Why Jesus Loves Bandwagon Jumpers

As a 9-year old, I remember sitting on the floor of my living room when Dane Iorg came in to pinch hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, with the Royals trailing the Cardinals 1-0 in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series.  His single drove in Conception and Sandberg and the Royals won the game, and ultimately the series.  My dad came up out of his recliner and jumped in the air and yelled.  I will never forget that moment.  It was the pinnacle of my baseball fan days and I was only nine.  What I didn't know is that 29 years later, it would still be the pinnacle of my baseball fan days.  Until recently...

For the last 29 years, I have labored through mulitple one-hundred loss seasons, highly-touted draft picks who never quite pan out, a carosel of managers, and even the marketing-experiment-gone-wrong black uniforms from the 2006 season.  I have seen a young outfiled of Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran provide so much hope for the future, only to see their great stats in later years for other teams.   I have drank from my souvenir Royals cups while sitting on my porch listening to Fred and Denny call the game as I read the latest slogan fail whether it was "Together We Can", "New Blue Tradition" (wasn't anything new to me) or the most apathetic of them all - "You Gotta Love These Guys", as if there was no chance at all of winning, but at least we shouldn't hate the players. I have followed the hot stove through the winter months, hoping, just hoping, that the one trade we need would come through and we would be on our way back to the Fall Classic.

Through all those years, I sat next to some pretty cool friends on the otherwise empty Royals bandwagon.  A couple of co-workers would still know the game in September.  My dad and I could always talk about the team.  One of the ushers at my wedding was another die-hard fan.  But as we drove the bandwagon down the road each and every year, there was always plenty of room to move around the cabin.  And most people quietly declined to get on. Oh well.  More room for the few of us in transit.

So as I prepared for the upcoming Game 1 of the 2014 World Series, which includes MY beloved Royals, my first instinct was to quickly lock the doors to the bus.  To tell all of the smiling and high-fiving Royals fans in their fresh-off-the-rack-new-Royals-shirt that they had a few more years of paying dues before they were allowed on this bandwagon.  I thought this because I had earned this right, not them. Then I read Matthew 20:1-16.  The parable of the workers.  The master of the house went out early to hire his workers and told them all he would pay then one denarius for their work.  As the day went on, more and more workers joined, some even at the eleventh hour, and then they all lined up for their pay at the end of the day. The early workers were outraged when they saw everyone was getting a denarius.  It wasn't fair. The master replied "I have done you no wrong. I gave you what I promised".

The purpose of that story is two-fold.  One, to remind us that when we enter a saving relationship with Jesus, no matter how late in our life-even on our death bed, we have the same eternity in the kingdom that someone who was a believer from a very young age.  The story also tells us to take the focus off of ourselves and place it on heaven.  The master was right.  All the workers got what they were promised.  Instead of being upset whether or not things around us are "fair", we need to realize the reward we have from the eternal King.  We need to stop focusing on ourselves.

So I have changed my thoughts on anyone who wants to jump on the 2014 Royals bandwagon.  No matter how many people hop on in the eleventh hour, nothing will take away from my joy and my experience of watching one of the most thrilling postseason runs in the history of baseball.  There is plenty of room for everyone.  And the more I think about it, the more people that enjoy this playoff run (and the more people that get to experience eternity in heaven) the more joy I have.  So, the doors are unlocked.  Hop on.  I'm glad you are here.  I've been keeping your seat warm.

Month 12: The End of the Beginning

2013 has been one of the greatest years of my life.  I have been blown away by the generosity of so many people to help solve the world's problem of the lack of clean water.  To see God raise almost $12,000 from such a small project is just another reminder that all things are possible with Christ.

When this year started, I shared with you that I found encouragement in Jesus's words at the Feast of Tabernacles when he said "Jesus stood up and cried out "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'"

John 7:37-38.

My year is almost over and I can tell you that I am more thirsty than I have ever been.  I am thirsty to drink in more Christ and let living waters flow from my heart.

So many people have been asking me "What does 2014 look like for you?"  I don't know the answer.  I know on the morning of Jan. 1 I will have a big cup of coffee and I will take pleasure in it.  It isn't my goal to take less pleasure in non-water drinks, but rather to take more pleasure in my spiritual disciplines.  This year has given me a deeper, more clear perspective of not only what I really need, but in how much pleasure I take in non-spiritual things when compared to how much pleasure I take in my worship of the one true King.

