Friday, October 15, 2010

FCA DAILY IMPACT PLAY 10-15, 2010

Each day I get an email from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Today's was good enough to post on my blog, which I have been neglecting like a fading campfire, too. But the fire I like to keep stoking is the one within, which has grown warmer and more dynamic than ever.
Thank you, Jesus, for loving me, for showing me true love, for blessing me again and again and again. You are the way, the truth, and the life!
I am forever undeserving; and I need YOU, not the other way around, yet your love for me is blazing. Well, just so you know, Jesus, I love you back. More and more and more. You are the best comforter, the best listener, the best provider, the best rock to cling to, the best protector from darkness.

Here's the FCA message: I hope you like it and let your own fire start burning again for Jesus. He is also pursuing YOU every day. He loves you. Let Him!


"Without wood, fire goes out…”
-Proverbs 26:20a

SET: 
Fall has always been a wonderful season for me. I love the leaves crunching and the beauty of the harvest sunsets. I enjoy sweatshirts and sweatpants and the warmth of an outdoor fire. In fact, campfires are one of my favorite things. I love the sound, the smell and the fellowship that usually comes with a good campfire.


Recently, this short, yet powerful, verse from Proverbs caught my attention. Proverbs 26:20a says, “Without wood, fire goes out.” Don’t you just love how the Bible can be so simple yet so profound?
When I read this verse, I thought, “Duh! Of course a fire dies out without wood.” And then the Lord rumbled inside my heart. He seemed to ask, “What are you fueling your fire with?” It was a great moment of conviction.
To keep our fire for the Lord, we must continually fuel it with good things—solid pieces of wood that will sustain our fire for Him.

At times, my fuel is like a dead twig. Am I lying? Gossiping? Having negative thoughts? Am I trying to fuel the fire with activities and duties for God instead of just getting to know Him better?

As an athlete or coach, am I fueling my fire with stats and scores instead of simply deepening my spiritual intimacy with the Lord through competition?
Each of us has to face these and many other issues in our own lives. But what I find amazing about the Lord is that He wants us to give Him all of our firewood, no matter how rotten, wet or small it might be. With it, He will bless each of us with a fire to warm the cold places in our hearts, a peace to calm our souls, and a comfort to know that when we give Christ our all He will enlighten us through His grace and mercy.
Today, may each of us give our fuel to the Lord, in whatever shape it may be and know that it will spark God’s great plan in our life!

GO: 
1. What is fueling your spiritual fire?
2. Are you concerned that your offerings aren’t good enough for God?
3. Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. What does this say to you about your personal offering to God? How does He want you to use what He’s given you?

WORKOUT: 
Jeremiah 29:13
Matthew 25:14-30
Hebrews 11:6
1 Peter 3:11