A hand full of water

   Well, another Olympics is upon us.. and many of the world's nations have
gathered once again for 16 plus days to seek honor and glory as they champion
various sports endeavors as they do every 4 years.  A lot of bruhaahaa goes
into these events.. making for quite a spectacle that both participant and
spectator alike remember for the rest of their lives.  Often, the Olympics are
touted as the great peace-maker.. bringing out the various countries of the
world in a way that they all live under a single flag of truce.
   Yet are these Olympics really so peace-full?  Is competing together in
sports the answer we need to get along with one another?  I say nay.. as one
might easily surmise if they hold properly to morality, and take a powerful,
but unpopular viewpoint on the audacity of a homosexual woman to sing as a
headliner to such a world-wide event.. And especially to dare sing,
"Hallelujah" which literally means, "Praise The LORD".. in a way that makes it
seem as though she really *is* singing to God, yet in the 3rd verse of her
song, to dare say "If there is a God".
   So what's so wrong about a homosexual woman singing?  The problem is, we as
a human race are all too quick to accept a person based upon their talents,
and not upon the morality of their heart.  We are quick to cheer on people who
make us "feel good" and altogether way too slow to cheer on those who are
truly working for our good by telling us what we most need to hear.  This
Olympic headliner, as well as its lack of depth of character -- focussing on
getting along in sports, alone, rather than in issues that make for real life
and eternity -- leads us away from what really matters, to a false sense of
peace that leads us right down the broad road to destruction, rather than
along the single, yet difficult road to life.  Sports may be enjoyable.. but
they are a mere superficial relation between mankind.. having basically
nothing if anything at all to do with the deep issues of the heart surrounding
how a person lives their life in reference to Godly character and Jesus-like
living.  God sent His Son into the world.. not only to die for us.. but to
convince us of a better way of living.. a way that is totally
self-sacrificial.. giving our whole selves to make the difference in others'
lives that nobody has made.. bringing them face to face with their Creator and
His perfect, only begotten progeny.
   So.. regardless of how good this woman seems to have sung to open yet
another Olympiad, I ask you who read this to gauge her.. not on how her words
made you feel, but on their character, as well as hers.  If we are going to
have proper role models, we are going to have to be willing to look away from
those in this world who are pronounced, yet defiled with sin, and towards
those who are more humble, yet living lives that make for a good pattern.. a
pattern we can follow.. a pattern we can hope in.. a pattern we can depend on
as a valid lifestyle.. leading us toward eternity and away from the sin of
this world.
   But not only her.. gauge sports, in general.  Do the people involved in the
sport tell you that Jesus is an option?  Or the only way?  Do the people in
your business tell you that without living *for* Jesus, that you have no hope
for how you are going to spend eternity?  Or have they told you that belief in
Jesus' somehow being God is enough to guarantee you Heaven?  Even without
truly following Him?  Be yet assured, that only those who truly follow Christ
with all they are, and do not merely believe that He is God, but rather God's
only begotten Son, who died, not in our place, but so that sins could be
forgiven.. (for how could Jesus have died in the place of a little 2 year old
who chooses to believe that He *is* the Son of God.. having never committed
any sin that would be worthy of death?  Especially being under the age of
accountability, being so young?).. and who rose again, to give us hope for
life beyond the grave.. if we faint not unto our due season of reaping life
eternal.
   Now I'm not saying there is a single perfect human being on this planet..
Jesus is the only perfect human to walk this planet.  Adam and Eve were
sinless until the fall, but not perfect... and neither shall any of us humans
ever *be* perfect.  That perfection is reserved for God, His Son, and His
Spirit.  Anyone who claims to be perfect, I dare say cannot equal the lives of
these Three.  That being said, we still need to strive, not for mere status
quo living, but for excellence.. in all we do.  I know that this world hates
excellence a lot of the time.. cuz it exposes the lack of excellence in the
lives of those around it.. and thereby judges others' lack of diligence..
something we all need if we want to find God....  True seeking of God requires
diligence.. and true diligence will always seek God.  Granted, if God did not
call us to His side, we would never come.  That is the problem with our sinful
hearts.. we naturally like things which are harmful to others and make for
ease of life for ourselves.. which feed our own fleshly minds and stunt our
growth as real people.. taking us away from pursuits that last forever, and
unto pursuits that bring substantial whizzbang for the moment, but in the end,
only yield curses upon our lives.
