by Phil Sanders

Robert McClain, a long-time employee of Concord Rd., a gospel preacher, and an upholsterer, recently told me about one of his customers who is a Titans fan.

She had come to see about her furniture and was talking to him about going to the Titans game one Sunday.

She said she wore her shorts for Bible class, so she wouldn't have to change for the game. The lady didn't stay for worship, because it would make her late to the game.

I am amazed at fans who will go to the game hours early. They go to the parking lot at 6 am to get a good tail-gate spot, while some of my brethren can hardly make it to church by 9 am.

Some people seem to think that worshipping the Lord is what you do when you don't have anything else to do. They let every wind that blows come first.

What if Jesus had done that? What if he had been too busy with social functions to preach? What if he had too many irons in the fire to heal the sick? What if he had more important things to do than to waste his time dying upon a cross?

Worship is not an option for those whose hearts are fully set upon serving God. Merely taking the Lord's Supper to do your duty is not in the thinking of spiritual people.

We must not let the thorny soil of this world grow up in our lives and crowd out the Word (Luke 8:14). The garden of our souls needs good soil for the Word of God. We must not let the worries and pleasures and riches of this life leave no room for the more important things.

Martha was a very good woman, but she lacked in her life the most important thing, intimacy with the Lord in a worship setting (Luke 10:38-42).

Would it not be better that we sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to him speak?

Love demands that we put him first in everything (Matthew 6:33; Colossians 1:15-18).

The winds blow in all our lives. There will always be something to do. Family and children will always keep our lives busy, but we cannot neglect the spiritual.

We have but one Lord and Savior. Let's devote ourselves to him first, last, and always. Let's live with love in our hearts and pay attention to the only thing that matters.

by Phil Sanders

Gospel meetings, seminars, and lectureships can be exciting times. The crowds are a little larger, and we usually see people we haven't seen in a while. The mealtime fellowship is heartwarming, and the singing has a little more spark. Smiles abound.

Gospel meetings usually have preaching that is different than the normal Lord's day sermons. Sermons at meetings are designed to persuade, to convert, and to bring change in the lives of those who hear.

We should come to a meeting with an open heart, ready to hear. Attitude makes all the difference in how much we get out of a lesson. People generally come away with what they look for. If you look for something meaningful to your life, something that will help you in the challenges you face, you will probably find some nuggets of truth that will help you.

If you come with an attitude of wishing you were somewhere else, desiring it to be over, you probably won't get much out of any sermon.

Bring your Bible, bring your interest, bring a smile, and bring a desire to learn God's will for your life.

Bring a willingness to change. The word of God stimulates, provokes, and challenges us to grow into better people. You may learn the need to forsake an attitude or behavior; or you may learn a new way of approaching an old problem. Your conscience may be pricked to begin (or begin again) a lifestyle closer to Christ than you've walked before.

What you get out of a sermon is what you put into it. If you have a heart full of love and devotion, a message can change your life. If you are resistant, you may leave in the same condition as when you entered.

"Come let us reason together," says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18-20).

by Phil Sanders

I really dislike the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, but I admit loving the competition itself.

I was touched Sunday night by Carly Patterson, the gold-medal winner for the women's all-around competition. She took time to encourage her teammate by sitting by her side, helping chalk-up the uneven parallel bars, and talking her through her routine.

I was touched by Michael Phelps who gave up his place in the swimming relay race to Ian Crocker. Crocker had finished just behind Phelps in a race. Phelps had won seven medals and was set to win his eighth, tying the all-time record for medals won in any Olympics. He gave up his place so that Crocker could be on a gold-winning team. Phelps still won his gold in the race, because he was on the preliminary team, but he opened the way for his friend to shine.

I learned that 2 Timothy 2:5 is still true. "And also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules."

An American sharpshooter was far ahead in the standings. Though he shot a perfect bull's-eye, he shot it on the wrong target and could not get credit for his shooting.

Russia's Irina Korzhanenko was stripped of her shot put gold medal, the first athlete of the Athens Games to lose an Olympic title because of doping. Korzhanenko, the first woman to win a gold medal at the sacred site of Ancient Olympia, tested positive for steroids.

The only Olympics that really matters is the one we run for God. Paul said, "Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. ... Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).

by Phil Sanders

The Preacher of the Old Testament asked, "If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?" (Ecclesiastes 8:7)

There is so much about the future we don't know. We can see some things developing, but we can't be sure it will end up that way.

"In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider -- God has made the one as well as the other so that man may not discover anything that will be after him" (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

As the election moves ever closer and the polls make it too close to call, we have to leave things in God's hands.

As loved ones lie on the brink of death in the hospital, we do not know what will happen.

Like Elisha, we seem always to be asking, "Is it well?"

We simply don't know what the future holds, but there are some eternal truths upon which we can rely.

The God of all the earth ruled the past, rules the present, and will rule the future. He is always in charge, and always knows beyond the short-term. His plans will stand. "There is no wisdom and no understanding and no counsel against the LORD. The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but victory belongs to the LORD" (Proverbs 21:30,31). If the present or short-term future do not make sense to us, we need to trust that God will make sense of it all in the end.

God's love does not change regardless of the problems we suffer. Paul said, "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38,39).

Planning a future without God is indeed presumptuous. James said, "... you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.' But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:14-17).

We don't know the future, but we do know the God of the future. Hold to Him.

by Phil Sanders

When Nazi Germany marched into Austria and "annexed" Czechoslovakia in the late 1930s, Adolf Hitler gave notice as to his dangerous and frightening intentions.

The response from the rest of Europe, however, was even more startling. They did nothing. France shrunk from fear, Russia tried to cut a deal, and Italy joined forces. The Swedes and the Swiss said they were neutral. Neville Chamberlain, the prime minister of England, and his political friends followed a policy of appeasement. Basically, they ignored the threat, gave Hitler his way, and hoped against hope that "war" would go away. It did not.

Hitler grew in power and tyrannized most of Europe. Chamberlain resigned in shame. Britain stood alone against the Fascist regime. It was only when the resolve of Britain and America stood up to evil that any end to the war could come. Millions of men, women, and children lost their lives due to apathy. No one wanted another world war, but only war could stop a ruthless dictator.

Satan has lied, connived, deceived, and bullied his way into our schools, our media, and our courts. The god of this world has flexed his muscles, and it may seem that he is unstoppable. It is more than lives at stake; it is souls. If we do nothing, surely many will lose their souls for an eternity. We must preach and teach and serve and love and care, until every soul hears the Word and knows the love of God.

Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead to give us hope and life. His marching orders for us is to take the message of hope, the gospel, to every corner of the world (Mark 16:15). To believe there is no threat is to deceive ourselves. We cannot be silent.

If the message of Jesus has grabbed our hearts, given us hope, relieved our guilt, and immersed us in grace, let us not sit silent while the world remains ignorant.

We cannot be neutral about sin. We cannot bargain with or appease the devil. All our human effort will fall flat; people need God. Only the blood of Jesus can wash us clean. If we do nothing to tell a lost and dying world about Jesus, then surely they will perish.

Do you know someone who needs the Lord? Don't sit quietly, doing nothing. Speak a good word about Jesus. Tell him of His love and grace. You may open a door to life everlasting.