Christ has eliminated my guilt
His Spirit tells me I am his child
Awesome victory is mine
My mind is set on his Spirit
Power is made perfect in weakness
I have the intercession of the Holy Spirit and Jesus
Only God knows why bad things happen to good people
Nothing separates me from his love
Satan has been defeated!
The New England Patriots were 18-0 and were favored by two touchdowns to beat the New York Giants. However, Eli Manning and team were driven by determination to overcome all odds and win the Super Bowl.
The Giants took the lead with eleven minutes in the fourth quarter. The Patriots never blinked and put together a long drive to regain the lead and appeared to become the first team to go 19-0 and win the Super Bowl.
With less than three minutes to play Manning was in the grasp of two or three Patriot defenders and appeared to be sacked. Suddenly, Manning breaks from the clutches of the defenders and throws a desperation pass.
Thirty-two yards down field was David Tyree who leaped into the air with a defender glued to him. Surprisingly, Tyree was able to get one hand on the ball and hold it on his helmet while he tumbled to the ground with the defender trying to wrestle the ball from him. The miraculous catch was ruled complete, and the rest is history. New York pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.
Champions are driven by determination when all odds are against them. They break from the clutches of their circumstances and make impossible catches.
What are you facing today? Are you in the grasp of impossibility? Does the ball appear to be too high to catch?
The Giants are NFL Champions for the next twelve months. If you have repented of your sins, you are among a host of eternal champions! Don’t forget you are favored to win. Repeat our team slogan with me:
C hrist has eliminated my guilt
H is Spirit tells me I am his child
A wesome victory is mine
M ind is set on his Spirit
P power is made perfect in weakness
I have the intercession of the Holy Spirit and Jesus
O nly God knows why bad things happen to good people
N othing separates me from his love
S atan has been defeated!
My mom told me that Papa was sixty. I was a child and thought that he may have been on the Mayflower. I am now sixty, and have a totally different perspective.Being sixty means I can go to Kroger and not hear the male cashier tell me that my pants are unzipped. I leaned over the counter and cupped my ear. The cashier yelled, “Your pants are unzipped”, and I became the focus of three lines of folks waiting to check out.Being sixty qualifies me to be called “Doo Doo” by my two-year-old grandson and enjoying that name. It doesn’t look like he’ll learn to say “Dee Dee”.Being sixty prompts a young business colleague to ask me if I served in World War II.Being sixty is being concerned about new places on your skin and hear your dermatologist say, “It’s nothing to worry about, as it’s what your Mom called aging spots.”Being sixty gives new meaning to “success”. Warren Buffett once said, “If people get to my age and they have the people love them that they want to have love them, they’re successful. It doesn’t make any difference if they have a thousand dollars in the bank or a billion dollars in the bank.”Being sixty is the season of having lost both parents and reflecting on the memories and moments that are more meaningful than ever and realizing the importance of legacy.Being sixty rewards me with seven grandchildren, and I’ve learned to love like never before. Our grandchildren have taught me more about my relationship with God than any thing I can think of. My anticipation of seeing my grandchildren is exactly like God’s anticipation of being with me, and he wishes I would come more often!Being sixty brings on the celebration of having been married for forty years and realizing marriage is not a 50/50 proposition. Sometimes it’s 99/1 and can be 100/0. I do know that Esther will have a front row in heaven for having put up with my stuff!Being sixty gives perspective on life. When I look back at the dark times of my life, they are the brightest, and all things do work together for good for those who love God and are called according to
his purposes. In Deadly Viper Mike Foster and Judd Wilhite say, “Life is about mistakes, grace, more mistakes, and greater grace.”Being sixty is the beginning of the fourth quarter, and I know that time is not my friend. Howard Powell said, “These are hours in which eternity is compressed and none can afford to live superficially.”I have to agree with Solomon’s conclusion as to what is most important in life. He said, “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing-whether good or evil.” Ecc 12:13-14Mike Cowart
On Saturday night the Green Bay Packers hosted the Seattle Seahawks for the second round of AFC playoffs. The Packer’s primary running back is Ryan Grant. Within the first four minutes, Grant had fumbled twice, and the Packers were down 14-0. The stadium became quiet, and the momentum had shifted to the Seahawks. There were feelings of despair and hopelessness. Snow began to fall and sometimes produced a “white out”.At one point the cameras focused on Grant, and his facial expressions reflected determination. He finished the game with 201 yards rushing and scored three touchdowns that enabled the Packers to advance to the NFC Championship next weekend! His performance was a franchise record! Ryan Grant had a choice to make and determined in his mind that he would not reflect on his costly mistakes
but would focus on doing his personal best to be part of a team that goes to the NFC Championship and Super bowl. You and I face this same choice on a daily basis. We fumble and circumstance turn against us, and we become lost in the “white out”.Paul faced daily storms of persecution and lived most days in life and death situations. He said, “We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.” Romans 5:3-5 Paul fumbled terribly and led the charge in persecuting followers of Christ. He gives us his conclusion by saying, “This one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward toward Jesus Christ”. Philippians 3:13-14.Let’s stop focusing on our fumbles and press toward the goal!Mike Cowart
David Walley is a friend of mine and a therapist by vocation. He preached Sunday morning on the topic of “Connecting to You”. In most counseling sessions he eventually asks, “Who are you?”, and ninety-nine percent of people do not have a clue.
