Don’t Make Me Count to…

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Ted W Harris

Three!  You all knew what came next. If you didn’t use that tactic trying to get your kids to do what you told them, your parents probably did.  You know. You tell your kids to head upstairs to bed and they don’t move. So you say One! They still don’t move. TWO! and they jump up and run upstairs.  I don’t know if anyone knows what would happen if a parent ever got to three. I was never adventurous enough to find out.  I always knew that if we were outside in the backyard playing for the whiffle championship and Mom said it was time to come in. That was like the two minute warning.  We could probably get a couple more at bats in before she yelled out again. Even after the second call, we knew we still could squeeze a little more play in before… Dad let out a whistle that could be heard in the next county and then it was game over. See you boys in the morning!

Do we do that with God? Ever? He tells us to do something and we act like we didn’t hear him. He says it again and still no movement on our part. What is it that will eventually get us to jump up and obey? Why do we drag our feet sometimes? How high will God count? When we consider the life of Abraham, the thing that always amazes me is that in Genesis 12:1 God tells Abram (he hadn’t changed his name yet) to pack up his family and move to a country that God would show him. And the next thing we read is “So Abram left.”  Really? No ONE, TWO, I mean it. Don’t make me get to three!  No. Abram ‘left, as the LORD had told him.”

I just started a personal study on the prophets of the Old Testament and for whatever reason decided to start with Elijah. He is interesting because he was an unknown person from an unknown town. God did some amazing things through Elijah. The three year drought, a miraculous supply of food, raise the dead, battle a wicked king and his even more wicked wife. His greatest may have been his calling down fire from heaven and the defeat of the prophets of Baal.  But do you know how his ministry started? I Kings 17.  His first confrontation with King Ahab has some powerful words and then God calls him to go hide in a ravine. God cared for him in that ravine by having ravens bring him bread and he drank from the brook, until the brook dried up. Then God told him to go to Zarephath and stay there. I would have wanted to get back to fighting the king – hiding in a ravine and now Zarephath, really?  He meets a widow, she uses the last of her flour and oil to feed him and then he speaks a miracle from God and the flour and oil never run out. Her only son dies and Elijah raises him from the dead.  God at each turn kept him in obscurity. Telling him to go hide – then go to stay with the widow. After some amazing things happened. And each time the scripture tells us “So he did what the Lord told him.” “So he went to Zarephath.” Throughout his life, God spoke and Elijah obeyed. No counting to three!

How many times have we missed out on blessings, or delayed blessings, or caused ourselves hardship, because we hesitated? We waited until God got to two, or three, or four?  Chuck Swindoll, one of my favorite pastors/authors, says this: “A promise fulfilled is often the result of our obedience. When promises have conditions, our obedience precedes God’s provision. Be careful about any teaching that leads to passivity. Resting in the Lord is one thing; passive indifference is something else entirely.”

Let’s begin to exercise the “So he got up and went” muscle when God is directing our way. Or when he gives us a command in scripture – So he got up and did the thing God commanded!  God calls us to be people of prayer – so he got up a little earlier and spent time praying and listening to God. God calls us to be people of the word – so she went to bed a little earlier and read the scriptures. God calls us to love our neighbors – so they introduced themselves and invited them to share a meal.  

What is God calling you to do? Why are you hesitating? There is blessing in the obedience!

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Say/Do

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Ted W Harris

Last Sunday night at our church, the Senior High group studied Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Jordan has been leading us through a series called “All of Jesus,” where we’re discovering the person and character of Christ throughout all of Scripture—both Old and New Testaments.

The Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5–7, is the first recorded public teaching of Jesus. Years ago, while preaching through Matthew’s Gospel, I spent several weeks studying this sermon. Discussing this sermon with the freshman boys last Sunday, reminded me of a phrase I learned during my study years ago, maybe you have heard of it,  the “Say/Do Ratio.”

A man I used to meet for breakfast shared this idea with me. A Say/Do Ratio measures the reliability of a person by comparing the commitments they make (say) and the commitments they fulfill (do). Ideally, that ratio is 1:1—meaning your actions match your words. Your life demonstrates what you claim to believe.

