River Valley Rockford Blog

Dreamers Don't Have to Be Famous

Marvin Webster died this week. He was 56 years old. The news spokesmen told us their memories and reminded us how great he was. I never heard of him.

He was 7-foot-1. His nickname was “The Human Eraser.” He played 333 consecutive games in the NBA, averaging 16.1 points per game during the SuperSonics playoff run in 1978. He next played for six seasons with the New York Knicks. He was a tremendous shot-blocker, well-liked, and his death didn’t make the front page. Neither will most of ours.

Yet, our dreams are important. 

Fast for Easter

What could you give up in order to prepare spiritually for Easter?

I’m giving up lunch once a week.  I’m also saying good-bye every day to reading the news on the Internet and listening to the radio in my car. Instead, I will pray during those hours.  As I am driving down the road, I will focus on God (and the traffic), but not the radio.  And one more thing, every time I get a forwarded email, I’m sticking it in the trash without opening it and saying a one-minute prayer.  This alone should do wonders for me! I’ll do this fasting until Easter.

Will you fast from a few things too?

Make Some Goals

What are you going to do this year?  I’m on a mission to get people on a mission.  Too many people are living their lives by letting their circumstances determine their lives.  They don’t do what they want.  Instead, they simply roll with the punches, go with the flow, yield to the tyranny of the urgent, and end up nowhere near where they want to be.  More importantly, they end up nowhere near where God wants them to be.  Sadness, learned helplessness, and a sense of loss of control are all the terrible side effects.  That isn’t how anyone should live—especially a Christ-follower.  It’s a waste.

If you don’t want to waste your time or your life (which are pretty much the same thing), then you must make some choices, plan some actions, and take those actions.  I talked about this some in my first message of the year (Good Stops for Good Starts ), but I want to spell it out succinctly here.  

The Stars Remind Us

We so easily forget how great God is. And when we do, we quit trusting him enough to follow him.

Even with the evidence of his brilliance and his power and his love surrounding us, we often forget. Yet, a peak at the stars reminds us. Browsing through a photo album from space can provide a prompting for worship, an encouragement for faith, and a spur for trusting God. Take a tour with the Hubble telescope and be reminded how big and grand our God is.

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. (Psalm 33:6-8)

Suffering Follow-Up

Sunday was one of those refreshing and yet troubling days. We talked about evil and suffering, its causes, and why God would allow any of it. After hearing a humorous incident where I suffered (not really, except I still didn't deserve that ticket, ha), we let our minds consider the true depth of awful evil in the world. We tried to provide a framework of five pieces that helps us move forward.

the power of prayer

This morning in worship we discussed prayer.  If we're honest, no matter where we are in our journey we have to admit that prayer's something of a mystery.  Like Rodney pointed out this morning, God doesn't need us to pray in order to act, but he often waits until we do.

So what have you learned?  When have you seen God answer prayer?  Have you ever been frustrated when He seems to be silent?  Do you find that when He answers He's more likely to change your circumstances or change your heart?  Hit the "Comment" link to join the conversation.

is good enough?

I read a book that is a modern day business classic: Good to Great, by Jim Collins (I highly recommend it for you business types). Professor Jim pulled together a team of researchers, collected a ton of data, chewed it over pretty good, and then made some radical conclusions about how companies can take the almost unheard of step from being good to great, and then sustaining their greatness. Here is a good summary. It is how he starts his book . . .