Protect This House!

A few years back, Under Armour took the sports world by storm!  They entered into the athletic clothing arena and overtook their competition.  They revolutionized the athletic clothing industry.  They were Game Changers!  Now, from youth sports teams to professional athletes, the Under Armour X logo can be seen on thousands of people.  With coming in to the arena of sports, there is one way to climb to the top…DESTROY YOUR COMPETITION! This is exactly what they did.  They had a marketing campaign that was second to none.  Their tag line…We must protect this house!  They had muscle ripped athletes wearing their product and giving inspirational speeches, pumping up their team and ultimately ending with their famed slogan!

The interesting thing about this marketing campaign was they contracted a NFL player named Eric Ogbogu who had played with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals at some time.  He was not a star player in the NFL.  Now, don’t get me wrong…he was in the league!  He wasn’t the one that would be in the center of the huddle pumping up his teammates before a game a la Drew Brees, like he did on the commercials.  He was a spokesman for the team and actually took a bit of flack from his teammates.  On the commercials, he had the appearance of the person that was the team leader.

Some athletes can “talk” a great game and by the Under Armour marketing campaign, you would never know any of those players abilities on the field or their skills.  I began to think about this in our relationship with Christ and our service to Him.  Over 85% of Americans profess to be Christian.  If there is one thing that we can learn from this commercial…one moral to the story, I believe it is this.

NOT EVERYONE WHO TALKS ABOUT HEAVEN BELONGS TO GOD’S KINGDOM.

Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”

Now, hold on, this isn’t the Fear Factor…What I am trying to say to you today is that I believe that Jesus is more concerned about your walk with Him than our talk about Him.  He wants us to do right, not just say the right words.

The Pharisees would pray these long prayers and do these things to be seen by men.  They were all flash.  They were concerned about others perception of them.  Matthew 15:8 states this,

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

This is an incredible statement that summarized the actions of the Pharisees.  I would hate to have that said about me.  Your “house” (which is your life) will withstand the storms of life only if you DO what is right instead of just talking about it.  What you cannot do is be separated from what you believe.  YOU MUST PROTECT YOUR HOUSE!

Where is your heart?  Is it close or is it far from God?

What can you do today to make your actions and words align?

What are some steps you can take to protect you and your family’s house?

Who Are You?

“Sports don’t build character, they reveal it.” – Coach John Wooden

This quote is one of my favorite quotes! It is so true! I just finished watching the Dallas Mavericks sweep the Los Angeles Lakers and frankly, I have never been more embarrassed by a couple of players actions as I was watching Odom and Bynum. Their frustrations were revealed through their character.

The way a person finishes is just as important as how one starts. I heard today that Bynum was fined $25,000 and suspended for the first 5 games of next season. for him, that translates into about $702,000. Now all of you that are shaking your heads in agreement…tap the breaks a second.

This is the same type of character display that was on display when President Obama announced the killing of Usama bin Laden. People were dancing in th streets and partying like it was New Year’s Day. It was one of the most disgusting scenes I have witnessed. The bloodlust that was on display that night and now being stated on talk radio is hugely revealing of the sense of entitlement of the people in this country and throughout the world.

I asked myself, “What should be a follower of Christ’s response to these incidences?”

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:11

Righteous Character are key words in that passage. This is the type of character that can only be given through a relationship with Christ. When dealing with people, no matter how much we may not like or how frustrated we become…we ought to act with righteous character. Christ came to search out the lost and save them…shouldn’t I act the same?

Here is the big question…Who Are You?