Get hit – Keep going
“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:6,7
Watching Sportscenter this morning, I was updated on what happened in last nights big games in the NBA and the NHL. I found that both of my teams won – the Celtics and the Penguins (two teams I’ve rooted for since my childhood, lest you believe I’m a band wagon fan).
During the bit about the Celtics, one of the commentators mentioned that Doc Rivers, the coach of the Celtics, showed clips of Muhammed Ali’s fights, and made this statement over and over again:
“It’s not how many times you get hit, it’s whether or not you move forward.”
I wonder whether this would be a great statement for you and I to move inside our head and our heart. Because we are going to get hit.
Maybe in the context of work life – When your doing what you absolutely love to do, maybe even what God has made you to do, yet your boss is a demotivator and the environment is as low as it can be, but you still think this is where God wants you to be.
Or maybe in your family life – In this day where it seems people are out for themselves, including those closest to you.
Or maybe in your church – If you go to a church without a dream, without a future, and where the people are critical of everything anybody does to bring in new life.
It could be that you’re getting hit. And it seems like it will never end. But “it’s not how many time you get hit, it’s whether or not you move forward.”
Moving forward doing what God wants you to do will eventually prove that God is who He says He is and that He is making you what He promises to make you.
What does He want to make YOU?
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You know something, Marty? You really ROCK too! In fact, when it comes to making a spiritual blog experience, you ROCK more than any other preacher I have found to date.. including my very own Pastor Mike.
One hypothesis I have is that your blog audience very well may appeal to an entirely different audience than what you have in your real-life church…. and on a number of different levels. First, you can appeal to people who are geographically located beyond a reasonable driving distance to your church. But, I think more imporantly, you may appeal to people who very well may attend your church but who, for whatever reason, keep a low profile.
I think the anonymity provided by the blog can allow a person – such as myself – to let their guard down and say things they might be hesitant to say in person. That is, the blog is INTERACTIVE, while the church expereince – for me and by my own choosing – is much more passive.
But your blog also allows your readers to relate to you on more of a personal level than what may be attained live and in person, as well. For example, I have attended FCCH now for a few years and have spoken to Pastor Mike exactly one time – and then only for about 30 seconds. On the other hand, I know that if I really wanted to reach out to him, I could do so, so I’m not complaining, but just saying… the blog allows me to interact with you and Pastor Mike in a way that is not otherwise available to me.
And, because of this, I think it’s a good thing that the blog contain spiritual lessons taken from everyday life from real people such as what you have done in this post. I can relate to that kind of lesson much more than any bible quote I’ve probably hears a hundred times before. [And that statement right there is an example of something I feel comfortable saying here but would probably not say in person in church].
Anyhow. I’ve added you to my blogroll now…. some good stuff on here!
Thanks!