WARMARAMA: 20 Moroccan Nightclubs IC , 20 SSH IC , 20 Copperhead Squats IC, 20 Cherry Pickers IC, 20 Mountain Climbers, 15 SSH IC
The Thang 1: Mosey to Shipbuilders Village and partnered off. Partner 1 runs to Spinnaker Lane and nurs back while partner 2 is doing merkins and then switch. Then Partner 1 runs to Genoa Ln and nurs back while partner 2 is doing side plank leg lifts switching sides at 10 counts. Then switch with partner.
Thang 2: Mosey to Post Office circle. Same partners. Partner 1 bearcrawls halfway around circle and crawlbears the second half of the circle while Partner 2 does 80/40/20 super toy soldier set. Then switch.
3rd F – First Watch Psalm 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
I have struggled all of my life with a shallow relationship with my heavenly father. I have tried since I was 15 years old to have a daily quiet time with him. I have had spurts of success, but never sustained. Some events in my life over this past year have caused me to reflect on that issue and I have made some major changes accordingly. I belong to a Christian business leaders group called C12 Group. About 5 years ago I was at a C12 conference in Orlando the founder, Buck Jacobs gave a stirring message about how important it is to have a consistent daily time in the Word of God and prayer. He said the best success for that time is the first hour of every day, no matter what you do. Make it non-negotiable. At the prompting of a very good friend of mine, Herb Troyer, whom I ironically introduced him to C12 4 years ago, he suggested I revisit that message. I did, and I have successfully adopted this routine into my life now 138 days straight (Buck is on day 10,000+-). I would encourage each of you to consider this to be part of your life, a non-negotiable start to your day. God will redeem your time and rest.
Apart from Christ, we are all creatures of our fleshly desires and habits. Even though He promises that our salvation is secure, our commitment to living under the Lordship of Christ must happen one day at a time as we react to the many challenges and temptations which come our way. Our ability to provide Godly leadership stems solely from our daily intimacy with Christ. Unless we abide in Him by routinely accessing His means of Grace (i.e., Bible, prayer, worship, fellowship, witnessing), it is easy for us to get off track and be compromised in our ability to be ambassadors and make disciples.
Start small, 10-15 mins everyday. Routines become habits, habits become part of us, good or bad. This will change your life, I promise you.
Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Ephesians 6:13 ..put on the whole armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
It was great to once again have a Cousin Eddie with us. We had 2 PAX from different regions in SC last week and today we extended a warm (very warm!), humid, and sandy welcome to JAX FL, Gecko. Nothing like getting that F3 Passport stamped! That made it a 12-pack for the beatdown.
This Gloom’s “gameful employment” brought to you by Nugget’s influence. Our brother has a reputation for bringing games into his Q’s, so YHC, looking for a fresh Q idea, decided to throw-down with a man-sized game of sandbag Tic-Tac-Toe. a.k.a. Tic-Tac-Gohhh! Of course, we started with the warmup…
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH – 18 IC
Swartz Jacks – 20 IC (just pay attention Leatherman, you’ll get ’em figured out)
Imperial Walkers – 20 IC
Hill Billy Walkers – 18 IC
Crab Flippers (a.k.a. Cherry Pickers) – 20 IC
Flying Squirrels – 10 OYO
Mosey down N. Bedford Street to the field on North Bedford Street Park, where PAX would find what pre-ruck rucker Ruxpin caught YHC red-handed setting up prior to the workout: A man-sized Tic-Tac-Toe painted on the field (shout-out to sprayable sidewalk chalk!) YHC should’ve taken a pic because, you have to admit, it did have a cool F3 symbol painted in the middle square.
