February 24, 2020 - Make Sure You Have Good Coaches In Your Life

Last week I talked about choosing teammates that are like-minded with you… have the same goals. Off the court this translates to having a solid peer group. Yet having good teammates (a solid peer group) is only part of being a championship caliber team… there must be a way to avoid the chaos of too many voices… having the same goals is not enough by itself…

Everyone on your team wants to win (same goals) but not everyone is headed in the same direction… or another way of looking at it is that a team needs the right heart (goals… passion… motivation) but also needs the right mind (purpose… preparation… plan) to accomplish the goals.

In first Corinthians 15 we see the word “vain” appear multiple times…

In verse 58 we see the answer to making sure our “labor is not in vain in the Lord.” The word there means “without effect, void of truth.” In other words, it is possible to be “abounding” and not be productive. John Wooden used to say, “Don’t mistake activity for achievement!” Therefore, we have to figure out what leads to ineffectiveness…

In verse 2 we see the word “vain” but not referring to one’s labor but instead referring to one’s belief (mind.) In English it appears to be the same idea since the word “vain” is used in both verses… yet in the Greek it is actually two different words. Here the word means without purpose… or without just cause. Here it refers to having the right “why”/plan/purpose.

Goals without a Game Plan = chaos and confusion

Game Plans without Goals = lethargy

Last week = we need good teammates

This week = we need good coaches

What the coach says gives the direction to reach the goals. In the Christian world we need first and foremost to understand that what The Coach (God) says in His Playbook (the Bible) is the authority. Unfortunately, in this peer-based society we tend try to define the Bible through the chaos of all the voices instead of allowing the Bible to determine the validity of those voices.

The leads me to encourage you to learn to rightly divide the Word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) And then also find solid Bible teachers/pastors to serve as coaches/mentors in your lives. This is how we become “steadfast and immovable” as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:58… then our “abounding in the work of the Lord will not be in vain" (without effect, void of truth.)

February 17, 2020 - Choose Your Teammates Wisely

As I wind down the short THEREFORE series, I want to pull out another important “game-time” principle found in this passage (1 Corinthians 15.) The last couple of weeks I have tried to show the correlation in the truth of the Gospel to not only our hope in salvation, but also as motivation to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…” (vs 58)

Many passages in the New Testament are written with the “team-mentality”; in fact, often when we read about being a “new man”, it is delivered in the plural form referring to the body of Christ. In this passage, Paul talks of the importance of team… in verse 58 it is talking about what we do together (note the plural “brethren”)… moving in the same direction… with the same purpose/goals…

Last night was the NBA all-star game; I love the new twist over the past few years of the team captains choosing their teams… have you thought about how you choose your “team”?

I talk regularly with believers that talk of the lethargy of their churches… in fact I recently have heard the following sentiment while booking for an upcoming tour: “Our people know the truth of the Gospel, but it doesn’t go beyond the walls…” What is interesting is that has come from a pastor at one church and from an elder at another church…

When we discuss “choosing teammates” wisely, the obvious is to just focus on not hanging out with “bad players.”

15:33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

In context Paul is referring there to the negative influences of those that are denying the resurrection, and thus live wastefully. Yet, in the Greek, the word for “evil” can also mean thinking that is not as it ought to be…  “company” refers to our associations… “habits” can also mean the customary dwelling place…

Obviously, the idea of “choosing good teammates” means to avoid bad characters… but I believe it also means choosing those that will strengthen… encourage… motivate you to a stronger “game.”

To me, “evil or bad company” can also refer to folks that have a “benchwarmer” mentality… those that know what to do, but do not actually “get in the game”… “abounding in the work of the Lord…” (vs 58)

Often, “benchwarmers” are not there because they lack skills, but because they lack the right attitude/approach to “the game.”

Note: I am not saying that you should jump ship from your church if lethargy is present… maybe you need to be the thermostat and set the temp of your church… in doing so there will be others that join in with you! BUT you need to get like-minded teammates!

The Gospel is true! THEREFORE, choose your team wisely!

February 10, 2020 - Legend In My Own Mind

Well I’m back at it in the THEREFORE series of devotions… last week I shard that the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ has rocked my world and should have rocked yours. This message is what demands a response… i.e. because of this truth, it demands a response from us… for salvation (positionally) and for discipleship (practically)…

It has obviously been over 2000 years since these Gospel events took place… and typically stories can get very exaggerated over time…

As an example, I tend to be a much better athlete in my memory than I was in reality… I jump higher… I shoot better… I played through more pain… etc.; kind of a “legend in my own mind." The best way to get to the truth would be game film and/or eyewitnesses… yet even the eyewitnesses are iffy based upon if they like me vs. if they don’t like me, as that tends to color the memories a bit.