Unfortunately, some people talk a lot but fail to follow through. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges that very mindset. He reminds us that faith is not just about what we know or say—the Pharisees were experts at both. In Matthew 5, He repeats the phrase, “You have heard that it was said…” followed by “But I tell you…,” each time raising the standard from outward knowledge to inward transformation to renewed, deeper action.

For example, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” In other words, you say, “Don’t murder,” but I say, “Don’t even harbor anger.”

The Pharisees tried to make salvation about perfectly following rules, creating a self-righteous culture where they were the “knowers,” “sayers,” and “doers.” But Jesus declared that salvation is not about making ourselves righteous, because that’s impossible. True righteousness is a gift from God that transforms how we live.

When we receive that righteousness, our Say/Do Ratio should reflect it. If we say we follow Jesus—if we proclaim He is our Savior and has forgiven our sins—then our “doing” should prove it.

The Apostle John wrote something similar in 1 John 1:5–7:
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

As we enter the holiday season—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s—it’s a time to remember all God has done. We give thanks for His faithfulness, celebrate His gift of Jesus, and look forward to new beginnings. These next few weeks will offer many chances to live out our faith—through kindness, generosity, and love.

Let’s make sure our Say/Do Ratio reflects the light of Christ in all we do. May others see in our lives the living truth of the gospel we proclaim.

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Delayed but Delivered

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Ted W Harris

I don’t know if it is just me but I have a new unbelievable story every time I get on an airplane. If you want an adventure travel with me. Also, be prepared to be a part of a sermon illustration in the process. I am writing these words sitting in the library at Crown College as Sari attends the Board of Trustees meetings. That picture is my view from the library. Crown is one of our denomination’s colleges and located in St. Bonifacious, Minnesota just outside the twin cities. A beautiful campus with rolling hills, fall colors and a really nice golf course (which I have never played…yet) just down the road. While my view working from the 4th floor library is magnificent, getting here is the topic of conversation and another testimony to God’s sovereignty and our need to just trust him.
 
I love flying, but I have found that as I rise in age, my anxiety level also rises when travelling. Connections, traffic, flight delays and needing to get where I am going for an early morning meeting has added to my diminishing number of gray hairs. I usually try to book direct flights unless it doesn’t make financial sense. This time, it didn’t, I booked our flights, Indy to Minneapolis via Chicago – Midway – 90 minute layover, no problem.
 
Before we even left the house our, flight out of Indy was delayed 45 minutes. Then 55. Then 75. By the time we reached the airport, it was clear we couldn’t make our connection. I told Sari it would be a miracle of miracles. We went straight to the ticket counter, and the agent was able to rebook us on a later flight out of Chicago. A longer layover, yes – but at least we had a way to get there before the early morning meeting.
 
When we landed in Chicago, I got a notification that our original flight to Minneapolis was delayed and would start boarding in 20 minutes. Could we make it? We decided to try. We hurried from one end of Terminal B to the far end of Terminal A. At the gate, a kind ticket agent smiled, rebooked our rebooking, and got us back on the original flight. We were the last ones to board—but miracle of miracles—we made it! My stress melted away, and today I’m enjoying a peaceful day on a beautiful campus.
 
The lesson – Proverbs 16:9, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” I had the plan, I chose the flights. My carefully arranged schedule seemed to unravel – but God had a another plan. When I thought everything was falling apart (and I needed to fix it), He whispered, “Watch this,” and worked things out in a way I could never have planned myself.
 
How much stress and worry could I let go of if I truly trust God with every detail? The straightest distance between two points is not always God’s plan. Traffic, connections, delays but God says lessons to learn, faith to grow. His plans are good, even when mine seemingly fall apart. So, whether your journey goes exactly as planned or takes an unexpected detour, remember: He directs your steps, and He is always good.
 
Today, take a deep breath and thank God for the gift of this moment. Look around at the beauty of His creation and rest in the assurance that every delay, every detour, and every destination has a divine purpose in his plan.

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In But Not Of

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Ted W Harris

Some of you know that I recently started driving a shuttle for FastPark, an off-site parking facility near the Indianapolis airport. I haven’t kept it a secret, but I haven’t exactly shouted it from the rooftops either. Before the rumors start—yes, I’m still fully employed at Eagle Church and have no plans to leave anytime soon. And yes, the Harris family is doing just fine; this isn’t about the money.