The answer to that question comes from three sources: theological truth, design, and bad messages. Most of us don’t read the Bible on a regular basis and don’t have a clue as to how much God loves us and what He really thinks about us. We don’t spend any time discovering our design (personality, intellect, aptitudes, etc.) Therefore, we are left with bad messages as the source of our identity. These messages can come from our family of origin, school experiences, vocational failures, etc. Our conclusion is: shame, guilt, feelings of unworthiness, etc.
As part of the great commandment, Jesus said to “love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” He added, “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
One resource to assist you in finding your vocational design is the Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation and their aptitude assessment. You can learn more at www.jocrf.org. Stats indicate that 80% of people do not like their “job”. You were created with a unique set of aptitudes and promised an “abundant life”. Why spend 2008 doing what you despise?
You need to “unpack” the bad messages that have shaped your self concept and replace them with what God says about you in His Word. Read Romans 8 every day for a week and learn that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ and that you are more than a conqueror, if God is for you who can be against you, and nothing separates you from His love!”
Finally, have a tee shirt customized with “Jesus loves you, but I’m his favorite!”
DiscontentedAccording to a recent issue of USA Today, we are a very discontent nation. Only 5% of us are very satisfied with the way things are going. 68% of us don’t like the jobthat the President is doing, and 75% of us don’t like the job that Congress is doing. Most of us are worried about the affect of a potential collapse of the sub-prime mortgage industry. The stock market is at an all-time high but we are “unhappy campers”.We are the same people who carry money with an imprint of “In God We Trust”.We are the same people who are more blessed than any people on the face of the earth. Yet, we grumble, mumble, and complain constantly.We are not the first group of discontented folk that God has bountifully blessed. Three days after God had miraculously delivered the Israelites from the bondage of the Egyptians and parted the Red Sea for them, they were complaining about the bitterness of the water. God told Moses to place a tree in the water to sweeten it. Within forty-five days of their deliverance they were wishing they were back in slavery in Egypt. God responded by furnishing daily manna.All but two of the “delivered” perished in the desert and missed their destiny due to their discontentment and constant murmuring. Their eleven day trip became a forty year disaster.God has also delivered us from bondage through the death, burial, and resurrection of his Son.Take some time this week to be content and thankful.Mike Cowart
CHRISTMAS Edition:“Worship” occurs frequently in Christmas carols and is a vital part of the Christmas story. The shepherds were the first to receive the biggest news story in human history. God had become a baby! Upon seeing the baby, their act of worship was to tell everyone about what they had been told and seen. Does our worship include telling anyone about Jesus?As an act of worship three wise men prioritized their visit to see Jesus above their daily assignment. They ignored being “politically correct” with Herod. They abandoned the dignity of their profession and fell prostrate at the sight of Jesus and presented their most valuable possessions in honor of him
Is worship the first thing in our priority of time? Does our worship ignore political correctness? Does our worship ever overwhelm us beyond what people may think of us? Which of our most valuable possessions are we willing to surrender as an act of worship?Anna’s worship included living at the temple where she fasted and prayed continually. When she visited Mary and Joseph, her act of worship was to leave the temple and tell everyone that the Messiah had come. Has worship of the Messiah changed our daily routine?Herod claimed to be a worshiper in order to advance his agenda. Nothing has changed as politicians continue to claim to be worshipers to enhance their image and platform.Simeon’s worship included this statement, “Lord, now I can die content! For I have seen him as you promised me I would. I have seen the Savior you have given to the world. He is the Light that will shine upon the nations, and he will be the glory of your people Israel .” (Luke 2:29-32). Will our final act of worship include being content to die because of our encounter with Jesus?As we can see, worship is not “twenty minutes of music on Sunday AM”. The Christmas story clearly defines worship as a 24/7 lifestyle and drastically impacts how we live and die.All He wants for Christmas is worship that honors him, and worship that will impact the way we live and die.Merry CHRISTmas!
Mike Cowart Sr.
P.S. We only really believe what we believe enough to put into practice.” Dr. Charles Blair
