What a person believes about God will shape much of how they view life and how they live. If you believe that God is a condemning God, you might also believe that he is always out to get you.  And if he is always out to get you, then he's just waiting for you to trip up.  He takes pleasure in your failure.  You'll never measure up or be good enough. That's not a pleasant way to live.  Yet many believers choose to live that way. On the other hand, if you believe that God is a compassionate God, that will influence how you view yourself and others.  Mistakes become an opportunity to learn and grow.  Confession is healing.  The grace of God becomes a motivator to say no to sinful habits. How do you view God?

Churches use different words to talk about the same thing: giving, offering, stewardship, tithing, contribution.  Regardless of the word we use, many churches struggle to effectively define the underlying reason of why we give. There are many valid reasons: God commands it. Giving promotes generosity. Stewardship encourages intentional living. Perhaps the best reason is one that Paul gives in 2 Corinthians 8:7-9 ... "But since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.  I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might…

Vince Lombardi is best known as the coach of the Green Bay Packers.  Along with guys like John Wooden, Lombardi is recognized as one of the greatest coaches of all time.  His quotes and one-liners have been used in a variety of settings to instill basic leadership and life principles. At the start of every football season, Lombardi would do the same thing.  He'd gather all the players -- veterans and rookies alike -- at mid-field and give the same speech.  He would hold up a football and say, "Gentleman, this is a football."  He would go on to describe all the things you could do with a football: carry it, throw it, kick it.  He would point to the end zone and remind the players that the ultimate goal was to move this football over those lines and to keep the other team from doing the same. It was…

Have you ever noticed a connection between dependance and devotion?  In other words, the more dependent we tend to be on something (or someone), the more devoted we are to that thing or person. We see this connection in the early church.  In Acts 2:42, Luke tells us that they devoted themselves to four things: the apostles teaching, the fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer.  They didn't dabble in these things; they were devoted to them. This devotion was birthed out of dependence. Peter voiced it well, even before the death of Jesus: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" (John 6:68).  This sense of dependency continued after Jesus' resurrection.  In fact, it's included in his last words to them before he ascended back to heaven: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and…

Former Yankee catcher Yogi Berra is best known for his off-the-wall quotes. "A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."  "I always thought a record would stand until it was broken."  "I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did."  And one of my favorites: "Ninety percent of this game is half mental." The story is told that Berra was catching in a tied-game, two outs in the bottom of the ninth.  The opposing team's batter stepped into the batter's box and proceeded to draw a cross on home plate.  Berra, who was also Catholic, wiped out the plate with his glove and said, "Why don't we let God just watch this game?" When it comes to baseball (or football), that's actually a pretty good theological statement.  We may pray for safety or enjoyment, but I'm not sure that God gets too caught…