The story has more to do with things like taxes, social security, Medicare, and long-term planning—but that’s not really the reason I’m writing this. For years, I’ve said that driving an airport shuttle would be my dream retirement gig. So, once a week, you might spot me behind the wheel of one of those green shuttles, heading off the lot with a handful of passengers bound for Zone 3.

What I didn’t anticipate was how this little side job would open doors for me to live out the gospel in the same way many of you do every single week. For nearly 38 years, my work has been within the “church bubble,” surrounded mostly by other believers in a pretty pro-Christian environment. I’ve often preached about claiming your workplace as your mission field—looking for ways to represent Christ among your coworkers. I’ve had some chances to do that over the years when my kids were involved in sports, but lately, my life has been almost entirely inside the bubble.

The other morning, as I was praying, God directed my attention to John 17. Many believe this is what Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night He was betrayed. In that prayer, Jesus talks about how He has prepared His followers for their mission—to take His message to the world—and how He has set them apart for that purpose. Then He says,

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it… As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

We often repeat the phrase, “We are in the world but not of it.” Two kingdoms operate side by side: the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of Heaven—the kingdom of light. As believers, we are sent into the darkness, not to blend in, but to shine. Every day, we live according to the values of another kingdom—one built on light and truth—with confidence that God will answer Jesus’ prayer to protect us from the evil one. That doesn’t mean we’re safe from harm, persecution, or even death, but it does mean we are secure in our relationship with God and our eternal destiny with Him.

So wherever you find yourself this week—at work, at school, or running errands—remember that God has placed you in your corner of the world to reflect the light of heaven. I’m thankful for M, I, K, T, J, and others whose worlds I get to step into every Monday night.

As you go about your day, live with the confidence that Jesus has prayed for you—to be in the world, but not of it; protected, but sent; ordinary in setting, yet extraordinary in purpose. May your everyday moments become sacred opportunities for the world to see that Jesus was sent by God and that He loves them deeply.

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When it rains…

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Ted W Harris

A couple of months ago, while mowing the yard, I noticed the grass in front of the house was wetter than expected. Since there hadn’t been any rain, I assumed Sari had watered the plants and some sprayed onto the grass. Yet, the next time I mowed, the same soggy patch greeted me. Last Tuesday, Sari went out again to water the plants and found the ground ‘squishy’—far too wet for the little rain we’ve had.

Curious, I grabbed a shovel and started digging, unsure what I’d find. After reaching just below the slab foundation and uncovering nothing but muddy water, I called Riley, our small group’s resident plumber—every small group needs one, trust me. Riley and Hannah arrived, shovels in hand, and it wasn’t long before Riley noticed a tiny black spot in the grout line of the cinder block. As he cleaned the area, water started visibly seeping out through a small crack in the cement.

Riley asked about the crawl space, but remember, I dug the hole just below the SLAB.  That meant we were facing a slab leak. Some pipe encased in the concrete beneath the house was leaking and soaking the yard. For all the novice plumbers out there: this isn’t good news! Was it the hose spigot, the shower, the toilet, or the sink right on the other side of that wall?

We shut off water to the spigot and decided to keep using the bathroom and try the process of elimination. After about 36 hours, the puddle began to subside. As I write this, we still don’t know exactly where the leak originates, but one thing is clear: fixing it likely won’t be simple. If you have a crawl space or a basement, you can find and fix the leak with minimal disruption. With a slab leak, sometimes the foundation—meaning the bathroom floor—must be broken apart to reach the problem pipe and make repairs.

I’ve been a pastor long enough to know that there’s a sermon illustration hiding in every situation. Sometimes, God has to break us before He can fix us. To repair a bad pipe, you may need to break a good foundation. God, in His wisdom and mercy, knows exactly what needs to be broken in us—those foundational thoughts or habits—to address the sin leaking out of our lives. Scripture gives us many pictures of this truth.

Paul thought he was serving God by persecuting Christians—until Jesus confronted and broke him on the road to Damascus, restoring him to be God’s “chosen instrument” (Acts 9). Job suffered through brokenness and emerged refined, saying, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10). John the Baptist declared, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

Brokenness in the Bible is often the doorway to healing and wholeness. Brokenness leads to breakthrough. Sometimes our foundations need to be busted to repair the sinfulness we harbor in our hearts. It’s not pleasant and can feel costly, but the result brings true healing.