So this is the end of the beginning for me.  The beginning of a more clear view of what is importantant in my life.  The beginning of realizing how thirsty I am, and need to be, for Christ.  The beginning of watching God do amazing things through simple acts and regular people.   Christmas was the beginning of Christ on earth, but it wasn't the end.  Once He was here, He prayed, He invested, He loved, He ministered, He fellowshipped, He laughed, He loved, He presented the truth.  So 2013 was a great beginning for me of realizing how thirsty I need to be to have a deeper experience of Christ doing all of those things with me, here, today, and tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who gave, prayed, read for the Water for Water campaign.  It was a very special year.  As you prepare for 2014, I want to simply challenge you with one question -

Are you thirsty?

Month 11: Thanks

Pretty unoriginal topic for November, huh?  It is a basic concept, being thankful, but one that I can't get out of my mind recently. I'm thankful for the many blessings I have in life.  My family, my job, my church, my-first-place-and-going-to-the-super-bowl-Kansas-City-Chiefs and a variety of other things in my life that make me smile.  I am also thankful for water.  The number one killer in the world is the lack of clean drinking water, and I'm thankful that it is available for me wherever I turn, every second of every day.

My passion for helping solve the world's clean water problem began a few years ago when I watched this video, and I can't think of any more appropriate time to share it with you, especially in light of the activities to take place tomorrow (and at some stores today...):

Advent Conspiracy Original Video

We have so much to be thankful for, even without the presents. We have water.  As we sit around the table today to enjoy a meal with friends and family, and as we prepare in the next few weeks to celebrate the birth of the King, I pray that we all are thankful, wherever we are in our lives, for the many blessings we have.  Continually remembering Paul's final instructions to the church in Thessalonica when he said:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thess. 5:16-18

That's not always easy.  How do we give thanks in pain?  How do we give thanks in the anxious moments in our life?  How do we give thanks when some in the world don't have clean water?  The answer is revealed in what we will celebrate in 28 days - that Christ, who left the presence of his Father to come to this earth and be born of the virgin Mary, died for our sins.  Be thankful that, despite our current condition-good or bad, one day He will return and bring heaven on earth.  There will be no more tears, no more pain, no more lacking of any necessity.  Be thankful in the uncertain present because of the certain future.  Be thankful for Christ.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Month 10: Quarters

I talk a lot about running. I love running.  I'm going to let you in on the secret strategy I use in every run (race or training).  I don't have a copyright on this method yet, so make sure you don't tell anyone.   Here it is: quarters.  I divide every run into 4 quarters, each with a specific purpose.  First quarter-warm up.  Second quarter-set my pace.  Third quarter- the fight.  Final quarter- the finish.  Mentally, its how I attack every run.  Runs that are odd-numbered distances in length require a little long division, but I'm slow enough, I have enough time to think about the math while I run.

October is the first month of the last quarter of the year.  Using my running strategy, I have just finished the fight and I'm coming around the bend for the finish of the Water for Water 2013 campaign.  In every race, every training run, every jog, I want to finish strong.  So naturally, I want to take that same mindset into finishing this amazing year strong.  Our goal all year has been to raise $10,000 for a clean water well in Ethiopia and we sit today having raised $9,495.70 in pledges and donations.  Time to finish strong and overcome the goal.

When you are in the finish portion of a run, you have made it through the fight, you have overcome the hardest part.  1 John 5:4 reminds us that when we abide in Christ, we overcome the decay of this world.  I want to be an overcomer.  I want to finish strong.  I am revitalized and energized to fulfill every purpose of this campaign.  To raise money, to demonstrate to myself what my basic needs are, to be healthier, to share the love of Christ with everyone in my life.

What last quarter are you in right now?  Your life? (none of us know the answer to that one), parenting? employment?  Whatever it is, let's finish strong together.  When Paul was at the end of his life he told Timothy that he was being poured out as a drink offering as he had 1. fought the good fight, 2. run the race and 3. kept the faith. (2 Tim. 5:4).  That is what I want for the small part of the year I have left, and when I'm done, I'll have a small glimpse of the completion of a task for the kingdom and encouragement for the next phase of my life.  The finish quarter is the best of them all...

Month 9: Cancer

My sister was suddenly diagnosed with Stage 3 Triple Negative breast cancer in September.  The word best used to describe my emotional response to this news was that it was surreal.  She wasn't just some young mother and wife that I knew or that was a friend of a friend, but this was my sister.  When we are honest with ourselves, our initial reaction to news like that is - am I going to lose my sister?  Memories of a sibling relationship that span recent months and past decades ago instantly fill your mind as you reflect on how much your sister has been a part of your life.

