15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
This passage describes what I would call a "visible expression" of God's glory in our lives. So, by how we live and what we say, we are actually calling attention to not only the existence of God, but the activity of the Lord. If we are born again, if we have been saved, God has done a magnificent work in our lives that we could not do ourselves, and by so doing, He has placed His Spirit within our hearts so that we might live by the Spirit and not by what would popularly be called, "human nature."
Because of the presence of the risen Lord in our lives, are mouths can be activated to proclaim His truth and testify to His greatness. Psalm 40 states:
7 Then I said, "Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart."
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.
The NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four is set to tip-off in just a matter of minutes, and LSU is one of two SEC representatives left in the tournament, the other one being undefeated South Carolina. The Tigers square off against Virginia Tech, and I would imagine that Angel Reese is nearing the completion of her pre-game routine. Sports Spectrum reports that it goes something like this:
She prays and does a devotion every morning, prays with assistant director for women’s basketball operations/recruiting Chante’ Crutchfield, prays by herself again, and then prays one more time before the game.
The article says that she outlined that in a postgame press conference last weekend.
Angel transferred to LSU from Maryland, and the article notes:
“This year has been something that I’ve been a lot closer to God, and I think that’s why I’m here right now in this position,” she said. “A year ago — it’s crazy how my life changed in a year. I was back home by this time.”
Reese is not shy about sharing her faith on social media either. She posted a picture on Instagram of her holding the regional championship trophy with the caption, “God specializes in things that don’t make sense. GOD DID.”
The Tigers defeated Miami to earn their berth in the Final Four. The Sports Spectrum article said:
“A fresh start, that’s what I came to LSU for,” Reese said after the Tigers’ 54-42 win over Miami on Sunday. “I just wanted a fresh start. I’ve done things in my past that I kind of regret. I mean, there’s things that I’ve done. But I came from Maryland and I succeeded at Maryland, but I wanted more. And more was to get better every single day and then cut down nets one day.”
Reese stuffed the stat sheet against the Hurricanes with 13 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, leading the Tigers to their first Final Four appearance since 2008. She is averaging 22.3 points and 17.3 rebounds during LSU’s NCAA Tournament run, and Sunday’s double-double was her 32nd of the season, which set a new SEC record.
Nick Boyd is heading to the Men's Final Four, a member of the unlikely semifinalists, the Florida Atlantic Owls. After their dramatic first-round victory over Memphis, Sports Spectrum reported this:
Asked about his game-winning shot in the postgame press conference, Boyd was quick to give the glory to God.
“I’m feeling blessed. I thank God for this moment,” he said. “I don’t even know how to really describe the moment, what I was feeling. I don’t know. A lot of emotions. I told coach in the timeout, I said, ‘Coach, I got it.’ I don’t know why I was feeling that way, but I just said, ‘Coach, let me get the ball.'”
Boyd also thanked God in an on-court interview with CBS Sports’ Jamie Erdhal. Niko Panous — Boyd’s coach at Don Bosco Institute in Crown Point, Indiana — tweeted a recording of the interview and a series of compliments for his former player.
“I can’t really explain,” Boyd told Erdhal. “I’m just having fun. I’ve got to thank God. I’ve been waiting for a moment like this my whole life.”
Like Angel Reese, Boyd has been giving glory to God on social media. The article notes:
Boyd’s public expression of his faith is also evident on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, which include numerous references to God. He proclaimed that “God is good!” while celebrating getting to play in March Madness in a tweet...
It also says:
Recent Instagram posts include a mention of the “peace that Christ gives you,” an encouragement for people to celebrate God’s blessings and a declaration that he is “God’s child.”
Angel Reese and Nick Boyd reminds us of the opportunity, and I would dare say, the necessity to testify to God's greatness. We can evaluate whether or not the way we live, the way we speak, even the way we post on social media reflects the presence of Jesus in our lives. What has God done in your life? Whatever it is, don't keep it to yourself.
We also can recognize that the Bible's definition of "winning" might be different than ours. While we can certainly seek to win the "big game," the bigger picture is that whatever we do, we are to do for God's glory. We should always do our best, by His strength. Our ultimate victory is in Jesus Christ, and we are living for Him. .
And, when we see God work in our life - and we can be careful to look for it; it's certainly not hiding - we can be thankful.
No comments:
Post a Comment