There is no order or theme to these blogs. As I come across a clip from the movie, or as I reflect on what I watched I will randomly send something out. I say that to explain why this next clip is completely different from the last clip. However, after reading my friend Ron's blog today, I felt like this fit well with the theme that we have all been blogging about.
With that said, it is time for another interactive blog. View the video and then return for the rest of the blog:
The verse that the coach refers to in the movie can be found in Matthew. In the NLT version, vs. 14 states, "...But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." The part of that I want to focus on is in the middle of that verse..."the road is difficult".
I talked last about giving our whole heart, which was something that the young kicker in this clip needed to learn as well. However, the reality is that even when we give our whole heart, even when we do as the Lord commands, EVEN when we are seeking God every day...the road is difficult.
Often times, I think I forget that. When things get tough, I think where is God in this. When I am frustrated...where is God? When things didn't go as I planned...where is God? As I have heard Pastor Dave say many times, being a Christian isn't easy. My friend Ron blogged the other day about sharing our faith in Christ with others, and how difficult that can be. It is often times easier to stay quiet then to stand out and stand up boldly for our faith.
Although I agree with Ron in that area, I want to focus on the simpler every day struggles. Just getting up for work in the morning, making it through a day of work, coming home having energy for the family, and then as time permits work on our ministries.
Life would be so much easier if we could just spend all our time working on our ministry and seeing people come to Christ. However, I don't think that is what God wants. As we have all heard, if life was easy we wouldn't need to rely on God.
I read a blog today that shared a statistic that amazed me. It said that 21% of Protestant Ministers pray less than 15 minutes a day. In addition, almost 100% pray less than 1 hour a day. I realize that pastors can be very busy, and in no way am I infering that they are not Godly men. However, what scares me is where I fit in that statistic, as a lay ministry volunteer. I am right in the bottom of the list.
I do go through spurts of time when I do real well and spend a fair amount of time (30min - 1 1/2 hour) a day in prayer. However, most of the time, I spend less than 15 minutes a day in prayer. I am not talking about the meal prayers, good night prayers, etc. I am referring to the quietness that we go to when we need to speak and hear from God.
It is no wonder that life is so difficult. How could I possibly get through a day, when I can't even take the time to allow God to direct me through it. Well, I don't know the answer, but at least I know what I need to work on!
How's your prayer life?
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