Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Trusting the Word: A Path to Stability
Ever wondered why we put so much faith in quirky traditions like Groundhog Day, yet often question the teachings of the Bible? Join me as I humorously examine the oddity of relying on Punxsutawney Phil for weather predictions and uncover what this says about our relationship with faith and superstition. Through laughter and reflection, we'll explore why unwavering trust in the Word of God can provide stability amidst life's uncertainties. Let’s tackle the anxieties of modern living by drawing from biblical teachings, offering listeners a fresh perspective on finding peace and guidance.
Picture this: a tender moment during a basketball practice, where a child's innocent trust becomes a powerful metaphor for our faith journey. We'll dive into personal stories that illuminate how living with faith over fear can help us prioritize what truly matters, amidst societal pressures and financial worries. Through heartfelt interactions with children discussing the miracles of Jesus, we paint a hopeful picture of a perfect place promised by faith. This episode serves as a gentle reminder of the eternal impact of spiritual faith, weaving together humor, personal insights, and timeless truths to inspire and encourage a life grounded in trust and hope.
So last Sunday was Groundhog's Day and I don't know if you guys pay attention. On Groundhog's Day, I think it's the weirdest tradition we have in all of the world, because I don't understand how a groundhog predicts weather at all. By the way, when you do a little bit of history, it originally started out as Badgers and then we switched to Groundhogs, I'm assuming, because Badgers are too temperamental. I don't know what the reason was, but what I love about Groundhog's Day is, every time, all I hear all Groundhog's Day is it's going to be bad weather for the next six weeks, and I'm like I know, I saw and read every news outlet in existence or it's not going to be bad weather, it's going to be glorious. And I'm like okay, I'm 38. I've never seen the groundhog be right ever. Like maybe you have, but in my lifetime I have learned at a very young age that the groundhog is just the groundhog and not a weatherman right, and there is a little bit of science behind it. But I was looking into this because I, before I started talking about this, I wanted to like make sure that I had an understanding of what I was talking about. So here's the reality of said groundhog Puxatawney, phil or, I'm sorry, buckeye Chuck. If you're from Ohio, we have a Buckeye Chuck. You guys know that. Did you know that? No, if you're from Ohio, we have a Buckeye Chuck, because apparently the one in Pittsburgh is not good enough. So we have a Buckeye Chuck who is 55% right. We have a Buckeye Chuck who is 55% right, so a little more than half. And then you have Puxatawney Phil over the course of his life, by the way, pretty sure that guy's been replaced more than once Just saying has a 35% success rate. So, as always, ohio is better Just kidding Buckeye Chuck, but about half right.
Speaker 1:So what I find interesting about this is there are people who adamantly believe with everything in them that that groundhog is right. Statistics say is not 55, which means it's a guess. I mean the that's, that's the average weather forecast right, and in puxatonia, phil, only 35 percent of the time. So so, as I was processing this, all I could think about is why do we put so much faith in a groundhog? And then I thought about it and there was what is it? I read a report this week that the mayor, I think, of Puxatawney said that he would give his life to protect that groundhog. And I was like I don't understand. He's like if anyone comes for our groundhog, I will him and I'm like it's a groundhog, I'm pretty sure it's died like three times right. But and then you think about it. Well, of course, for them it makes sense. They probably make a ton of money. I saw someone who was selling like a commemorative coin, like a Puxatani field coin, for like a hundred bucks online. I was like that's nuts to me, right.
Speaker 1:But we put so much faith in silly things. Can we agree that the groundhog thing is silly a little bit? We put so much faith in silly things we talk about. The Super Bowl is today and one of the things every sports fan I ever met. They have a special pair of socks that they wear, right, and it's because their team won one time while they were wearing those socks and now they have to wear those socks every single time. Or there was one time that I remember that I was taking off my jersey and I got halfway off and we scored and for the rest of the game I sat there with my jersey half off, right.
