When You Want to Be a Ninja Warrior but You Think You Can't

Sam Wiley loves to watch television. It's pure torture to me, but, last night, I agreed to watch the Ninja Warrior competition with him. Sam cheered the competitors on, groaned when they fell, and marveled when they hit the red button.

They were remarkable athletes. No doubt about it. Even the people who slipped and fell were impressive. I appreciated that they competed against the clock and their own abilities, instead of each other. I love it that their fellow competitors cheered them on in a rare kind of camaraderie.

I wondered how much time they had to spend training, how much money they invested in the equipment at home, and whether or not the training and competition took them away from their families. Some of those questions were answered in videos that showed homemade equipment and children alongside parents as they trained. It sounded as if the competitors had full-time jobs in addition to their training.

The warriors were experts at running, jumping, swinging, and climbing. I can understand the allure, but not even for a second did I imagine myself grabbing a propeller, swinging over to a red rope, hanging on, and flying through the air so I could hop onto a landing pad. 

What I pondered, instead, as I watched the athletes compete, was whether it was possible to be a Ninja Warrior of Faith. Could we train so that we could be experts in faith matters? 

Yes, we can, no matter our age or physical condition. You're never too old to be a Ninja of Faith. 

The required skills are trust, obey, love, and forgive. If you think that sounds easy, think again. 

Ninja Trust is not simple trust. It requires taking leaps of faith to follow God anywhere, even when friends and family think you may have lost your mind. 

Ninja Obedience means doing the hardest thing imaginable, simply because God asked you to do it. 

Ninja Love means loving the most unlovable person you know, in the same way you love yourself. 

Ninja Forgiveness means forgiving the one who has not only wounded you, but wounded the one you love more than anything...the one who has taken away the one you love the most.

Can we be Ninjas of Faith? Yes. It's possible, but it's hard. There's never a day off. It requires extreme sacrifice and extreme effort. It requires the kind of more-than-human strength only God can provide. 

The reward, however, is much more fulfilling that hitting a red button. The reward is the joy of seeing lives changed, hearts healed, families restored. When we obey God like a ninja, it impacts our loved ones and our world in ways that are astounding. 

Today, consider the possibility of training as a Christian Ninja Faith Warrior. Wouldn't you like to be the one who obeys the most? The one who takes the biggest risks for God? The one who impacts the world for Christ? 

Dwight L. Moody was a shoe salesman when he heard Henry Varley say these words: "The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him." 

Moody resolved to be so fully surrendered that the world would see what God could do. He became one of the greatest evangelists of the 19th century, wrote several books, founded a publishing house, and started a Bible college. 

We serve the same God Moody served. We, too, can surrender as he surrendered and see God do beautiful works through us. 

First, though, we must accept the work of obedience and faith and press on, even when it's hard. I'm willing to accept the challenge. Who's with me? 

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 nasb

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Problem of Keywords and Key Words

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Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line.

When Belief Gets Real: Loving Like Jesus with Skin On

The Gospel of John is intense, and sometimes it's knock-your-socks-off hard. Today is one of those times. 

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on Him." John 3:36 nasb

John tells us that the one who chooses not to believe Jesus enough to obey Him in what He says will miss the abundant life that's blessed by God. But there's more. The one who chooses not to obey Jesus will also find themselves in the unenviable position of having the wrath of God (anger with punishment) directed toward them.

In case you're wondering, the wrath of God is nothing you want directed at you.

If we're wise, we'll choose, right now, to obey what Jesus said. He summed up the entire law in two concise sentences. 

Love God with all you have. Love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself. 

It's agonizingly hard, and incredibly sweet to obey like that. 

It's inviting the man, whose false teeth fall out while he's eating, to sit at the big table for dinner. It's sitting down in the grass beside the homeless girl to find out more about her. It's giving the coat with the fur collar to a person who's cold when you kinda wanted to keep it for yourself. It's giving-the-extra-dollar-that-means-you-can't-buy-gas-to-go-to-work-unless-God-does-a-miracle kind of obedience. 

It's doing the unthinkable with joy just because Jesus asked it of you.

If we believe the words of Jesus, we'll obey. Even if it's hard. It's that simple.

If we don't obey, there will be a price to pay. It's that clear.

This is not country-club religion we're talking about here. This is down and dirty, touch-the-leper religion that transforms our lives and reveals the hard fact that we, too, are lepers. We, the unlovely, touch the other unlovelies because Jesus first touched us.

It's not popular to love this way. We'd rather send the love of Jesus electronically than get dirty for Him, but there are no substitutes for love with skin on.

Today, let's admit the fact that believing Jesus is more than a promise. It's an action, and that action is love. Boundless, limitless love. But let's do more than admit it. Let's do it. 

Let's do love with abandon. In ways we don't even expect of ourselves. Give freely. Reach out. Love like Jesus. In big ways and small. 

Let's love like Jesus with skin on. 
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Photo above - the Moses seat. It's where the men sat to read Scripture. It's a place of authority. Kinda like the authority with which John wrote these hard words.

In case you missed the story of Sam's project, here's the link: Sam's Project: Rubber Boots for Barefoot Rwandan Children
If you'd like to give to help buy boots for the barefoot school children of Rwandan, you can go directly to the project page here: Help Sam's Kids. 

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: When the Light of God's Truth Shines on the Darkness in My Heart
#loveall #Jesus 

The Secret to Miraculous Transformation

Sam Wiley loves the book of John. I might be wrong, but he appears to have memorized Chapter 14. Maybe more. He quotes it. A lot.

His constant quotes sent me back to read and study in John, and it's been like balm on an itchy spot. Beautiful truths. Beautifully written. 

This morning, I'm looking at the story of the wedding in Cana as told in John 2. You probably know this story. The family hosting the wedding was in big trouble because they had lots of guests, but had run out of wine. 

Mary, Jesus' mother, came to Him with the bad news. "They're out of wine."

Jesus hesitated. I don't know if wedding wine was what He'd planned for His introduction into public ministry or not. Maybe the look on His Mama's face touched his heart. His hesitation lasted only a moment. 

As a mom, I know when my son's attitude about something softens, just by looking at his face. Mary did, too. She turned to the servants and gave them the wisest advice anyone has ever spoken. "Whatever He says to you, do it." (John 2:5) 

The miracle wasn't done yet. The evidence of His power hadn't been revealed. But she knew. She'd kept everything that had happened since before Jesus was born treasured in her heart. She'd probably recalled those memories hundreds of times over the years. Somehow, she recognized it as a pivotal moment and gave those servants the key to following Jesus before His ministry had begun.

"Whatever He says to you, do it."

Those are wise words we'd do well to heed. 

Whatever Jesus says to do, do it. Those instructions were the key to miraculous transformation, and they still are. 

Today, let's get still enough to listen and ask Jesus to speak into our hearts. Listen. Then, obey. Simply obey.
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In case you missed the story of Sam's project, here's the link: Sam's Project: Rubber Boots for Barefoot Rwandan Children
If you'd like to give to help buy boots for the barefoot school children of Rwandan, you can go directly to the project page here: Help Sam's Kids. There's still a LONG way to go. I'll have an update later this morning.


In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: Three Reasons We Don't Have to Fear Spiritual Warfare
#Jesus #dailyinspiration