So ask yourself: Is God breaking up old habits, sinful patterns, or bad attitudes in your life? Is there pride needing to be broken into humility, self-sufficiency into dependence on the Holy Spirit, greed into generosity, anger into peace, addiction into meaning and purpose?

May we trust the hands of our loving God, knowing that when He breaks us, it’s always for the sake of making us whole again.

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SOLD!

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Ted W Harris

Sold!

Auctions! I love them! Growing up, I remember going to estate sales with my dad. We usually weren’t searching for anything specific—sometimes the estate belonged to someone he knew, and other times we were simply looking for a good deal. My dad always knew who the regular bidders were—the ones who bought items to resell. He taught me to watch them, then go one bid higher and you knew you got a good deal. They always knew what the item was worth.

When we were first married, Sari and I would attend auctions looking for furniture or household items. Personally, I always kept an eye out for tools of any kind. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a live auction, but lately, I discovered Mr. Bid Auctions, an online auction site, and my old addiction has resurfaced! I’ve scored a lot of things—office furniture, tools, even a Bo Jackson jersey. The draw for me is the spirit of competition and the chance to get something for pennies on the dollar. There’s a thrill in holding the winning bid as the timer runs out signaling you’ve won, or when someone sneaks in at the last second, restarting the clock and giving you a chance to think, recalculate, and bid again.

Most of the items purchased at auctions are old—still functional, but well-used. The former owner is done with it, ready to cast it aside. Auctions provide an opportunity to redeem and repurpose someone else’s castoffs. It’s a powerful picture of redemption: buying back something unwanted, something life has dinged, scratched, and deemed worth only pennies. I think you see where this is going.

God does the same for us. Every human being is created by God, in His image, but every one of us is born with a sin nature—an operating system corrupted by Satan and passed down through Adam and Eve. Because of that, we live apart from God. Through life, we get dinged, scratched, and sometimes scarred.

But God (I love those two words, because they always bring good news)—but God, in His mercy and by His grace, has paid the “auctioneer’s price” for us. He has redeemed our broken, sinful lives to restore, repurpose, and give us new life. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived, how scarred you are, or how battered your soul may be by sin—God has paid the price.
How much did it cost Him?
        “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:20

        “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” Romans 3:23-25

Whenever I have a great auction find, I want to tell everyone about it. But we have an even greater story to share—the story of our own redemption. We are invited to be part of someone else’s redemption story by sharing the good news.
Who will you share your story with this week? Who are you praying for to come to faith in Jesus?

Don’t wait until the timer runs out and the gavel drops!

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Lost and Forgotten!

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Ted W Harris

I talked last week in this post about the lost and found at LIFE Conference. The number of items that started showing up in our office within a couple of hours after groups started arriving. Many things once lost were found. Some within minutes of their being lost. Others sat in the lost and found all five days, never to be claimed. How many of those water bottles, sweatshirts, Bibles?, pieces of jewelry were not only lost but forgotten. The owner didn’t give it a thought, never missed it. Maybe once they got home and a parent asked them where the polaroid camera was that they took with them and probably promised to take care of. Maybe then they thought about it. 

Have you ever felt that way? Lost or forgotten? Sadly it is an all too common emotion in these days of isolation, fake social connection, and digital relationships. People can go through life with a feeling that nobody really knows them or sees them, leading to feelings of nobody cares about me. Rejection from other humans can often lead to feelings of rejection, abandonment from God.  Have you ever felt that God has forgotten you?

Prayers not being answered – for years! Seems like God is too distant to hear. Or worse truly has forgotten you or just doesn’t care. As I have been preparing for the sermon this Sunday, I have been sitting on a part of Joseph’s story that God has used to grab me. Joseph is unjustly thrown in prison and sees no way out. He can’t prove his innocence. The future looks bleak. Until two others share a cell with him and they have dreams that God gives Joseph the interpretation. He shares the meaning of the dreams and asks the one fellow prisoner to remember him when he gets out (getting out of prison was a part of the dream).

