IronMan In The Faith
Portland guard Andre Miller’s league-high streak of 632 consecutive games played ended abruptly when he was suspended for a game against Phoenix, leaving Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher - 435 consecutive games as of yesterday (Dec. 15) – as the league’s reigning ironman.
Ironman is an apt word to describe an athlete who has played with the most number of uninterrupted games.
Which brings me back memori
es of former Los Angeles Lakers power forward AC Green, said to be the NBA’s grandfather of all “Ironman” in the league.
The 6′9″ Green has seen a total of 1,192 straight games, dating back to the mid-1980s where he helped the Lakers to back-to-back championships during the 1987 and 1988 season. He then played for the Phoenix Suns, followed by the Dallas Mavericks before returning to the Lakers, winning his final NBA ring in the 2000 season, went to the Miami Heat the next year after which he finally retired for good.
Ironman is synonymous to longevity. It requires tremendous dedication for the game; it’s hard work more than just talk. And most of all, it’s pure focus on the game, which requires an athlete to be in tip-top condition day in and day out everyday all season-long considering the rigorous East and West Coast trips.
When I think of a character in the Bible, who can be considered an “Ironman”, I pick the Apostle Paul. He had been beaten several times for the sake of the Gospel, suffered a few shipwrecks in his numerous missionary journeys, got flogged and stoned by mobs and threatened with death. Yet, in all these, Paul remained in his Christian faith.
His secret wasn’t because of sheer will power. In, Paul revealed to Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith, the secret to his longevity –11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
His longevity is anchored simply on his relationship with God. God wasn’t a from a distance kind of God. Paul has instant access to God anytime of the day through prayer and the word of God.
As a Christ-follower, we all can be “ironmen” in the faith by living our lives under God’s principles. God is a relational God. And He desires to commune with us as He reveals His wonderful plans for us.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Iron Man In The Faith
Portland guard Andre Miller’s league-high streak of 632 consecutive games played ended abruptly when he was suspended for a game against Phoenix, leaving Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher - 435 consecutive games as of yesterday (Dec. 15) – as the league’s reigning ironman.
Ironman is an apt word to describe an athlete who has played with the most number of uninterrupted games.
Which brings me back memories of former Los Angeles Lakers power forward AC Green, said to be the NBA’s grandfather of all “Ironman” in the league.
The 6′9″ Green has seen a total of 1,192 straight games, dating back to the mid-1980s where he helped the Lakers to back-to-back championships during the 1987 and 1988 season. He then played for the Phoenix Suns, followed by the Dallas Mavericks before returning to the Lakers, winning his final NBA ring in the 2000 season, went to the Miami Heat the next year after which he finally retired for good.
Ironman is synonymous to longevity. It requires tremendous dedication for the game; it’s hard work more than just talk. And most of all, it’s pure focus on the game, which requires an athlete to be in tip-top condition day in and day out everyday all season-long considering the rigorous East and West Coast trips.
When I think of a character in the Bible, who can be considered an “Ironman”, I pick the Apostle Paul. He had been beaten several times for the sake of the Gospel, suffered a few shipwrecks in his numerous missionary journeys, got flogged and stoned by mobs and threatened with death. Yet, in all these, Paul remained in his Christian faith.
His secret wasn’t because of sheer will power. In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul revealed to Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith, the secret to his longevity –11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.
His longevity is anchored simply on his relationship with God. God wasn’t a from a distance kind of God. Paul has instant access to God anytime of the day through prayer and the word of God.
As a Christ-follower, we all can be “ironmen” in the faith by living our lives under God’s principles. God is a relational God. And He desires to commune with us as He reveals His wonderful plans for us.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 says, 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. 8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Able & Willing
My dad is one of the hardest working people I’ve known in my 34 years of existence. He’s generous as well, always thinking of us or other people before himself.
However, here’s what I noticed, while his generosity amazes and inspires me a lot, there are times when he just doesn’t have the capacity to give when we ask for something. In other words, he’s willing, but not able.
This morning, I’m reminded of Someone from the Bible who is not only willing to intervene in our lives daily, but even able to sustain us, provide for us and reveal to us who He really is.
