Team

I can remember back in fifth grade when I made the basketball team for the first time. I was so excited that now I could be part of a team, I could make a difference. I wasn’t that great of a player at the time but I gave it my all and sometimes I wondered if my all was enough for the team. I was tall, skinny, and had that 70’s bushy hair going on. Needless to say, I wasn’t the coolest guy on the team. I didn’t have the skills that everyone else had, but I was fast and I could catch the ball. My shooting skills had much to be desired; however, I was a great defender. If I couldn’t shoot the ball right, then I wasn’t about to let the other guy shoot it either. So I blocked his shot. It sounds simple to me. I was made fun of, had a nickname, and all the other embarrassing things that came with being the outcast on the team. I mean if the team didn’t like me then why was I there? What purpose did I have? They wouldn’t work with me and they felt that I was just in their way. I felt lonely and sometimes just felt like quitting. Again why was I put on the team? Maybe the coach saw something in me that I didn’t. Maybe the coach saw the determination inside of me to do better. Maybe he saw inside of me things that others couldn’t understand. Either way I made a difference. If someone was tired in a game, I could go in and give them a break. If that was the least I could do, then I made a difference.
I believe the church, the youth , and everyone else has a vital role in the body of Christ. The body had many difference parts, like a basketball team has many different positions and players. We all have our purpose in the body. We all have different skills, different gifts and together the whole body can function the way Christ needs it to function. If you ever feel you have no place in the body, you need to remember that Christ sees something in us that we cannot always see. He knows more about you and I than we could imagine. It’s our responsibility to get plugged in and try to make a difference for the whole body, the whole team, even when others reject us. Let God deal with the rejection, you deal with your place on the team. We all need to have compassion for the team, like Christ has for us.

1Corinthians 12:12-27

Drive Thru Religion

As I think of all the coffee houses that I have visited over the years, I realize that something is happening that is catching up with a lot of people. I noticed that a lot of coffee houses have drive thru windows. At fist I think, wow this is convenient and what a way to grab it and go without the hassle of standing in line, listening to somebody talk about their issues. Then I think to myself, what has this world come to? We no longer take the time to listen to people’s concerns but we’d rather spend our day planning and running our own lives. My favorite type of coffee house is one where I can go in, say hi to the barista ,and maybe exchange a couple of “How’s your day?”. I also like to sit next to another person and chat about interesting coffee stories and share the days scripture. I sit down, relax ,and get a chance to have a cup of Java with Christ.
I wonder if he were sitting next to me, what would he drink? I think of Jesus as the Ethiopian black coffee type, no added stuff, just the real kick off your sandals type of guy. Who wouldn’t want to spend a day in the coffee house with the King? I believe that we often are in a rush today, and we are missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime to spend time with God because we want a drive through religion. Mary had a different type of hospitality for Christ. Are you so busy planning and running your own life that you neglect precious time with Jesus. Or do you respond to him by listening to his word, then finding ways to worship him with your life? It’s that kind of hospitality that he longs from us.



Mathew 26:6-12