BE LIKE JEREMY LIN!

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. - Proverbs 27:17

     Ok, so the title has nothing to do with this Bible verse.  But I love the Jeremy Lin story!  No one's ever heard of him, he goes on a tear....and he doesn't stop.  Everyone loves the rags to riches, coming out of nowhere story.  We all love to see the underdog rise to the occasion because, partly, it reminds us that we can be that underdog.  Everyday is a new day with a whole new adventure, and that day might be our day.
     Maybe we won't become the starting point guard for the New York Knicks.  But, it might be our day to really affect somebody's life.  It might be our day to turn our marriage around.  It might be our day to do our job a lot better.  It might be our day to recconnect with God.  And yes, it might be our day, when all the world will recognize us for something we've done.
     So, sharpen another friend today.  Who knows it might be their day too!  (See how I tied it all together!)

RAMBO MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD IT FIGURED OUT!

You say, "I am not allowed to do anything" - but everything is good for you.  You say, "I am allowed to do anything" - but not everything is beneficial.  Don't be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.  1 Corinthians 10:23-24

     Maybe it's the lack of sleep, but I was reading this and thinking, "What the...."  Those first two lines make no sense whatsoever.  I know God has a pretty good idea on grammar, but I don't get.  So, let's do what all great readers do, and SKIP IT!  
     Now, that second part, I get it!  Think about what is good for others.  Whatever you do, ask this, "How is it going to affect others?"
     Whoa!  That's a little revolutionary.  In our world that loves the song, "I Did it My Way" - we might actually think about what others need before ourselves.  In our world that values the independent, powerful, confident (which oftentimes just means selfish), and individualistic - God is saying "NO!"  It's about community, empathy, selflessness.
     Challenge:  Go through the day with this lens: What do the people around me need?  

BE A DORK ON VALENTINE'S DAY!

There was a believer in Joppa names Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas).  She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. -Acts 9:36

     Do you think Dorcas ever got made fun of?  Why not just name your kid Geekas?  Or Moronas?  Or Nerdas?  (Just think if you added another "s" to her name!)
      But, one thing you can never make fun of is someone who is always doing kind things and helping the poor (see that tie in?).  Actually, I think Dorcas would have been my kind of Christian.  I like those people who do kind things and help the poor.  Those people who are in Bible studies, they're o.k.  Those people who don't swear - I could take them or leave them.  Those people who who are always at church but are never the church - you can have them.
     Give me a bunch of Dorks who just love God, want to do kind deeds, help the poor, and we'll change the world!  Maybe we'll call this the Dork Revolution!  We're just dorky enough to do it!
      Is anyone with me?  
     If so, send me an idea like this one: Get your family and nine other families to sponsor a backpack ($25 at sixseeds.org).  Let's do this!

SOME OF US CHURCHGOERS ARE WIMPY!

When troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. -James 1:2-4

     What is trouble?  That is the question!  Is it losing a football game?  Is it being sick?  Is it having to get your kids to a bunch of different events?  Is it having to get up early?
     My buddy Julio Cuomo likes to say, "We don't know trouble.  The disciples - they knew trouble."  They knew that if they followed Jesus they could get killed.  Now that' trouble.  So, when James says, "When troubles come your way" I think he had a little different view of what trouble was.
      I love our church people.  I love the folks who hang out with God on a daily basis.  But, if I have one criticism, their view of trouble seems a little warped.  I'll just say it, There are a lot of wimps out there!
     Now, that's not bad.  James is saying right here - no matter what "trouble" is to you - it can help you grow.  But, maybe this is also a good reminder that "trouble" is supposed to test your faith, supposed to grow your endurance.  If it's not doing that, then maybe it's not trouble.

GET SOME REST!

Sleep in!  (No Bible verse today - the book is downstairs)

     4 o'clock a.m.  That was the first time I woke up and decided to lay back down.  It is now 7:07 and I am still in my house.  I didn't go to the gym.  I didn't get off to work.  I just slept......AND IT FELT GOOD.
     No long speech today.  No interesting tidbits - just this.  Don't be afraid to rest every now and then.  John Ortberg put it like this: "For six days you work hard, you give it your all.  But, on the seventh day, you rest!!"
     Stuff will get done!  You body won't go to pot if you skip a day.  You won't be a worse person if you take one day off!

THAT SUPER BOWL REALLY GETS IN THE WAY!

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  - 1 Corinthians 13:7


     You know when love is tough?  When the SuperBowl is on.  You've got a wife that's sick, a dog that needs walking and some kids who want dinner.  And the Patriots are playing the Giants in a game the "everybody" is "supposed" to watch.
      I'll just break it to you - I didn't love well.  I was distracted by the Giants comeback.  I put Tom Brady's last drive in front of my daughter's desire to have Freddie come up stairs.  I let my daughters do to bed without Tebowing with them.  
     Would love do that?  Would love let any distraction get in the way?  Would love put anything in front of listening to the people you love the most?  Would love let anything get in the way of meeting their needs?
      I think God should have added another line to that verse - ", and love doesn't run down to the basement to watch the SuperBowl."

WHO'S YOUR SAMARITAN?

Jesus replied with a story, "A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho.....Then a despised Samaritan came along."  -Luke 10:30, 33

     I've been hearing a lot about Samaritans lately.  You know the story - couple guys pass, then the one guy you least expect, the one who is most different from the injured person - he helps!  
     It's really forced me to ask how I help those who are most different from me.  And maybe even more importantly, how often do I even stop?
     Really, how often do I even hang out with  people of a different race?  How often do I hold a conversation with those who English is not their first language?  How often do I  listen to someone I know does not share the same beliefs or attitudes as I do?
     I was challenged this week by Jesus's commission to go into all the world. All the world pretty much means all different kind of people.  It pretty much means getting out of your comfort zone.  It pretty much means you've got to help your Samaritans.

TIM TEBOW DOES IT AGAIN!

Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth - a stranger, not your own lips.- Proverbs 27:2

     Everything Tim Tebow does is gold!  I guess when he was young, his parents put in a rule.  They could only talk about themselves if asked.  So, no bragging about something they did on the football field, no boring people with what they ate for dinner (there goes Facebook!), no responding to a story with a story of their own.
     I want to be Tim Tebow!  Don't talk about yourself unless someone else asks.  That would be fun wouldn't it?  
     You'd have to think about questions to ask other people, comments from things that they've said, and maybe it would even force you to really listen to what they say.
     This is something you don't find in the world too often - Facebook really has become a symbol for Americanism.  Talk about yourself - even if no one else wants to listen.  Hmmm, I think we may be on to something here.