HERE IN THE REAL WORLD

WARNING: THIS MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL PEOPLE

A few weeks ago a friend of mine, Trey Morgan who preaches in Childress, Texas, wrote a post on his website about what Jesus would tweet or what his facebook status would be.  Here are a few of my favorites:

1.      Didn’t tell my parents I’d be hanging at the temple for about 3 days. Mom and Dad just found me. Wow, Mom looks mad.

2.      Just changed water to wine for the wedding feast. Let’s see the preachers try to explain this one in 2000 years.

3.      Just sent a bunch of demons into a heard of pigs. I call it swine flu.

And of course my favorite:

4.      Sleep evaded us all last night. Andrew snores like a three-humped camel with asthma.

I decided to take a look at some Christian college students facebook profiles. I was amazed at much of what I found! Kevin Roose would be proud.

• Open house at 7:30 I feel some fornication coming on.
• Listening to Gregorian Chant. F* my life.
• Billy Mays here and with two easy steps I can climb over these seats and kick you right in the friggin balls.
• One of my personal favorites came from none other than a teacher: Like the rest of the free world they hate him! If the Phils got ahead by a few runs in the ninth, I’d drill him again despite the fact that the pitcher will get tossed. He’s such a hump.

I wonder what the example the next generation of Christians will send.

Until next time may the good Lord bless and keep you: All Y’all

Bobby Cohoon
North Carolina, USA
bobby@bobbycohoon.com

As I write this baseball season is rapidly approaching an end for this season and Yes Sir, I am going to miss it! I just love the game that has become a part of America. I love it from Alex Rodriguez to Don Zimmer.  But, one of the things I love most is the old timers of the game. These guys were “characters.” But, they were the sages of the game.  And, some of the quotes these guys come up with! Who can forget Tommy Lasorda commenting on the speed of one of his players, “If he got in a race with a pregnant lady he’d come in third.” Let’s take a look at some of the quotes and hit a grand slam in our Spiritual walk.

Yogi Berra once said, “Baseball is 90% mental and the other half physical.” Think about that for  a minute. All the training preseason, 162 games in season, and some players play winter ball. But, our Christian walk is the same way. Sin begins in our mind. James wrote, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed” (James 1:14).  Those evil desires start right in our minds. Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. Look at the progression of sin. First walking, then getting a bit more comfortable by standing, then finally get real comfortable with sin and just taking a load off and sitting right down with it! And, all that starts right in the mind. But, we don’t have to be that we. Remember the Psalm said we are blessed when we don’t do these things. Psalm 1:2 tells us how to keep from it: But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. We have to meditate on God’s word. We have to think Pure Thoughts. Now we have a man on first let’s start running to second base.

“If you don’t know where you are going you might wind up someplace else,” Yogi said. That is so true of our Christian walks. Today there is a gospel for anything you want a gospel for. Unfortunately not too many of them of them are Biblical.  We have to search the scriptures and get in the Word and know what the Gospel is. We have to know what we are to do. Luke wrote, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). People, we have to do that. With all the teachings in the world today we have to be on our guard and know what the scriptures say. The Bible is our Spiritual owner’s manual. We have to know what it says. John wrote, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). And, let me tell you that our world today is full of false prophets. So, we fill second base with GETTING IN THE WORD!

Moving on towards third base we have to remember these words of Yogi when he said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.” There are so many examples for us to follow today. Those who are more mature than us set examples for us to follow. Paul wrote in First Corinthians that we should follow his example. And, in a later chapter of the book he tells us where he got his example: He follows Christ! We have the bases loaded now and have to bring them all in. And “Observing a lot just by watching is a good way to bring them in.”

Observation is a two way street. Just as we observe others, others observe us. We may be the first representations of Christ many people ever see. So we have to set an example worthy of Him. It’s not enough that they see us walk into a chapel on Sunday morning; they expect that of us. It’s the example we show in the rest of our life that really counts. The example we set on the golf course; at grocery store; wherever we may be, that’s the example that shows our Christianity. Jesus said we are to make disciples and many times the first teaching we are ever allowed to do is in our actions. And, I can promise you somebody is watching!

We hit a spiritual grand slam n our Christian walk when we make our thoughts pure; when we get in the Word and  follow true teachings; when follow the example of Christ and when we set examples for others to follow.  Let’s challenge each other as we walk with Christ to become more like him and let our grand slams lead to world championships!

My friend Matthew Paul Turner has a new book out called CHURCHED. It is definitely worth looking at. Y0u can read am excerpt by clicking CHURCHED

Until next time may the Good Lord Bless and Keep you: All Y’all!

Bobby Cohoon
North Carolina, USA
bobby@bobbycohoon.com