Speaker 1:We put so much faith in silly, goofy things like that, but when we come to the word of God, we bring a level of doubt and we question does it really mean what it says? Is that really what God is trying to tell us? And I'm telling you, I believe and I think that as Christians, we have to stand on the Word of God as being 100%, exactly what it needs to be. There's never been any confusion, there's never been any doubt in my mind. It doesn't mean that there aren't things that we wrestle with, but there's never been a doubt in my mind that the Word of God is the only thing in my life that I can rely upon 100% of the time. Everything else is questionable, but, like I said, we've put so much energy and time into silly nonsense, but when it comes to putting our trust and faith in the Word of God, we tell ourselves well, that can't be true, that's not what that means. So that's why I think these, therefore, statements, particularly the one we're going to be talking about today, is found in Matthew 6, starting in verse 19. This is part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and if you were here with us last year, I did a seven-week series on some of the truths that come out of the Sermon on the Mount. So Jesus is having this conversation and he's teaching. So there's a crowd around him and he's teaching.
Speaker 1:And here's the thing I've realized is, in the world we live in today, the biggest topics that I hear about, the ones that continue to kind of flood the airwaves, is the amount of anxiety that exists, the amount of doubt that exists, the amount of worry that exists about the future. Whether we're dealing with our health issues, whether we're dealing with finances, whether we're dealing with our health issues, whether we're dealing with finances, whether we're dealing with the state of the government, we are constantly living in this sense of anxiousness. And I don't know about you, but being anxious all the time, that is mentally exhausting. I can tell you that there was a time a couple years ago when, for about three months, I lived every day of my life worried about whether or not I was going to make it to the next one, and that brought on fear of my kids and my family, and my job was not working like I was. But I lived in this constant state of being anxious. It overwhelmed me. I couldn't sleep at night. I was tired, I was overtired, I was snapping at people, I was snapping at my kids, I was snapping at my wife and I allowed all of this fear and all of this doubt to consume me.
Speaker 1:And so when Jesus is having this conversation in Matthew, chapter 6, he's addressing anxiousness, he's addressing worry, he's addressing fear. And once again we're talking about their four statements, and there's two of them in this text, but let's start with verse 19. It says Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasures in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there, your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness, and the light within you is darkness. How great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, and you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. So let's stop there. Both God and money, so let's stop there. So Jesus is talking about their treasures, right? So let's kind of take that to modern day. Our treasures are what Our house, our cars, maybe the things, our clothes that we wear. These are all things we consider valuable.
Speaker 1:Danny and I, yesterday we had to go buy our boys shoes. So we were out shopping and so we buy our shoes. And I've heard this before, but I guess I didn't really thought about it. At the end of the conversation, the lady's like do you want warranties for your shoes? You've never heard this. Okay, so if you go to shoe sensation, they will offer you an extended warranty on your shoes. Within a year you can bring them back and have them replaced. They don't even have to be the same size. And she's like do you want warranties for your shoes? And I was like no, I'm like there's an expectation that my shoes are going to fall apart. That's, I have three kids, I have three boys and they're growing. Their feet aren't going to be. She's like I know, but you? I was like, no, I don't, I don't want warranties for my shoes. But when you think about it, there is warranty, there's insurance, there's all these different ways that we spend to protect our investments.
Speaker 1:Not saying it's bad, but we spend a lot of time and a lot of money every year protecting, but we spend a lot of time and a lot of money every year protecting things that, when we die, will rust away, will fall apart. Someday these shoes will be in the trash can. Someday my house will fall apart. Someday my car will stop running hopefully later than sooner, but someday right. So we put all of this stock in things that are very temporary.
Speaker 1:And so Jesus is addressing the crowd and he says don't worry about those things. Instead, worry about the things that are eternal, the things that are in heaven, that won't be destroyed. By the way, the only thing that you and I can potentially take into eternity with us are the ones we love, that's it, the person sitting next to you, your family member, your kids. Those are the only things that you could possibly take with you into eternity. All the other stuff you have will get divided, it'll get thrown away, it'll rust, it'll fail. So Jesus is saying invest in the things that matter.
