Entries from August 1, 2007 - September 1, 2007
Consequence for Every Action
Today he has entered a guilty plea for a lesser sentence. It looks like he will spend 12-18 months in prison rather than the possibility of 20-40 years he might have gotten if this had gone to trial. It appears he will be charged with running a dog fighting ring named Bad Newz Kennals, betting on dog fights, and euthanizing dogs that did not perform well.
I keep asking myself how does a guy who had an amazingly promising football career with a $130,000,000 contract end up facing a prison sentence!? He also stands the possibility of being kicked out of the NFL for the betting charge. I question whether a guy in his position thinks he is above the law or being found out. Maybe he thought his high profile life would allow him to be overlooked. Regardless, he had to know there are consequences for every action. What a huge lesson we are learning from his story.
How does this affect us?
We are faced with hundreds of decisions every day. Most are not monumental and deal with every day life. We make decisions like what we will wear today, what we will eat for lunch, and where are we going to go on vacation this year. However, we are also faced with life decisions about business practices, gossip, lying, cheating and other situations that could damage our name and testimony.
There is nothing more freeing than a clear conscience. You know that feeing of being able to lay down at night and go to sleep knowing you have done everything possible to make decisions that would be honoring to the Lord, your family and yourself. God's Word is our manual for decision making. I don't see many WWJD bracelets anymore but it still a great question. We should ask ourselves a couple of questions before we make any decision...
1) What would Jesus do?
2) What does God's Word say about this situation and how would He counsel my decision?
Consider it in your next decision. Your good name, testimony and reputation are at stake.
Terry Hurt
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PrintBig Weekend!!
What a big day Saturday was! It was so exciting to see over 300 people from First Baptist Lavaca gathering to go door to door in our community handing out light bulbs and bottled water inviting people to visit the Radiant Church. There was a huge team washing cars and talking to people about the Lord as they waited for the vehicles to be cleaned up. It didn't matter to the group that it was pouring down rain a good bit of the morning, they stayed after it and had a great time doing so.
There were teams lining the streets holding signs in the rain letting people know about the free car wash. There was another team of several folks in Charleston pumping gas, washing windows and handing out tracks as they invited people to the Radiant Church. There were also several teams out mowing yards for people. In the rain, mowing grass and sharing Jesus with people they talked to.
The turn out to be involved in ministry was a great vote of affirmation that our church is ready to get their hands dirty and get involved in meeting the needs of people in the community. These folks were fired up about doing ministry. How exciting!
During the Sunday night service we heard testimonies from several people about their experiences on Saturday and how God blessed them just for being involved. Funny thing about ministry. Most of the time when you go to be a blessing the greater blessing ends up being yours!
We are experiencing exciting days at FBL. Just by shear numbers in worship Sunday morning and Sunday night, it is easy to see great things are happening and greater days are ahead! Way to go everyone. I am very proud of you First Baptist Lavaca!
Patience
They say it is a virtue...patience. I am not the most patient person in the world. That is why all this laying around waiting on the back to heal is so difficult. WIth the pain gone following surgery I feel well enough to get back to work and my routine. But they assure me that is not the thing to do. I have to be a patient patient! Give it time to heal properly. Not to mention Debbie has (lovingly) told me if I mess my back up again she is going to kill me! :-) I don't blame her.
The Bible has a lot to say about patience. We know about the patience of Job. In Romans we read that tribulation works patience. To the Colossians we read to be strengthened in patience to walk worthy of the Lord being fruitful in every good work. Paul remembers the Thessalonians in their patience of hope in the Lord. James tells us the trying of our faith works patience. However, my favorite reference to patience is found in Hebrews 12:1 where the writer to tells us to run with patience the race that is set before us.
The picture the writer gives us is endurance, not a sprint. I have a cousin in Miss. who's son just completed the Ironman in Lake Placid, New York. His name is Robby Holditch. The Ironman epitomizes endurance. The race begins with a 2.4 mile swim. From the swim you get on your bike for a 112 miles bike ride that finishes with a 26.2 mile marathon. And if that were not enough, much of the ride and run took place in the Adirondack Mountains. He completed the race in 11 hours and 7 minutes. Out of 2,300 athletes he finished 227. Not shabby for a guy's first Ironman competition! Robby had to run this race with patience. He had to pace himself to last the distance. If he had approached this like a sprint and expelled all of his energy quickly, he would not have had energy enough to complete the course set before him. This is the exact image the Hebrews writer has given us. He also tell us to lay aside the weights of our life and the sin that so easily entangles us so they do not burden us down in the run. As we run we are to keep our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. The Christian life is a journey.
This week I have had time to think about this thing...patience. I read in Titus this morning, "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience." I am not sure at what age you fall in the category "the aged men" but for the maturing believer it is obvious that doing life with patience is important to the Lord. In an instant society sometimes the most difficult parts of life are being patient. Exercise patience in your life. Remember, it is a virtue!