As many of you know I’m a die-hard Husky fan! Man do I love college football! Last Saturday Cathy and I went to a UW Husky game. We had great seats up in the third tier on the 40 yard line. At the opening kickoff the stadium was filled with exuberant fans, it was sunny and warm; we could see the whole field, the boats on Lake Washington and even the Cascades in the distance. It was a perfect day for football and the excitement in that stadium was crazy! In the end the Huskies won and it was an amazing game!
At one point during the game Cathy turned to me and said, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if people came to church as fired up about Jesus as they come fired up to play and watch a football game?” I later thought about that statement and I thought, you know, she’s right - that would be awesome. In fact, what a novel idea!
Many people come to church each Sunday expecting to be inspired and motivated so they can go out and maintain during the week until they can come back again the next Sunday for more encouragement to keep them going for yet another week. Now I know that we all need encouragement from time to time and having a good coach on any sports team is essential for the team, but in reality - it is the players themselves who go out there and do all the work. During the week they practice running lines, throwing the ball and running the plays. They have great discipline in their workouts and in the time spent on the practice field so when game day does come – they are pumped up and fired up and ready to play!
Wouldn’t it be great if Christians put that much effort and discipline into their spiritual workouts each week – things like time spent in prayer, Bible reading, journaling, and just drawing close to the Lord – so when Sundays came, they were already filled up and excited to come and worship God with their whole hearts. Just think how much more effective our services could be if we all came fired up and ready to give God our very best!
I’m challenging each one of you to practice those spiritual disciplines during the week so you won’t need to come and sit each Sunday and be encouraged – you’ll be the one encouraging others with your excitement and enthusiasm for Jesus! He’s far more worthy of our passion than any football team!
Up for the challenge? Game on!