   So what are we to do.. given that our lives are naturally pursuant to
hating one another and living in a way that is selfish and self-exaltant?  We
come to the One who can change our hearts by His Son.. and give us desires to
do what is right and good, no matter what the cost to ourselves.. We come to
the one who desires to change us from dead dust to living spirits once again..
by the power He uses upon our placing faith *in* His Son as *being* His Son..
not as being Himself.  We then live our lives continuously for Their benefit..
trusting that, if we take it upon ourselves to live for Their purposes, that
they will more than provide for us.. both in this life, and in eternity.  Yet,
one will say, "But isn't the life with God following Jesus a life of
suffering?"  Often it is, yes.  So many people will go around saying they are
in the right when God's truth demonstrates they are 'dead' wrong.. and they
will do everything in their power to get you to acknowledge that their version
of the truth is the right one.. including killing you if you don't.  But, let
us always remember what Jesus said.. to not fear them who can kill the body,
but to fear Him who is able to not only kill the body, but who can also kill
the soul in Hell.  Yes, fear Him!
   True faith in God's Son.. faith that is paired with obedience.. is the only
way to assure one's place in eternity.  Many will do all they can to shut you
up if you do live rightly.. as their own flesh will rebel against your
righteousness, and the righteousness of God which it shines upon.. but in the
end, only those who have held tight to His ways.. both in faith *and* in
deed.. (leaving room for us as repentant sinners, since we cannot live totally
without sin).. will get to enjoy the eternity God has planned for His own.
Those who continue to challenge this fact.. somehow believing that some sort
of 'faith' apart from obedience will bring them to Heaven, will find
themselves wrong when they face Jesus, and end up being ushered into eternal
punishment.. as they refused to follow their belief up with true righteous
love.
   One final note.  To those of you who are willing.. Jesus is more than
willing to save you from your sin today.  By believing He *is* God's Son, you
will be born again.. born of the spirit/(Spirit?).  By believing God raised
Him from the dead, you will be made righteous in God's sight.  And by
confessing to anyone.. even to God, Himself.. that Jesus *is* God's Son, you
will be saved from sin!  Then, you must follow, without redraw, unto your own
death, the One who saved you.. Jesus, Himself.  You have been bought with a
price.. Christ's own Blood.. and all your sins are forgiven!  You must live
your life.. no longer for yourself.. but for God and Jesus.  Your purposes can
no longer be merely of this world.. but must first and foremost include the
Gospel.. telling others of God, Jesus, and the life you can have eternally
with them if you believe and follow.  And.. as it says (properly translated)
in Luke 13.. if you are not in repentance (in continuous confession of and
repentance from your sins), then just like the Galileans whose blood Pilate
mingled with their sacrifices, or the 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell, you
will perish just as they.
   So, I ask you to think about it.  What matters most.. having an
international affair in which we all get together around something that has no
real meaning?  Or getting together under the true banner of God, His love, and
living for His purposes.. in *His* army.. not our own?
   Think about it.  It's really worth doing.. even though it costs so much to
maintain.  It's God's free gift.. unto those who believe in His Son.  We can't
earn it.. but we need to demonstrate ourselves faithful, or we *can* lose it.
   Think about it.  But think quickly... We all only have one life.. then
we're judged for how we lived it.  Don't expect to get into eternal bliss
apart from acknowledging God and His Son for Who they truly are.. and living
their way.  After all.. it's their Heaven, just as much as it's their Earth.
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