Genesis 40:23, “The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.”
And the next verse says, “When two full years had passed.”

Seemingly all hope gone – forgotten to rot in a jail cell. Where is God? Why is this happening? Why are my prayers not being answered? I can only imagine that these questions and more were on Joseph’s mind. And maybe you have had or are in one of those seasons right now. Feeling forgotten. Feeling lonely. Feeling like life as placed you in a pit or a prison and God doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it. 

If you are in that place – the pit or prison, feeling forgotten and alone – I have good news for you. Joseph didn’t die in prison.

“Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be in charge of my palace…”

Hang in there! God knows what awaits you in on the other side of the hurt and loneliness?

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Lost and Found

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Ted W Harris

Another LIFE has Come and Gone!

I am just no posting this but last summer was LIFE Conference 2025. LIFE is a triennial conference for high school students of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. LIFE Conference has been described as “one long day and one short night” and that person wasn’t wrong. We were up and working by 8 am and didn’t get back to the hotel room until almost midnight each night. Part of my responsibility at the conference is overseeing the LIFE Office. The Office is the nervous system of the conference where information flows in and out, questions and complaints are brought and answers and solutions are given. I always try to find the most detail-oriented, problem solvers to work in the office. The picture above may have been the best team yet.

While not a major problem solving task, the LIFE Office is also home to the conference’s Lost and Found. As items are found throughout the convention center, they are brought to the office for their owners to hopefully come in and claim. Jewelry, water bottles, t-shirts, hoodies, wallets, iPhones, earbuds, bibles.  You name it and somebody set theirs down and walked away leaving it behind. Eventually the owner finds their way into the office and asks if anybody has found a ___________. And great rejoicing is had when owner is reunited with their personal belonging.  If an item hasn’t been turned in we have to tell them to just keep checking because it may show up, even after a couple of days. We try to be encouraging even though we know the deeper we get into the conference the less likely it is that their item will show up. But you never know.

On Sunday one of the youth group leaders came into the office and asked about a cross pendant that had fallen off of her necklace. We looked through the box of valuables (items not just sat on the table) and it wasn’t there. We told her to keep checking. Monday morning…still no pendant.  Monday afternoon…still no pendant.  She came back several times and the same story. She came back right before the last session Tuesday night…still no pendant. We encouraged her to check again after the session as that would be the last chance before the conference ended and everyone closed up and headed home.

Wouldn’t you know it shortly after she left the office, someone brought in that lost pendant. We were so excited that when she returned after the last session we could reunite her with this prized piece of jewelry. But she never came back to the office. She never left her name or contact information. And now while the pendant was found, the owner was lost. Sadly, the two were never reunited. She had lost hope and gave up the search.

That reminded me of the stories in Luke 15 that Jesus told about the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son. The lady who lost one of her ten silver coins, lit a lamp, swept the house and didn’t quit looking until she had found the coin. And when it was found there was great rejoicing.  

We wanted so badly for this group leader to come back to the office. We wanted so badly to say, somebody found your lost pendant. I stood in the hallway hoping to see her, one person among 6,000, walking by. But to know avail. And God reminded me in that moment, never give up. Hold on to hope. Don’t quit searching, don’t stop praying, don’t stop sharing. God is always at his work! And because of that we always have hope no matter what the situation, crisis, or lost thing might be. 

If you have lost hope in a situation. If you have given up. I encourage you to keep checking, keep bringing the request, the pain, the hurt, the need to God. Do not stop until you get an answer. Marriage struggling…keep checking.  Job situation uncertain…keep checking.  Family or friend not walking with Jesus…keep checking. Feeling lost yourself or emotionally spent…keep checking.  Lost your zeal for the Lord…keep checking.  Don’t give up!

No matter what…keep checking back in the office! 