PAX counted-off by 2’s…well, some of us did. Uh, hem, Doubtfire! It took a couple tries but we got it figured out. Nonetheless, 12 PAX beat the Fartsack to post for this highly excellent game! 12 PAX equals 2 teams of six. Y’all started your Saturday with 2 Six PAX! Here’s how it all went down:
THE THANG:
Teams were set up EXACTLY 100′ feet apart. Team X, with 5 40lb sandbags stacked at their cone marked with X’s. Team O, with 5 40lb sandbags stacked at their cone marked with O’s. On the count of 3, 2, 1 Gohhh! PAX took turns and had to carry a sandbag and carefully place it (like a baby, per Q’s instructions) into the tic-tac-toe design in the middle of the field trying to get 3-in-a-row-tic-tac-toe! Teams played to win the best of 7 rounds.
Round 1: O’s win! (wouldn’t you like to hear THAT more??)
Winners, Plank.
Losers, 25 Sandbag Squat Swings
(Yes kids, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!)
Round 2: O’s win! (yep, you heard it here first, folks! O’s won 2 straight!)
Winners, Plank.
Losers, 25 Sandbag Squat Curls
Round 3: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 1
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 OH Shoulder Press
Round 4: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 2
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 Bulgarian Ball Busters
Round 5: X’s win! O’s 2 – X’s 3
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 Sandbag Pulls (vertical…sack to your Bombjacks!)
Round 6: O’s win! O’s 3 – X’s 3
Winners, Plank
Losers, 25 Plank Pulls
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND, Round 7: Teams compete with their best line-up
Jack Wins! SOG…Son Ofa Gun!
Losers, 18 Burpees (both teams)
Great competition, great fun! We all got stronger, so yep, it looks like everyone actually did win. Hmm…
3rd F Breather: YHC shared a rinse and repeat of a 3rd Word he shared from a life experience which really drove home the Word of God:
Exodus 33:13-15. Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but You have not let me know whom you will send with me. you have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.’ If you are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people.” The Lord replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Verse 15 reads: Then Moses said to Him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up [to the Promised Land] from here.“
As leaders, what’s one thing we CANNOT do without? God’s presence!
Earlier in verse 2 it says that an angel would go with them, but NOT God’s presence.
In verse 3, going into the Promised Land, victory was promised
BUT…God’s presence WOULD NOT go with them. Before Moses pleaded with God later in the chapter, we read that God had planned to withhold His presence from His people.
Have you ever thought about why? This used to confound me until I was walking a trail in the woods across the parking lot from my church years ago, with 2 of my 3 boys. After playing with every stick (guns/swords) and every rock (grenades) it was time to start heading down through the woods, across the field and parking lot toward home. But the boys would not stay with me! After repeated urgings for them to stay with me, without their corresponding response to do so, I, slightly ahead of them on the trail just simply stepped behind a large tree. I literally hid or withheld my presence. I’m their father, so I didn’t do it to be mean or even to make them suffer. I didn’t go home and cruelly leave them in the woods to fend for their 2-yr-old and 3-yr-old selves. I stepped behind the tree to hide my presence for one reason: To hear the words “Daddy, where are you?” They cried out almost immediately and I responded almost immediately. That’s when it hit me! When God hides His presence from us it’s not because He’s mean, wants us to suffer, and it’s not that He is cruel. He simply wants us to recognize His absence and to call out to Him and say, Daddy, where are you? I need your presence in my life, my leadership! I need you God. That’s what Moses cried out on behalf of himself and the nation. And God answered and said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
As men, husbands, fathers, and leaders what’s one thing we cannot do without in order to be HIM? God’s presence! When you notice His absence, repent (turn) and cry out to Him.
The Thang 2:
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 20 Carolina Drydocks
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 15 Split Jacks (15 each leg)
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 10 Mtn. Man Poopers
10 Swerkins, run (kinda) across field – 05 Nipple Scraper Merkins
20 Groiners – Compliments of Doubtfire (some serious sucktology!)
15 Burpees – Compliments of Cousin Eddie, Gecko from JAX, FL.
Great recall Nugget!
YHC heard the bells ringing; time to circle up.
Announcements: Get your shirts now, order window closes in few days and won’t open again for 6 or 8 months. order try this link:
Prayers: Chappie’s teens; Gecko’s teens; Chattahoochee; etc. Thanx for taking the hand-off Vanilla!
