Never give up! Perseverance! Patience!

Never give up! Perseverance! Patience! Being a Tampa Bay Bucs fan takes all three of those characteristics sometimes. All one has to do is go back to when the franchise began in 1976 - goodness, I don't want to go back to all those loses (0-26) and blunders (not to mention the old Buccaneer orange jerseys). Growing up in the Tampa Bay area, I remember those years well!

But today, in their 32nd season and on the 1,865 try, Tampa finally returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Never giving up! Perseverance! Patience! It was bound to happen one day. The 1,865 attempts over the 32 years were made by 141 players. Before today, Tampa Bay's kickoff returns had covered 37,395 yards, or more than 21 miles. Michael Spurlock returned the kickoff back 90 yards in the first quarter for the touchdown!

And to top everything off, with the 37-3 win over the Falcons, the Bucs clinched the NFC South division title.

The Bible talks about never giving up - God never gave up on us, but while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The Bible talks about perseverance - mankind should be faithful to God unto death. And yes, the Bible talks about patience - patience on the part of God to us and mankind to one another.

OK, I know that the Scriptures are not applying it to a football team! But sometimes events that happen today help remind us of Biblical characteristics. Even during a football game!

Global Warming?

I am always confused come winter time in Illinois about our friends who believe in global warming. Instead of thinking that man is going to destroy the seasons of the earth, I will go along with God's promise - the one He gave at the same time as He promised not to have a global flood again: While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)

Deer and Snow

My son spotted a deer in our backyard this morning before we left for our men's breakfast. There is no water up there (other than the frozen snow), but seeing a deer always reminds me of Psalm 42:1 - As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.

And of course the snow reminds me of Psalm 51:7 - Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Or even Isaiah 1:18 - Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

Flipping Houses

Over the past several months we have been involved in “flipping” a house. We still have a long way to go. Flipping houses is a very lucrative adventure if you have the vision, money, time and patience to see it through. We watch several shows on TV where houses are purchased and then remodeled for big profit. The difference between us and the ones who do it on the television shows is that they make lots of money! We are not planning on selling our home for profit, but to live in it. The TV flippers take houses that most of us would not even consider buying and fix them up for great profit.

Many people have probably already flipped their normal everyday living quarters into a holiday festive atmosphere. Of course they did this in the stores months ago, I believe!
As an evangelist, working with the elders here at South Side, I consider our leadership as a “flipper” team. No, it is not our job to flip houses, but rather to flip lives. And if need be, to flip the church back to the “one Lord, one faith, one immersion” when she gets off track!

That is what restoration is all about. When a person responds in faith, repentance, confession and immersion, we are part of the process of restoring a broken relationship with our God. Enmity was between the seed of woman (people of God) and the seed of the serpent (people of the world) since the very first sin (Genesis 3:15). Paul said that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

What a great ministry—flipping a life that is outside of Christ to a life in Christ! Offering someone the free gift of God—the only hope for mankind—Jesus Christ is exciting (Romans 6:23)! What a great joy it is to witness someone who is not living for God turn their life around. Paul described some in the Corinthian church who had done some major flipping in their lives. After listing out several things that would keep people out of the Kingdom (the church), he writes, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11).
And what a great ministry to assist a church in restoring back to the New Testament pattern!

Sometimes after years of renovations, flipping the church back to the New Testament can be difficult—not impossible, but difficult. For instance, we would love to find the original floor plan for our home. Having been renovated very early on into three apartments has made that a rather challenging task—not impossible, just challenging. I believe the church is easier—we have the New Testament as our source of authority!

As we settle in for Christmas, may we look for lives that need flipped. We may need to look first at ourselves. But after being redeemed, we can share the Prince of Peace with our family and friends so that they too can have their lives flipped!

And if you want some hands on experience flipping a house, come talk with me! I even know about a $2000 house! But more importantly, lets work together flipping lives here at South Side!