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For the Generations

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Ted W Harris

I read today of the passing of Dr. James Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family. He was 89. Dobson was a leader in the evangelical church for many years. As I thought about his life and the legacy that he left I began to think of others that have passed in the last decade or so. Chuck Colson (2012), Dallas Willard (2013), RC Sproul (2017), Rev. Billy Graham (2018), Tony Campolo (2024), Henry Blackaby (2024), John MacArthur (2025), and Dr. Dobson (2025). When I think back on my own spiritual formation as a new believer in my teens and young pastor in my twenties, and even today, it was these men, and others like them, that in some way helped shape my theology, my worldview, my pastoral leadership. I didn’t agree with every thing they said. In fact some of them disagreed with each other. But, you will find their books on my book shelves in my office. And now they are experiencing the glory that they passionately taught about and lived for. There are others, lesser known to the world, like Dr. Wes Gerig (2019) and Dr. David Bieberstein (2024). College professors who personally walked beside me and played a part in who I am today. And others who are still living and still influencing my spiritual journey.

Sari said a few years ago, “it is going to be hard when this generation starts entering heaven.” She was right! 

But it also got me thinking about this Sunday, Summer Bash and the 26 people that are going to be entering the waters of baptism. 21 who are middle school and high school students! God has always built his church through the gospel being passed from one generation to the next. The old Apostle Paul instructed the young Timothy, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable me who will also be qualified to teach others.” 2 Timothy 2:1-2

God’s plan all along was to make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples. I have always said the key to that system is the third generation of disciple makers. The spiritual “grandkids”! When I can look back and see that the person I discipled has in turn discipled one behind them, and so on. The chain must not break!

Yes, it is always sad when I hear that one of these leaders has passed from this life into the presence of Jesus (sad for me, happy for them). But it is exciting to turn and look at what is coming behind me. This is what has spurred me on to become a volunteer in Eagle Students. Freshman Boys Life Group leader! For the Generations!

Who has been the great influencers in your spiritual journey?
And more importantly…Who are you ‘entrusting the things you have heard’ to in the generations behind you?

We have a call, a commission, to make disciples. God is building his church. This Sunday, are we baptizing the next generation of pastors, missionaries, apologists, evangelists, lawyers, teachers, plumbers, welders, business owners who will commit their life to making disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples! The occupation doesn’t matter.

We are all called to go!

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The Depth Chart

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Ted W Harris

Today a few of us took our annual trip to Colts Training Camp! It is always a good time to start a new season, new players, familiar players, renewed hope for the upcoming run to the playoffs. This was a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers. A double your pleasure, double your fun kind of day. Especially when you take with you a die hard Packer fan who will remain nameless! The whole point of the two hours is each team working on offensive teams, defensive teams and special teams while getting to go head to head against another team. You get tired of facing your own teammates every day.  While not full speed and no big hits, you get to see what your team can do against an opponent. They always start off with the First Team starters going head to head. Then the second team subs and maybe a couple of the third and fourth stringers getting a chance.

Over the course of training camp, every team develops what is called a depth chart. Naming the first string starters and the second, third and maybe fourth string back-ups for every position. This lets you know how ‘deep’ the talent is across the board. If Jonathan Taylor gets hurt who is the next in line? And that got me thinking…

Many Christians live their lives as if they are somewhere down the list on God’s depth chart. The starters are those professionals, pastors, missionaries, etc. But the average blue chair season ticket holder is somewhere down the list. But God doesn’t have a depth chart. There are no second string Christians on Team Jesus. No third stringers just waiting for their chance. God has equipped every ‘player’ with a set of skills, gifts, and placed them in the position he wants them to play (or live). The family you are in. The location of where you live. The place you work. The places you shop, eat out, go for entertainment. Those are all your positions, where you line up on the field. You are the only one that fills those places and fills the role you play in the lives of the people around you. YOU are God’s STARTER!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

You were saved and a part of being saved is serving, doing good works. Serving in a way, a place, with people, that God prepared specifically for you even before you were saved.  First string on the depth chart. Nobody else can play your position. Mostly because they have their own position to play, their own good works to do on the team. If you don’t play your position, we have a big hole that nobody else can adequately fill. And the team loses yards or other team mates get hurt (burnt out, tired, discouraged, etc).

You have been uniquely gifted by God, placed in a position of influence, handed the playbook (Bible), most importantly filled with the Holy Spirit and sent into the game every single day. We don’t do any of this without the filling of the Holy Spirit. What a privilege! How much does God love us! How much does God believe in us!

If you aren’t sure where you fit, what your position is on God’s team, let’s do lunch sometime! Part of my position on the team is helping other teammates find theirs!

This is shaping up to be a great season!

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