Old School Basketball

I am watching an old basketball game from 1990. Why can't we have basketball players like that now. The awesome box haircuts, medium shorts...and let's face it...skill. Basketball back then was more about the fun of the game. But now it seems like the game is about the incentives, professional opportunities and prestige. But what has happened to the love of the game?

The same goes for our love towards God. It starts off as the main focus. It is all about the relationship and the glory and love that can be brought to God. And yet, as the years progress we tend to lose focus and look for the blessings of God in our lives and the fruits of God that will be presented to us rather than just having that pure love and joy for Him. This is common even back in the Old Testament days. Look at the Isrealites. They wandered in the desert for 40 years, and God had provided for them yet they did not see the blessings that God bestowed upon them. Rather than showing God the love that He had shown them, they complained about the journey.

I wonder how many times in my life in general, these mere 24 years that I have lived, have I truly known about God but yet have not KNOWN God. I am pretty sure that I can't it on more than 2 hands. Why is it that we go through this? Why do we tend to fall back from the true light in which we are supposed to live and live our own ways? We are once in love with God and are "on fire" for God and then all of a sudden our flame dims.

And then something happens...and we run back into the light only to find out that the light never dimmed but we walked along the edge of the glow and eventually stumbled out of the light and got scared. I don't know why it happens. I don't understand it but it does happen.

And sometimes we need to go back to the basics. The time when things were fresh and new and we loved it. Where it's not mundane or commonplace.

Sometimes we need to keep in focus the way things used to be while also looking forward at the possibilities. Who knew back in 1990 that 18 years later college basketball would be corrupt for the incentives of a scholarship and promotional goodies, and that the shorts would extend below the knee caps and that there would no longer be box haircuts instead they are replaced with corn rows and tattoos? Would that change the way the game is played now if it was known back then? Probably not...but who wants to know about the future?

I get the hints...

I get the hints....
They are all around me...
Yet for some reason they don't settle well...
And I wonder why it is...

Sometimes I think it is the part of me...
That does not want to accept it...
And in the end...
I give in to the fact that I am not in control...

Control....
Why do I have to give it up...
Why must it be so hard to give up...
Maybe because I am human and incapable...

All things are out of my hand...
Thanks be to God...
Because if they were in my hands...
I'd make the same mistakes...

Over....
And Over....
And Over....
Again....

Reflections of Christmas Lights in the Window...

It seems to happen...I don't know why. If I did it would not be happening as much. But regardless, it happens...and not just to me but to everyone. Well I say everyone, but I don't know that for sure. But I would be willing to venture a guess that it has.

I say this because it's really not just one thing, but if you look at the root cause of it all, it does all boil down to one or two things. Let's look at the big list.

Doubt...worry...anxiety...

confusion...too high of expectations...disappointment...hatred...frightened...unsure...indecisive...loud...quiet...lack of care...insensitive... the list can go on.

Now let's look at the root causes...

CONTROL
ACCEPTANCE
JUDGMENT
DISTRUST
...This list can go on but not as extensively as the one above.

So why is it that we all face this? Why is it that we seem to accept some of these behaviors as part of our character? Why do we not try to find the root cause and eradicate the lie in which Satan or even ourselves have fed us?

I've noticed this in my life...that I accept certain behaviors as part of my personality. But that is not entirely truth. The fact that I worry or get anxious or have too high of expectations does not classify my personality. CONTROL is what classifies my personality, or maybe I should say the lie in which my personality has been fed. Because let's face it...I am not even capable of being in control of anything. Not my life, not my friends, not my relationships not even the very car I drive (as crazy as it sounds). And the most ridiculous thing about it is that I REALLY do not want to be in control. I know that I am incapable of being in control. So why is it that this ROOT CAUSE seems to continually sprout up in my life like a dandelion in the perfectly manicured lawn?

I think that even if I say I give it all to God, that I still want to hold on to it. But holding on to it is still trying to have some CONTROL of it. So where does the line have to be drawn and one notice that this isn't working out? That you cannot keep going the same path that you were going? That you have to give it ALL away? I think that it comes when you slow down...look around you and fully allow the grace of God to cover you. When your mind focuses on the Cross and does not wander from the Creator. And that right there seems impossible...but the fact is friends...that it is not impossible.

What it takes is Discipline and Consistency. Without these 2 things and even in the beginning it seems impossible. But as you continue on the road it gets easier because you are making it a part of your lifestyle and no longer does it seem impossible but it seems manageable and then possible. Nothing comes easy. Obtaining the relationship you want with God is not an easy road to travel. It takes discipline and consistency because on that road God is going to show you your flaws and He is going to put rough paths in front of you. And if you don't consistently seek out God but rather come to Him in the times of your convenience then yes, God will become a stumbling block. But if you are constantly in His presence and praising Him and glorifying Him in the good times and bad, then no longer is He a stumbling block but He is the cornerstone of your life.

The sad part is that sometimes it takes circumstances in life to get you to this point. I know for me it has been that way. But I don't regret any of it. And I am still getting to that point but the closer and closer I get, the more and more I can see it clearly. To have this relationship where complete trust in God and knowing that He is in control is amazing. It can be unnerving at first but the more and more that you realize that it will always be out of your hands the more comforting it is. God is good...and it is amazing how He shows it.

Sacrificing myself...

I have been going through these past few months asking myself what it truly means to sacrifice myself. How does this lifestyle impact me?

On one hand it means putting other people before me.
On the other hand it means putting God before everyone and everything else.

I look at the way our society views a sacrifice. Back in the Old Testament days a sacrifice was an animal, and based on the "quality" of the animal and the "quantity" of the animal(s), was the basis of how much you sacrifice. But was the sacrifice back then given out of obligation or out of love for God?

Some of the most prominent figures in the Old Testament made sacrifices for God, and then some of the prominent figures also refuted and rebuked others for their false idols and half-hearted sacrifices.

Fast forward to the New Testament and we now see a new sacrifice. Jesus dying on a cross. God sacrificing His son. A sacrifice made by God for all people, so that they may no longer have to sacrifice animals to God. But now we are given a commandment(s) by Jesus, probably the greatest commandment ever...Love God, Love Others.

Taking this greatest commandment...how do we apply it to sacrifices. Fast forward to today. Sacrificing time and money seem to be the best way that we can sacrifice. But we run into the same problems as the people in the Old Testament run into. Are we sacrificing out of an outward love towards God or are we sacrificing due to an obligation, and our hearts are only halfway in it?

When does this all come down to sacrificing ourselves...our all? When does it get past money and time, and we just offer ourselves to others. Because if we offer ourselves; our time, money and whatever else is included in all of that. No longer do we worry about what to give, or what to sacrifice because by offering ourselves...that is all we need to worry about.

So the real matter is this. Are you offering yourself to God? Are you readily making yourself available to others? What is stopping you from giving to God what is rightfully His? Do you want to give yourself to God?