Speaker 1:He goes on to say you can't serve both God and money, and I think that's such an important statement, because there are times, I think, when we allow our financial situation to be anxiety-inducing for us, we allow our bills to worry us and listen for us. We allow our bills to worry us and listen. I'm not saying that those aren't real concerns, but we are so consumed sometimes with having things that we lose sight of the God that we have, who has said and promised us that he would take care of us. And so in there lies the first, therefore, statement. So Jesus says all of this you cannot serve God and money. Don't store things up on earth, but store things up in heaven.
Speaker 1:And then he says in verse 25, therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air that do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they Can any one of you by worrying, worrying at a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even solomon and all his splendor was dressed like one of these. That is how god closed the grass of the which is here today and tomorrow, is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith. So do not worry saying what shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need him, but seek first his kingdom and the righteous and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Second, therefore, statement therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. I think worrying has got to be the number one thing that robs us in our relationship with God. We are so consumed with things. We are so consumed with tomorrow.
Speaker 1:I read this statement earlier this week and it kind of hit me a little harder, and I think, especially having my young boys. It said time is the only resource that you and I have. That's unmeasurable to us, which means you and I have no idea how much longer we will be on this earth. I could die tomorrow. I don't want to, but my life could come to an end tomorrow. We could walk out of here after church and life could be gone in a blip. It's the one thing that you and I have no way to measure. And I know, and we've talked about it and and I know I've talked about, and doctors tell people you have six months to live, and then they live for two years. And then doctors tell you you have two years to live and you die in six months. Because, listen, they're doctors, no offense to them, I'm not taking away from doctors, but a doctor giving you a life expectancy is about an educated guess as a groundhog telling you what the weather's going to be, because at the end of the day, they don't know. They have no idea how much time God has allotted you on this earth. You and I wake up every day not knowing, and yet we find ourselves consumed about tomorrow or next week, or we find ourselves consumed about the conversations we have to have at work.
Speaker 1:I was talking to my wife last night. I don't like failing at anything. It drives me nuts and any time I have a moment where I feel like I failed, I will hang on to that conversation or an accusation longer than I probably should Like. It eats at me Like my brain just keeps coming back to that conversation over and over and over again, so much so that it robs me of moments of my life. I was thinking about this.
Speaker 1:I do, I lead practice. So both boys play basketball the older boys and so we were at practice on Friday and Miles is three. If you ever met Miles, he's three. Miles at practice is like really intense, because he wants to shoot but he can't and he wants to play and he'd dribble but he really can't, right, but he wants to just be involved and really it's because he wants to be near me, right. And so we're at practice on Friday and I'm trying to coach these kids and I'm kind of getting frustrated with what's going on because they're just not listening.
Speaker 1:And at some point Miles comes up to me, he grabs my leg and he looks at me and smiles. I'm like Miles, go sit down, buddy. And he did. He ran off and he got upset and when, looking back in that moment, like I feel bad because all he was doing was he wanted to be next to me, but I was so worried about this group of kids and listen, there's nothing wrong with that but I was so worried about making sure that everything was right that I missed a moment with my kid, and the reason I say that is because sometimes I think we're so worried about tomorrow, we lack faith, and I think that's what it comes down to we lack faith in the God who's created us.
Speaker 1:We're so worried about tomorrow and we're so worried about everything life has to offer that we miss moments in time with our family and our friends and our loved ones. And, like I said, time is the only thing you and I have no control over. I can always make more money, I can always have a bigger house, I can always go on another vacation, I can always buy the newest game system. What I can't do is I cannot add an hour to my life.
Speaker 1:And so, when Jesus is having this conversation, he says therefore, knowing all of this, knowing you have no, no control, but knowing that the god who you serve loves you. By the way, we see this in the way he he closed the flowers of the sea, we see, or the, the grass. We see this in the way that he provides for the birds of the air who do not store. We see that the god of all creation provides for His creation. Therefore, if you believe and know that he does this for you, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own trouble of its own.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine approaching life with that kind of faith, knowing that it's going to be okay, knowing that the God who created you is going to take care of it, knowing that, as His son and daughter, that he loves you, that he wants to take care of you, that he wants to be with you in the hardest of times? You know, when I say this on Sunday morning, when I pray before we enter worship, I pray specifically that we learn to leave our cares at the door, because I live in the same world that you do. Social media, the news, that stuff wears me out, because when I look at it from their perspective, the world's going to fall apart tomorrow. And listen, it just might, but my faith in God reminds me that, even if it does, my God is bigger than that. My God is bigger than any political agenda across the board. My God is bigger than any bill that comes across my table. My God is bigger than any health or sickness that enters into my own body. My God is bigger. Not only is he bigger, but he loves me and he provides for me and he takes care of me because that's who he is. We talked about this Thursday night in our group.
