Thursday, November 29, 2007

Team

My thought of the day came to me about what makes up a good team? The most talented team cannot win unless everyone works together. If a player doesn't function correctly in his position, the team eventually will suffer and the victory's are few. In many cases, the most talented players never win a World Series or a Super Bowl. Time and time again we see players who are focused on themselves spouting off to the media about how they aren't happy with other players, the coach, even how they want to be traded. It's everyone else's fault.

I might be reaching out on a limb with this one, but I'm paralleling a sports team with Heaven. GOD is recruiting everyone to Heaven. He's looking for souls that will listen to the coach. He's looking for souls that want to play with His game plan. He's not looking for talent, or performance, but obedience. He needs the team to be one. He needs the team to enjoy, respect and love each other. And most importantly He needs everyone to want and do anything for the coach. He needs everyone to abandon themselves to the game plan, passionately believing and honestly loving that it is the best and the only way that everything will work out for the best.

Maybe I've gone way overboard with this one, but think about if your a coach, or owner of a company. Who do you want playing, or working for you? Isn't everything I just said exactly the same characteristics you would want in your team? Everyone thinks that creativity and individualism is destroyed by conformity, but conformity to a point, or a solid foundation has to be obtained in order for individualism and creativity to be able to exist in the first place, otherwise we just have chaos.

Friday, November 16, 2007

Battle of Wills

I constantly hear the phrase from people, "if GOD is all loving He will accept me for who I am because I'm an overall good person." It's your will vs GOD's will. Your will says GOD's will should accept your will and GOD's will says you should want and accept His will. We base ourstatement "if GOD is all loving He will accept me for who I am because I'm an overall good person" on the presumption that GOD's will wants and accepts our will. Everyone has their own will, we are constantly making decisions to allow our will, or let another's will impose on us. Marriage, work, family, the decision to purchase a product from another store, everyday interaction with people requires us to make a decision that will either go towards or against our will. So why does everyone think that GOD is going to say when we get to Heaven that we can just go ahead and fulfill our will any way that we shall please, or that its going to be a give and take relationship, or that we will just magically want, accept, and do His will? It seems to me that people think our life on earth is going to parallel eternity.

What does the Bible say in regards to how GOD is going to please us in Heaven? What does GOD say about what He wants us to do for Him? I've compiled some scripture below that I think is relevant:

Deuteronomy 13:18 "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him.

1Kings 11:33 For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh,the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my laws and regulations as his father, David, did.

2Ki 16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD his God, as his ancestor David had done.

2Ki 17:9 The people of Israel had also secretly done many things that were not pleasing to the
LORD their God. They built pagan shrines for themselves in all their towns, from the smallest outpost to the largest walled city.

2Chronicles 14:2 For Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God.

2Ch 31:20 In this way, King Hezekiah handled the distribution throughout all Judah, doing what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God.

Ro 12:2 - Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

Romans 15:16 - a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News and offer you up as a fragrant sacrifice to God so that you might be pure and pleasing to him by the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 11:5 It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying – "suddenly he disappeared because God took him." But before he was taken up, he was approved as pleasing to God.

Heb 13:16 - Don't forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God.

Heb 13:20 And now, may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to him. Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant,signed with his blood. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 5:10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.

I searched the word pleasing in an online Bible. This is a sample of the 74 entries I found with the word pleasing and all 74 of them referred to pleasing GOD, not us. I understand we all believe in something a little different, but only one belief system can be correct. I write these posts to make people think. I hope I am not imposing my will against another, I am just writing posts like these to challenge the world's belief systems and also to strengthen, or reveal holes in my own. The older I get the more excited I am for my death. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to it at all, its going to be the scariest moment of my life. I am so fearful of it, because I believe I will be in front of GOD reading word for word exactly everything I did in life. I am ashamed of so many things I have done, but I know GOD forgives me as long as I believe that His son Jesus Christ died for my sins/my wrongdoings against GOD's will.

I wonder why GOD created us to have such a hard time in figuring out His will for our life and even then when we do how hard it is to stay focused. Maybe because we are constantly seeking happiness through our own will and need to be disappointed, because only then do we look for something else. So this brings up the question why did GOD even create us to have a will if He is constantly disappointed with our decisions. I think GOD is looking for roommates who adore and truly love Him, and as we all know true love can't be forced. True love is wanting to do nothing for oneself and only wanting to please the one with whom your in love. I believe GOD needs and wants us to be in true love with Him. He's doing His best to gain our attention, to attract us, and most importantly can only hope for us to fall in true love with Him as He is already with us.