If you're not moving Forward, You're going Backwards

Nehemiah 9:32-38

 

Football coaches say stuff like this all the time. This mantra seems to be ingrained into them as they push their players to become better by continually improving. Urban Meyer was recently quoted as saying, “That’s my job – to push”.

 

Leading up to today’s passage, the Levites recounted how God had been faithful to the Hebrews over the centuries. He was always with them and never let them down. However, with all that the Living God did for them, the Israelites were constantly rebelling. They were as consistently inconsistent as God was consistently faithful.

 

Verse 33 says, “In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly”. Recognizing this, they made yet another promise to God to be faithful to Him.

 

Does that sound familiar to you? It does to me. There have been so many times in my life when I told God, “I’m never going to do that again”, only to turn around and do it again – not just once but over and over. What is it about human nature that does that? More importantly, what can we do to counteract it?

 

In Celebrate Recovery (a Christian twelve-step program at UALC), everyone is encouraged to have a sponsor and/or an accountability partner. That person is there to help push you to improve. But pride keeps us isolated and thinking, “I can do this. I don’t need anyone else”. But we do need others because we can’t change on our own.

 

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”.            James 5:16

 

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2

 

“See to it brothers and sisters that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the Living God, but encourage one another daily so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”             Hebrews 3:12-13

 

God is faithful. He is always with us. But we need someone to push us; to hold us accountable. A coach who will push us to be the best that we can be; to grow in our faith; to move us forward towards, and not go backwards from, our Lord Jesus.

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah%209%3A32-38&version=NIV;TLB

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Neh.9.32-Neh.9.38

 

NCAA Football Rules & the Law

Galatians 6

　
The NCAA has new rules this year about targeting hits to the neck or head. If found guilty a player will be ejected from the game immediately. The reason for the rules comes out of the recent emphasis in football about concussions and brain injuries. Purists of the game, particularly those who don’t play but sit and watch, complain about how rules are ruining the game.

The fact is, rules are a necessary part of the game. Of course, you can obey this rule and all the other NCAA football rules and never be a good enough player to make it to the NFL or become an All-American or even All Conference.

Like in football, the Law is important but it doesn’t get you into Heaven. In fact, there was a big tension during the first century within the church. There were those who believed that you still needed to follow the Law with all of its rules including circumcision. They were the purists who thought Paul was diluting their religion.

Then there were those, like Paul, who said that the Law wouldn’t do anything for you. What you really needed was the grace and freedom that came through the person of Christ.

It’s interesting then, if not ironic, when Paul refers to "the law of Christ" in verse 2. What does Paul mean by this? For someone who emphasizes grace he seems to be contradicting himself. Maybe he gives us some insight when in verse 15 he writes:

"Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation in Christ".
Eugene Peterson puts it this way in The Message:

"Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do- submit to circumcision or reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and He is creating something totally new, a free life!"
Therefore, when you are tempted to stand on rules rather than relationship; when you are tempted to judge others according to your own religious rules; keep your focus on Christ and see what God is doing! Remember that God is not restricted by rules but is focused on faith.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=galatians%206&version=NIV;MSG
http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Gal.6