Now that I have had many weeks to digest this new change in my family's life, my emotional response has moved from surreal to encouragement.  Not encouragement because the chemotherapy is working (and it is-Praise the Lord-the tumors are shrinking) but encouragement in seeing not only who my sister is, but who she is in Christ.  She is strong, encouraging, focused, and even without all of her hair, still beautiful.  Those are words that would be easy to say if I was just trying to be "nice" or try to "make her feel better", but it is more than that.  They are descriptions that I think of when I see her going through this phase of her life.

I don't know if I will get to experience 5 more months or 50 more years of my sister being here on this earth (I am praying earnestly for the latter).  I don't know if I will be on this earth for only 5 months or 50 more years.   But what I do know is that right now, I am witnessing my sister abide in Christ.  I am witnessing my sister experiencing community with family and friends and seeing genuine love shared among people to support my sister.  That is a glimpse of the restored community we can all expect to have in heaven.

By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.  God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God abides in him.

1 John 4:13-16

This blog all year has been a picture of how my journey through 2013.  Seeing my sister abiding in Christ and seeing Him sustain her through this process is a beautiful picture of God's love that has truly and deeply affected me. No matter where we are in our lives, all we need is Christ.  That's not always easy to see, but it is always true.

Month 8: Giving

The primary goal of the Water for Water campaign was, and still is, to raise money to build a clean water well in Africa and raise awareness about the world's number one killer - the lack of clean water.  As we near the end of the year, the money continues to come in.  We are within hundreds of dollars of reaching the $10,000 goal set at the beginning of the year.  As I reflect on that amount, I wonder - where did it all come from?

The secondary answer to that question is from generous people.  Many, many different donors have pledged or given money to this goal.  Co-workers, family members, church friends, coffee shops, random internet strangers.  All making a decision to give something that they didn't have to.  All making the decision to use money that could be spent on other material items, yet set apart for a greater purpose.  Knowing that so many people made a sacrifice for clean water in the name of Christ, whether they are a Christian or not, is an extremely humbling experience.

The primary answer is that the money came from God.  That isn't just a Sunday school or feel good statement, I believe that with every bit of my heart.  God had a purpose to glorify His kingdom through this campaign by not only building a well for those who need clean water, but also by showing the beauty of a group of people giving of themselves and living out the idea that we should think of the interests of others over our own interests.

Should this surprise us-that God would give so generously?  Not when we are reminded in James that God "gives generously and without reproach".  So as we reflect on what God has given in the water campaign, I pray that we will all wonder what else He wants to give us in our lives.  I pray that we will continue to be in constant conversation with God, not only asking "what next?" or "what do I do?", but also listening.  In this constant conversation with God we realize that when we are giving of ourselves, we are simultaneously receiving the gift of the presence of God.

Month 7: Source

I had the joy, and I truly mean joy, to celebrate 10 years of marriage with my lovely wife in July by spending some time in Alaska.  While I did miss sipping coffee in Glacier Bay, we did many amazing things and met some interesting people.  I was particularly fond of the way Alaskans made fun of Texans.  I heard one native say that Texas should be thankful they let it be the second biggest state, because they could split in two and then Texas would be third...

Maybe the most amazing thing I experienced was the hike up to, and on, the Laughton Glacier just outside of Skagway, Alaska.  Over 8 miles and all-day to complete, I saw nature in a way I had never seen it before.  When we reached the snow line, we had to stop.  Our guides said any farther and there wouldn't be any way to determine what was underneath the snow and parts of the glacier could collapse.  At the snow line of a glacier are very small streams of pure glacier water that build and build to become raging rivers back in town.  Realizing that this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I dipped my water bottle down, let the tiny stream fill it up and drank in cold glacier water, right from the source.

I'm sure that it was mostly psychological (from the scenery and being tired of the uphill hike), but it was probably the best tasting water I had ever had in my life.  It was like it was water directly from God.  It was a great reminder of one of the two purposes of this campaign.  Primarily I'm doing this to give clean water to those in need.  But secondarily is to remind myself that, just like water is all I really need to survive, all I need is Jesus to live in this life.

Hebrews 9 reminds us that Jesus, through prayer and community with the father, was made perfect and became the source of eternal salvation.  Just as I took in that cool water on that mountain side which was the source of what would turn into a raging river, I want to be refreshed by Jesus, as my source, and let him grow and expand through me so that I can show the world his love.  He is my true source.

We are still just over $8,000.00.  Still taking per mile pledges for the 10/19/13 Kansas City Marathon to raise more money. Thank you for your support.