Superbowl Sunday

Maybe I am a nerd.Or a loser

or maybe I am just weird
but I don't get a lot out of the "Super"Bowl. I have watched it plenty of times. And some of the times have been fun fellowship. I am not condemning people watching it at all. I think the Super Bowl can be watched to the Glory of God. We probably would have watched it today but our lad went virtually napless this afternoon so it turned into a very early evening. So thanks to the family that offered to have us over to watch, it would have been good needed fellowship.

I found an article on Sovereign Grace's website today that was helpful. I went there to check out the incredible sale they have going:

and found this encouraging article by C.J. Mahaney. I would encourage you to read it. Simply titled thoughts on Super Bowl XLIV. It gives a great perspective on how to watch the Super Bowl to the Glory of God, and how to deal with it afterward.
One quote that really stuck out to me under the section entitled Draw attention to the eternal:
"The day before the 1972 Super Bowl, Dallas Cowboy running back Duane Thomas said, “If it’s the ultimate game how come they’re playing it again next year?” Some players seem to get it. Sadly, many fans don’t. More recently Tom Brady, quarterback of three Super Bowl championships, is quoted in a 60 Minutes interview saying,

Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what is.” I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, “God, it’s got to be more than this.” I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be.

I anticipate that in a week or two, after the Super Bowl has been won, the champions will experience this same dissatisfaction. As Augustine said, “You [God] made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace till they rest in you.”

I found the quote from Tom Brady soul satisfying. Not the lack of hope that he has, but that there is hope for him. He gets it. The pinnacle of success without Christ, is just that without Christ. It is nothing. It is not the "pinnacle" but is base spiritual poverty. Leading a person or people to the most desperate and dangerous of situations.

Think on Solomon. His wisdom was enough to bring people from all over the known world to hold audience with him. His wealth so great that silver was considered as Nothing! And yet he built temples to demons, and lived in all kinds of sin. His wisdom failed him. His son that inherited the throne's mother was an Ammonite. He inherited the "top of the world", but was a God hater.

Almost everything he had was torn from him. And only for the sake of his Grandfather David did his son inherit the throne. Their lives where ruinous. Wasted. NOTHING! And they lead their people astray into wickedness. Yet there is hope. For God had promised to David, and He is faithful. Out of this God raised up for himself a man who would follow him, and eventually down the line His own son our Blessed Jesus came on to the scene.

In the same way there is hope for us and for the Tom Bradys of the world. Why because God is gathering worshipers to Himself!

All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
-Psalms 145:10-13

We have a King the Creator whose works shall give thanks to him!!! God has said it, He will do it!

So as we think on what is "great" let us not settle for that which is as nothing, but rather let us rejoice and be satisfied in Christ and the work that he has done to redeem His people.

We are thankful. God is faithful, even we see no fruit we will wait..

102. My wife's hand to hold

103. Jesus. The Joy of our salvation.

104. Jesus. He is the good news.

105. Christ centered music full of the richness of the goodness of Christ

106. Friends who can talk for hours about the goodness of God

107. That we don't have to boast in our own works of which there is nothing worth boasting about, but instead we can boast in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ -Galatians 6: 14

108. That we don't have to believe in what we see, but instead can have hope that Christ is working something greater than what we see, something greater for His glory

109. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer, listen to my plea for grace. In the day of trouble I will call upon you for you answer me.

110. Birthdays of nieces

111. that trusting in our flesh is like thin ice forcing us to throw ourselves upon the Rock

112. that this road has been traveled by many saints before us for us to take courage

113. that Christ cares for us enough to discipline us Hebrews 12: 5,6

Pride and I'm not talking lions 1

I was thinking today what an awesome thing it is that God would work in our lives to keep us humble. I have been doing a considerable amount of reading on the Kings of Israel and Judah lately and the result has been very sobering for me. Not that I would consider myself anywhere connected to being a king or even an important person in this world (I consider this a privilege). However, one thing that all of the Kings had in common was their inability to be sinless followers of Yahweh. It is amazing/frightening to read how one right after another would be devoted to God and very passionate about serving Him, and then one day BAM! they would be sinning like the pagans they hated. Without exception they did this to at least some extent. Even David, whom the kingdom was named after, and the star was named after. David was considered one of the most devote Jews ever, a heart after God, and yet in his fallen humanity he committed adultery, and then murders the woman's husband. Later in life he demanded that a census be taken against the pleading of his ad visors, and the result was the death of 70,000 men. That is about as many men dead as people that live in Kalamazoo. That number doesn't include women and children. If women and children died too, the number of total people that died was probably closer to the population of Grand Rapids. Those are staggering numbers of people dead for a man considered to have a heart after God.
I think the major difference comes from the reaction that resulted in these different kings being confronted with their sin. David and Hezekiah are to examples of kings who turned away from their pride and humbled themselves before the Lord...