March 13, 2017 - INVESTED!

Here we are in the midst of March Madness and, as I state yearly, I love this time of year! This past week as I watched numerous conference tourney games I found myself noticing the excitement of the players on the bench for the winning teams…

These were guys that never shed their warm-ups yet were acting as excited as the guys that had just busted their tails to win the game. In fact, some of these guys have probably only played a few minutes all year long… or possibly not at all. Why?

These guys are fully invested due to playing their roles in practices and thus feel like they are fully a part of winning the championship… they are part of the team!

Each year I use March MADness as a time to remind folks to commit to Go MAD (Make A Difference) with their lives. This is simply a call to play our roles on the team…

For some that may mean “getting off the bench and into the game” to actually serve at home, nationally, and/or internationally.

For some it means realizing that even if we are “on the bench” for a particular service opportunity or trip, we can still have a major impact via prayer support and financial support. Ministries need help; and we should be praying about where the Lord would have us plug in as support…

I truly want to see believers “jumping off the bench” in excitement when our ministry, or any Bible-believing  / clear Gospel-teaching, is winning souls!

Paul said it this way to the Philippians, “not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.” (Phil 4:17)

Paul is bragging on the Philippians in the context of verses 14 (where he mentions that the “shared” or are invested…) through the promise of God’s provision in verse 19. The point is that Paul shows them to be a part of things through their investment…

Yes, our ministry has some definite needs that we are praying get met; yet so does my dear friend Freddie at Grace Farm… or my dear friend Hank with Royal Servants… or…. you get the picture. Pray about where you are “investing!”

When William Carey agreed to go to India as a missionary it is said that they were challenged to go into a pit of depravity… and one man that was interviewed said it was as if Carey answered, “I will go down into the pit… if you will hold the ropes.” It always takes teamwork and investment!