Reading the brief account of the leper, who had the guts to approach Jesus during his early years of ministry (see Mark 1:40-45), here are some interesting observations I had.
Without hesitation, this leper broke the rules of his time by approaching Christ in public (Leviticus 13:45-46) . You see, lepers during their time, were not allowed to mingle with “healthy” ones. He could have received harsh treatment from people for approaching Jesus. But he didn’t mind it anymore. All he wanted was to exercise his faith by coming to Jesus.
Jesus knew the prevailing cultural practice of his time. Lepers were outcasts of the society. It was a deadly, infectious disease. But Jesus wasn’t intimidated. He didn’t bow to the rules of his time. He was above legalism. What He saw instead was a man who needed healing and the validation of his faith.
So when the leper came to Him and asked that he be healed, Jesus healed him by touching him. Instantly, the man was cleansed from his disease.
The disease that all his life, left him unwanted, burdened, publicly humiliated and despised–all disappeared in his life-changing encounter with the Lord.
We all are like the leper at some point. We carry with us a disease that makes us outcasts in our society. Our habits, lifestyle, immorality–all these, make us “infectious” and therefore, considered the “outcasts” of our family, or circle of people we live with.
Yet, such a disease loses its grip on us when we humble ourselves before the Lord. Acknowledge that by our own effort, we can’t do anything significant. And then yield out lives completely to His reign.
For Jesus’ cleansing of the leper was a testament to Christ’s power and authority over anything that burdens and enslaves people, including sickness and disease.
Are you burdened? Sick? Discouraged? In pain emotionally or spiritually?
Christ is there, always willing and able.
Photo Source: http://cain0110.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/an-open-hand/
Risk-Taker’s Place In History
Here’s what I learned this morning in my book-reading: Good can never become great unless we are willing to take risks in life.
I remember some Bible characters–imperfect ones–like you and me–who changed the course of history and made God famous after taking risks in their own generation.
* Joshua rose to greatness as an Israelite leader after choosing to trust God and be bold and courageous in the face of “giant” oppositions in the Promised Land.
* Esther saved a generation of Jews after making a bold decision to face the king and tell him the truth about her lineage and the impending destruction of the Jewish race.
* The three Hebrew friends--Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego (in the book of Daniel)–occupied influential positions in the Babylonian kingdom’s political world later on, after standing pat in their decision to bow down to God only.
Good can never become great unless we are willing to take risks in life.
What risk is God telling you to take today–in your campus? In Your work? In your business? In your family?
Living With The Turnaround Specialist
Joseph may have had one of the saddest stories in the Old Testament.
Favored by his dad Jacob, he was greatly envied by his brothers. He was falsely reported by his brothers as dead, bringing grief to their aging daddy Jacob.
He was also sold by his brothers as a slave to some Ishmaelite traders, who were on their way to Egypt, where he became a slave.
Though not of his own doing, he was later, falsely accused of attempting rape to the wife of his boss Potiphar. Potiphar, in anger, threw Joseph to prison.
Joseph absorbed each test like a wicked punch from world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao in the stomach.
However, when all seemed lost after ending up in prison for his “attempt to rape Potiphar’s wife”, Joseph experienced what became the greatest single turnaround in human history.
At one point, he was a good-for-nothing prisoner, with no hope and no future; but then, through his God-given gift to interpret dreams, Pharaoh found the wisdom of God from Joseph and so he appointed him the second-in-command of the whole land of Egypt.
From rags to riches. From horror to honor. From ridicule to respect. God is a turnaround specialist.
We have our own “pit or prison” moments, where we thought we just give up hope and let circumstances batter us to pulp.
But check out Genesis 50:20. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
Joseph refused to be embittered by the shabby treatment he received from his brothers. He refused to wallow in self-pity when he was wrongly accused of rape.
And he refused to give up hope when he ended up in prison.
We can all learn a powerful life lesson from Joseph’s life: When all hope seems lost, realize that the Lord is a turnaround specialist.
He’s not just bringing you out of your mess, but he’s also building your character for the long haul.
Photo Source: http://pyramidportal.org/tag/great-pyramid-of-giza/
