This Day With God – A Spiritual Journey

As I continued my journey through John this past week, I began to wonder what it is about Jesus that caused crowds to follow Him. What is it about Him that causes you and me to follow today?  Leading up to around John 12:12, Jesus had performed many miracles and crowds of people wanted to see Him. They were interested in what He had to say and the people wanted just a small piece of the power that Jesus seemed to have. Even today, people are transformed by wanting a little piece of that same power.

A little over a week ago, Farm Bureau had their monthly “Yes” rally. It’s kind of a monthly pep rally to highlight customer service. Grant Teaff came out to our facility to give a talk on teamwork and customer service. He said that in any endeavor there are four things that lead to success. Those four things are positive attitude, effort, discipline, and caring. He said that a team or organization has to focus on the simple things to be effective. After he gave the speech, the person behind me was so motivated and ready to go, he said in a low voice, “Wow, I’m fired up – ready to suit up and play some football”.

The points of the speech were not complex concepts but pretty simple and Grant Teaff had a lot of interesting stories to go along with these points; stories about certain games and players that highlighted his points. If anyone else had given the same speech, it wouldn’t have had the same muscle. No coach in recent history has been able to lead Baylor to as many Bowl games. Because the words were coming from someone that had been there, they were far more effective.

One factor that contributes to Jesus’ effectiveness and sets Christianity apart from other religions is that Jesus has been there. He’s walked the walk. There’s a video I found that goes through some of the reasons why people followed Jesus and why His name continues to dominate even today. Here’s the link: Jesus, There’s Something About that Name by The Gaithers. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and received the gifts you wanted. If not, be assured that the true gift of Christmas, the one that keeps on giving is in the form of a person; the one whose birthday we celebrated yesterday.

Sometime between now and the New Year, take a moment to think about the crowds that wanted to meet Jesus and follow; have a prayer and during that prayer, ask God how you can best follow Him in the upcoming year.

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Thanks for letting me share about my journey this past week.

Mark

Last week, I talked about the importance of timing between a quarterback and a receiver and how it is similar to the timing between us and God. How important it is to stick to God’s game plan. When Jesus brought Lazarus from the dead in John 11, He demonstrated perfect timing and it gave a remarkable example of sticking to the game plan.

The question I tried to answer as I read in John 11 was do I believe Jesus’ timing is always right. A few years ago, while running the computer for the multi-media team during the 10:50 service at my church, I was just about ready to click on a video clip that pastor Steve was showing during the sermon. As I started the video, someone tapped me on the shoulder and said the video clip has sound. It was Mark Welshimer who was the minister of our youth at the time. The video had just started so his tap on the shoulder was just what I needed at just the right time. Can you relate to specific examples in your life where someone arrived to help pull you through just when you needed it?

I’ll never forget watching on TV a football game in 1984 when Boston College played Miami. Miami was defending national champions entering the game ranked 12th and Boston College was ranked 10th. It was at the end of the game and Boston College had one last play. That’s when Doug Flutie dropped back and threw the “Hail Mary” pass to win the game.  I found a video clip of this play on the internet. Take a look at this link: Doug Flutie’s "Hail Mary" Pass in 1984. This game capped a Heisman Trophy season for Flutie and this play will go down as one of the most memorable moments in sports.

It’s when someone is up against a wall that the opportunity to make the impossible possible exist. In reading through the book of John, Jesus demonstrated this many times. Think of an event or experience you have witnessed or gone through that seemed impossible but was made possible. In your prayer today, ask God for help in believing that He has in the past and will continue in the future to have the power to turn impossible situations into possible situations.

Last week I wrote about how the Bible is our playbook and its principles are our plays. This week as I continue my journey into the book of John chapter 8, the questions I tried to answer is how do you keep Jesus’ words? What will happen if you do? I believe we keep Jesus’ words by believing in the plan, by hoping, and by obeying. If we follow His plan, we win in this lifetime and for eternity.

My Dad was a quarterback when he played football. I remember growing up, we would play catch and he taught me some pass routes to run. Later in life, I’ve found that playing catch or being a part of anything that requires teamwork can give valuable life lessons. If we let God be the quarterback and let Him tell us the routes to run, then all we have to do is run the routes and catch what He throws our way.

To be successful, I believe you have to stick to the game plan. There is a video that talks about staying with the game plan. Click this link to take a look:Stay by Jeremy Camp. Staying in the light I believe is sticking to God’s plan. We have to believe in the plan, hope that we understand the route to run, and continue to practice so the timing with the quarterback of life is perfect.

This week’s lesson for me as I continued my journey into the book of John is that in the game of life, Jesus is our teammate and most valuable player. The Bible is our playbook and its principles are our plays. In John 7, the Jewish people and leaders continued to ask questions. They kept on trying to find a reason to kill Jesus but He kept on trying to teach; trying to explain who He is and where His authority comes from. He could have been bitter but Jesus continued to focus on His purpose.

The people were confused and divided on what to do with Jesus. Many just wouldn’t accept that the Messiah written about in the Old Testament was among them. Jesus could have given up but He continued to see the worth of each individual, their strengths, and their potential.

Today, we have the advantage of knowing what ultimately happened; Jesus being crucified and coming back to life on the third day. Many things are difficult to comprehend but as we look back on them, we start to understand. Plus, we have the advantage today of being able to see the big picture with history to back up what we believe. All documented in our playbook – the Bible.