’t know them.  Where were they from?  The word in the Bible literally says “from the rising of the sun” - somewhere in the east, most likely Persia or Babylon or even Yemen.  Their knowledge about the coming King was likely influenced by Jews, like Daniel, who were held captive in the region 500 years before.

But getting back to the stellar GPS they followed, I must ask, “Why does the story say the Magi stopped in Jerusalem?”  They had followed that amazing star for a 1,000 miles, yet they stopped in Jerusalem instead of following it all the way to Bethlehem where the Child was born.  After traveling that far, they stopped SIX MILES short of their destination!  Why did that happen?  Because they took their eyes off the star.  They had “seen His star” but there they were, asking directions from the wicked king, Herod, because they assumed the King of Glory would be living in a palace.  Once they looked for the Star again, it was right there to guide them to Jesus.

This Christmas, make sure YOUR spiritual GPS is fully functioning.  Don’t stop short like the Magi.  Instead, remember to look up instead of looking around.  After all, where else would you expect to find the Star of Christmas, the Bright and Morning Star? (Revelation 22:16)

Jacob