Over the course of the next several days college football’s season will come to an end.\u00a0 There was a game on the other night that was particularly intriguing.\u00a0 It was a match-up between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the University of Southern California Trojans.\u00a0 If I simply mentioned that Georgia Tech won most people wouldn’t really care or see the importance of mentioning it in a blog.\u00a0 But what if I told you that coming into the game Georgia Tech had a losing record (6-7 entering the game) and USC was the number 1 ranked team at the beginning of the season?\u00a0 Both of those statements are true!\u00a0 USC began this year as the top ranked team in the country and approximately 14 weeks later ended the same season by losing to a team with a losing record.\u00a0 Why does that matter in the realm of Christianity?\u00a0 It matters because as the old saying goes, “it’s not where you start that matters, but rather where you finish.”\u00a0 The Bible is full of stories of people who didn’t get off to the best start.\u00a0 People like Joseph in the Old Testament.\u00a0 A young smart-mouthed kid who told his parents and brothers they would one day bow down to him turned into the man God used to save the nation of Israel during a horrible famine in the land.\u00a0 Or how about Jacob, a young man who stole the birthright from his older brother who would end up being the father of the sons that would begin the nation of Israel?\u00a0 Or Peter who was last seen before the crucifixion of Christ cussing and denying knowing Jesus, but after the resurrection becoming a powerful evangelist.\u00a0 Let’s consider Paul who when we first encounter him goes by the name of Saul.\u00a0 Saul had a letter in hand giving him permission to find and imprison and\/or kill Christians, yet God blinds him with a light, he changes his name to Paul, and becomes the greatest missionary in the New Testament.\u00a0 We all have a past, but our past doesn’t have to dictate our future.\u00a0 It is best expressed in the saying “every saint has a past and every sinner can have a better future.”\u00a0 As we begin a new year, maybe you realize that something has got to change. The thing you must realize is this, you don’t have the power to produce lasting change.\u00a0 If you did, you would have done it already.\u00a0 That is why the majority of New Year’s resolutions will fail within the first 30 days of 2013.\u00a0 However, just as in the case of Joseph, Jacob, Peter, and Paul, God has the power to change who you are and where you are headed in this life and in the life to come.\u00a0 But you must surrender your heart and life to Him.\u00a0 We may not be able to hit the rewind button in life and do things differently, but when we come to Christ confessing our sins and placing our faith in Him to save us, He erases our past and gives us a right standing with God.\u00a0 So don’t worry if you have gotten off to a lousy start in life, or even if you are stumbling out of the blocks right now.\u00a0 The important thing is to recognize that change needs to happen and then surrender your heart and life so that God can make that change.\u00a0 It’s one thing to start slow or lousy, it is another thing to finish that way.\u00a0 Surrender your heart and life to Christ and let Him take you from worst to first!<\/p>\n
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the course of the next several days college football’s season will come to an end.\u00a0 There was a game on the other night that was particularly intriguing.\u00a0 It was a match-up between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the … Read More