Speaker 1:Children are the greatest example of faith that I think we'll ever understand. By the way, biblical Jesus understood that too. Because children have this faith in humanity, that is profound. My nine-year-old believes that everyone is out to do good all the time. I don't ever want him to lose that.
Speaker 1:My three kids wake up every morning knowing and trusting that there's a few things that are going to happen. One they're going to have breakfast. If it's mom, it's going to be cooked. If it's mom, it's going to be cooked. If it's dad, it's going to be. Rummage the refrigerator and find something. But they know they're going to eat. They know they're going to wake up and then, if there's a storm that night before that, the shelter they live in is protected. They know they're going to have blankets when it's cold. They know they're going to have shoes when they wear out. And they do all of this simply based off their faith in us as parents, to take care of them. That is the approach that you and I have to have with God that every breath that I take, that every moment that I wake up, no matter the circumstances, that God, who created me, my Father in heaven, is there, he's providing, he's looking out, he's taking care of me.
Speaker 1:We allow worry and anxiety to rob us of our God-given right to trust and have faith that He'll provide. This is a therefore statement. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow has enough of its own problems, but we live in a culture that is ridden with anxiety. A recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association indicates that as many as eight out of ten Americans are stressed because of money concerns. In addition, 50% are stressed about their ability to provide for their family's basic needs. 56% are concerned about job stability and workload. 60% feel angry and irritable. 53% feel fatigued. 53% say they lie awake at night with worry. 47% report having headaches. 35% report an upset stomach. 34% report increased muscle tension increased muscle tension.
Speaker 1:We are living in a culture that has so much worry and so much doubt and so much fear that it physically affects them. And yet we are seeing, and we see in Scripture, that the Scripture tells us to trust in God with everything. So either God is exactly who he says he is and we can believe in the Bible, we can have faith in it or he's not, and I hope that and we've talked, talked about the last couple weeks the word of god is something we can trust. It's the only thing in my life that I believe is a hundred percent, exactly what it needs to be. So then, why do we continue to live as if god isn't in charge? Why do we continue to put our faith listen, I, oh man, I'm gonna say this and I'm not trying to rub through the wrong way and and if you take offense to this, it's not my intention god is the only one we should put our trust in.
Speaker 1:No one else matters no president, no politician, no one, nothing, no, none of. I'm not saying those things are bad, but none of those things can save us. Only God can save us. Only God has saved us because he did exactly what he said he was going to do he sacrificed his life so that you and I could have eternity with him. My faith is in him.
Speaker 1:I don't put my faith in people. Don't get me wrong. I love people, but people fail. People do bad things. Sin has corrupted us. The only perfect one, the only perfect human to ever live, was Jesus. So when he tells me, therefore, do not worry about tomorrow.
Speaker 1:I believe that that's how I'm supposed to live my life. Our worship should overtake our worry. The trust we have in Jesus, the trust we have in God, is greater than our anxiety. You, as His creation, are more important to Him than the birds in the air and the flowers in the field. But we allow ourselves to be robbed, we allow ourselves to be lied to by the enemy, we allow ourselves to lose focus of what really matters, because sometimes we're so focused on this kingdom, our kingdom, that we forget that his is better. Sometimes we're so focused on building up our wealth, our titles, our roles, sometimes we're so concerned about the outcome of a football game.
Speaker 1:Listen, man, I love football, but tomorrow morning win or lose you know what I'm going to do. I'm going to wake up and have breakfast with my kids. Maybe I'm going to celebrate with them, maybe I'm not, but I'm going to have the ability to wake up with my kids and to make an impact in their lives. I'm going to have the ability to go to bed that night and pray with my kids. I'm going to pray for them because for the rest of their life, their eternity matters, because when I die, I want them to go with me, because guess who's not coming with me? The eagles, some of them are. There's a lot of Christians on that team, but I'm just saying there are. There are McNabb is one of them.
