From the Pulpit…

God and Super Bowl 52

This Sunday is a national day of prayer. Okay, not “officially,” but it’s Super Bowl Sunday, and there are prayers going up for favorite teams by players, family members, coaches, investment brokers and fans all over this country. One church in Philadelphia even went so far as posting on their message board: “Number of times mentioned in the Bible: Eagles 33, Patriots 0.”
Does God care who wins the Super Bowl? No. But God does care about the players and God does care about the fans of both teams. God even cares about those who don’t even know or care which teams are playing on Sunday. God cares about you, God cares about me. That’s important to remember.
God also cares how we play our game. And while it’s also true that there are a number of people who still have no idea who’s playing on Sunday, there are basic Super Bowl game lessons that we all can apply in our game of life as Christians. Ball control is one of them.
The theory of a ball control offense is simple. The longer you keep the other team's offense off the field, the less likely they are to score on your team.
In life, we have an opposing coach, Satan, who employs ball-control offense against us. His goal is to wreck as many people's lives as possible and keep them from knowing about God. The enemy knows that he doesn't have to beat us if he can simply keep us busy and on defense. He knows we only have a limited number of years to live, and if he can tie up much of our time doing trivial things, he can effectively run out the clock on our life and keep us from carrying out God's plans for us.
How often do we find ourselves without any time? We get wrapped up in working long hours, running errands, watching television, doing Facebook, exploring the internet, or other distractions. Because of this, we end up with limited time for family and friends. We skip church because we don't have time. We don't read the Bible because we’re too tired. We lose touch with old friends. We miss opportunities to reach out. Our potential is lost because we are side-tracked from spending time with some of the more important things in life.
Someone once asked, if you were given a dollar for every kind word or deed which you said or did, and then had to give back fifty cents for every unkind word or deed, would you be rich or poor? Think about it.
We need to love on other people and use the gifts God has given us. We need to forgive others, love our families, and love our friends. We need to enjoy success in life by spending time on things that make a difference in people's lives. Don't let the enemy run out your clock. Seize the day!
“Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15 NIV)