The church in Corinth was dealing with folks that were questioning the death and resurrection of Christ. So, the Apostle Paul decided to get some credence to the validity of these events… and thus the THEREFORE that should result from it.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 gives us the reminder that the death and resurrection of Christ were of first importance and that they were prophesied “according to the Scriptures.” (Which is miraculous in and of itself.) And due to the naysayers, he gave some proofs.

How did he prove Jesus died? He reminded them that Jesus was “buried.” In that day, the burial process alone removed all doubts of His death; even a man that had not been crucified could not live through a burial…

How did he prove Jesus resurrected? Paul went to the eyewitness defense. He starts with the inner circle, a group of guys that were so rocked by the truth that they were willing to die for it! He goes on to say that “over 500 brethren at once” saw the resurrected Jesus, and that most of them were still alive; in other words, “go ask them!” (See verses 5-8)

In verse 11, the beginning word is THEREFORE, and Paul says basically, “that is our story… which you believed… which should rock your world!”

We live in a world that is always debating who the greatest in a sport is/was… I’m here to tell you the greatest in life is hands down Jesus! He overcame death and offers new life! There is truly no question of the validity of the claims of the Gospel… they are claims that would hold up in any court of law… think about it, over 500 eyewitnesses telling the same story… a group of disciples that were willing to die over that story…

And we are left with a positional question of salvation by believing on Christ… most that are reading this have done that… make sure you are trusting in what He has done for you (not what you can do for Him)!

Yet the other THEREFORE (Cause/Effect) is that this message should practically be of first importance in our lives. It should rock our world to the point of pouring into and supporting the Great Commission to preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15) and to disciple with God’s Playbook (Matthew 28:19-20.)

Please consider how you will allow the truth to transform your life… we at InBounds are in the game to Go MAD (Make A Difference)!!!

February 3, 2020 - Amazing Comeback Victory

Last Monday I shared that we are getting ready for The THEREFORE Tour… I brought about the idea that the word THEREFORE is a cause and effect word… The devotion talked of the fact that time is fleeting and uncertain, THEREFORE we need to take good shots…

We are hitting the road today for a short trip, and then at the end of the month on a long trip… throughout it I plan to emphasize this idea/word THEREFORE. Since I will be speaking in a lot of churches, youth groups, and Christian schools I will be starting with the premise that I am speaking to many that are Christians (i.e. at 2 school chapels just south of Atlanta on Tuesday…)

I will begin with 1 Corinthians 15:58: THEREFORE, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that you labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Because the word THEREFORE is there, it demands we understand what came before vs. 58 as the motivation for the challenge of the verse… what comes before proves that serving the Lord is “not in vain,” --- not wasted.

He is talking to “brethren” (Christians) and the background shares that there are people questioning the resurrection of Christ. Verse 12 even asks the question, “how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” He then reasons that this would also mean that Christ didn’t rise from the dead, and if that were the case, we would have no hope! (See vss. 13-19) Read those verses… and see that without the reality of the resurrection of Christ, we are wasting our time!

In today’s culture I often hear folks questioning or downplaying the miraculous truths of Christ. Many will claim to follow His teaching but deny His miracles. THEREFORE, the naysayers do not question His life and death… but do question His resurrection.

Next week I will back up a but more as we dive more into Paul’s THEREFORE-reasoning. But this week let me simply state that the resurrection is the gamechanger point of the Gospel… let me give a quick example of what I mean.

In tonight’s Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs were behind late in the game, only to have a great comeback, scoring 21 unanswered points to win the game 31-20. Many years from now people could be talking about what a great quarterback that Patrick Mahomes was… and how he got down in the game… but if someone denies the big 4^th quarter comeback and stops the story while they were behind on the scoreboard… it would leave folks believing that the Chiefs lost.

That denial about the comeback will be easy to refute; next week I plan to share some “proofs” that the Apostle Paul shared in the early verses (vss. 1-8) of this chapter… much like going back to a box score. But for this week, let me remind you, brethren, of a couple of things:

1.       I am thankful for the crucifixion… the death payment that was made for my (and your) sin!

2.       But, I also am thankful for the resurrection (the incredible comeback) of Christ that gives me (and you) new life… victory.

Be reminded, be encouraged… because of Christ, we win!

Vs. 55-57: “Oh death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory”? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.