Speaker 1:But what I'm saying, what matters, is this this doesn't matter, this is irrelevant, because at the end of my life, I can't take any of this with me. This jersey will end up in a Goodwill somewhere and some guy who's 3X will be like finally, they have big enough clothes at Goodwill, like, if you're not big, you've never had that problem, right. But what I'm saying is at the end of my life, this is irrelevant. The car that I drive, what's going to happen tomorrow? I might not even make it through tonight. So, therefore, don't worry about tomorrow.
Speaker 1:Don't allow your anxiety to rob you of today. Don't allow your worry to rob you of today. Don't allow your worry to rob you of truly worshiping the God who created you, because, at the end of the day, the only thing that I know is for certain, the only thing that I have faith in, is that if I put my trust in Jesus Christ, when I die, my eternity is with him. That's it. Everything else is irrelevant and, like I said earlier, the only thing going with me to heaven are the people I bring with me. That's it. That's all that's going to matter. That's all that's going to matter. Jesus himself says when he's in this moment. He said don't worry about the things that you need, because God sees you. Don't worry about the things you don't have, because God will provide for you. Don't worry about how much money you have in your bank, because the God that you serve has unlimited resources at his disposal.
Speaker 1:You know, I always love the Old Testament, because when we talk about the Old Testament, when you go back and you look at the stories, there are times when I wonder how israel ever messed up, because they saw god do extraordinary things. I mean, they saw david take out a giant of a man with a sling and they're like, oh, that's nice. And then the next couple chapters they're worshiping another god. I'm like I don't get it. They saw Shadrach, meshach and Abednego in the fire and they came out not even smelling like smoke. Do you know how impossible that is? I'm telling you. In the summer I walk by someone's house who's having a bonfire and I smell like smoke. I'm not even attending, but they didn't even smell like smoke, so much so that the king at the time recognized who God was. They saw God over and over, and over and over do miraculous things, and they still kept turning the wrong way.
Speaker 1:The people of Jesus' time. They saw God in the flesh, they witnessed the death of Jesus, they witnessed his resurrection, and they still couldn't understand. If we truly believe that God is who he says he is, then you and I have nothing to worry about. Worry does not come from God. Let me say that again. Worry does not come from God. Anxiety does not come from God. Those are not things he wants to give you. Those are things he wants to take away from you, and they get taken away by us having faith in the Word of God. When Jesus says, therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, I believe he means it. Our time on earth is short. I don't know how long I'm going to live. I have an idea I'd like another 40 years, maybe 50. But in the time that I do have, I need to ask myself what am I living for? What am I building up? Where am I storing my treasure? Am I storing my stuff on earth, where it's all going to get destroyed, or am I investing in the future of the kingdom of God, which will last forever.
Speaker 1:Kids are brilliant, man. I love kids. Every practice for basketball, we always have a devotion and we've been talking about the different miracles of Jesus and we had this conversation with third graders, right. So we're having this conversation about faith and we're talking about Jesus and putting your faith in him. And I was like you know, one of the things I look forward to is I look forward to, when I do die, that I will be in a place that's perfect.
Speaker 1:And this little boy on our team, he's like you know, you can kind of see his brain processing and he's like perfect. I'm like, yeah, he's like you mean, I won't cry anymore. I'm like, yeah, he's like my head won't hurt ever again. I'm like, yeah, that's a thing. He's like my parents won't fight anymore. I was like, yeah, like God has promised us an eternal perfection where everything is going to be exactly as it's supposed to be. And he looks at me and he says that sounds nice. And in that moment, all I can think about is that's what you and I are living for, because that little boy, the only thing that I can offer him that's going to last forever is faith in Jesus. That's it. I can meet all of his other needs and take away all the other worries he has, but the only thing that I can offer him is eternity In church. That's enough. The only thing Jesus ever did was die for us. That's enough. All right, let's pray.