Sticks, Stones, and the days of Summer
Two of the most simple objects used in the Bible to represent and demonstrate God’s miraculous power were sticks and stones. Some things never change. How many times have you heard a basketball referred to as a rock or a baseball bat being referred to as a big stick?
As the NBA Playoffs bring basketball season to a finale, college baseball heads for Omaha for post season, and MLB is now in full swing. Almost all kids love throwing stones or playing with sticks and as we get older some things seem to never change. We pay a lot of money to watch grown men and women shoot a rock or swing a stick.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that if we don’t worship our God, then the stones will cry out praising His all powerful and loving Name! We cheer like crazy during playoff games for our self proclaimed heroes or rise to our feet when somebody can use a stick and hit a ball over a fence or slap a puck into a hockey net. Don’t let a stone do your main purpose of worshiping with all your heart this summer.
Jesus is and was the Cornerstone, the Rock of Ages, the Living Stone, and when the stone was rolled away, three days later, he had rocked death, hell and the grave and fulfilled the greatest prophetic comeback in history. Don’t forget to stand strong on the rock this summer!
God had Moses use a simple stick (staff) to reveal His miracle working power. Whether it was a parting the Red Sea or turning the staff into a snake, God proved he needs nothing but a man or woman and nothing but a stick or stone, to do some pretty miraculous things.
I think you have to be almost blind, to not see that God has more than ever been revealing his power through the world of sports. Whether it was Clemson football, Virginia basketball, OU Softball, and I can go on and on, God is up to something in the sports world and it is becoming clearer every single day!
Jesus says that we are a one of a kind masterpiece and His plan for us is beyond our ability to even dream or imagine. So with that in mind, I ask you to lower yourself to a simple stick in the hand of the master. Become like Peter! Despite his hard headed, quick tempered, and occasional slip of the tongue, Peter get out of the boat without hesitation. Challenge yourself to do the same this summer! Show a crazy fearless faith that when combined with the Holy Spirit, anything, even the impossible becomes part of the equation. All we are called to do is be a willing believing vessel or in other words, a stick or stone asking the Master to pick you up and use you,
Be a rock or stick which influences young ones to follow Christ. Matthew 18:6 gives a stern warning to us to use our influence wisely. The NIV version says, “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him or her to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” That is pretty clear to me. If you are modeling sin with your actions or words to young ones and this influence causes them to sin, then it is better for a giant stone to be tied to a rope and your neck and thrown into a deep sea. I would say to avoid that is a good idea.
As summer approaches and coaches, teacher, and students are counting down the days until school is out, I am speaking to myself when I say, “DON’T GET LAZY ON STAYING FOCUSED ON SEEKING AN EVEN GREATER ENCOUNTER WITH OUR MAKER”! Spring and Summer, for some reason, tend to cause people to make excuses. Church attendance often drops as weekends are filled with either the lake, vacation, or summer tournaments. Whatever you do this summer, please don’t let it come between you and God. Just as important, don’t let your coaching a team cause sports to come between your players and God. The result of that is not a milestone, it is a millstone!
Make it a discipline to make sure you put God first in all you do. If you are going on vacation, take time to spend time both individually and as a family with the King. If you are playing tournaments, make sure your children and their teammates are aware that you will not sacrifice putting God first. Go to an early service, a Saturday service, or have your own service while on the road. If you want to win championships that matter, remember that sticks and stones all began with our Creator! Have a great summer!