Thanks for the opportunity to lead HIM! Thanks for your ear at Coffeeteria, Gecko. What are the odds that you show up in DE and post at exactly the same time we’re working through almost identical issues with sons? Perhaps Soul-Q might’ve had a hand in our schedules.
PAX partnered up for B.O.M.B.’s on
the Hill. One PAX Soldier Crawls
(Spiderman Crawl) up the hill and mosey’s back down while his partner completes
a series of exercises. Each team completed
a total of 50 burpees, 100 Overhead Claps completed as SSH’s, 150 Merkins, 200
Big Boy Situp’s, and 250 Squats.
However, Q had each PAX carry his own weight and complete half of that
total exercise amount before moving on to the next exercise….25 Burpees, 50
Overhead Claps completed as SSH’s, 75 Merkins, 100 Big Boy Situp’s, 125 squats. A little chatter in regards to the pain
station prompted a response by Q to blame it on the milkshake he indulged at
the fireworks display last night.
F3 Message – See below
Mosey .5 miles back to CHOP by way of
the Patriot Run.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayer. Save travels and a shout out to Bovine and Chappie as they were completing a 17.76 mile Ruck during this morning’s beat down.
F3 Message 07/04/19 – Excerpts were utilized by Q from the re-post below from Christianity Daily as well as Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Happy Independence Day 2017: Bible Verses
and Quotes To Reflect On What Freedom Means In America
JUL 02, 2017 07:26 PM EDT
From Christianity Daily.com
Fourth
of July marks the moment in history when representatives of a new government
uprising signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States on July 4,
1776. The document listed grievances suffered by the U.S. colonies under
British monarchy and justified a desire for liberty. It was penned by Thomas
Jefferson. Also known as Independence Day, it is an annual holiday that
symbolizes freedom. It is celebrated nationwide in 2017 on Tuesday, July 4.
Although declared in 1776,
Americans were not delivered from bondage until 1783. The high cost of freedom
was paid for in blood, in what historians estimate to be the death of 25,000
American Patriots. It took eight years, four months, and fifteen days of war between
America and Great Britain during the American Revolution to be fully attained.
The Oxford dictionary defines
freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants
without hindrance or restraint.” It is also defined as the “absence
of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government,” and “the
state of not being imprisoned or enslaved.” Christianity Daily compiled a
list of Bible verses and quotes that shed light on the true meaning of freedom.
As
the United States of America celebrates Independence Day on July 4, it’s worth
noting the nation was founded upon the idea that God created human beings to be
free. The Declaration of Independence states that people “are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.”
But
what is “liberty,” exactly? Is freedom based upon the country where you live,
or can it have a deeper meaning?
Here
are some key ideas from the Bible about freedom—including how to find true
freedom in your life.
1. People have been searching for it for thousands
of years.
The
quest for freedom is a theme found throughout the Bible, from Genesis to
Revelation. Just three chapters into the story of God’s creation, humanity gave
up its freedom by choosing to rebel against God. From that time forward, the
perfect freedom God created in the Garden of Eden was gone, and the long-term
effects were both physical and spiritual.
The
Old Testament of the Bible records how God’s people lost their physical freedom
time and again as various empires overtook them (most notably the Egyptians, as
recorded in the book of Exodus).
The loss of physical freedom was often
tied to spiritual disobedience like worshiping false gods. But time and again,
the one true God forgave His people and rescued them. When God freed the
Israelites from slavery in Egypt, He was foreshadowing the arrival of Jesus Christ,
who came to free humanity from sin—the spiritual slavery that leads to death.
Today, many people are living in
spiritual slavery without realizing it. They chase false gods of money,
success, personal comfort and romantic love—only to realize they still have an
emptiness that can’t be filled by any of those things.
2. God’s answer to our loss of freedom has always
been Jesus Christ.
When Jesus began his short period of
ministry on the earth, He announced He was the One that God’s people had been
waiting for since the fall of humanity. He did this by reading a particular
passage from the book of Isaiah—a passage his listeners knew was referring to
the Messiah, or the Savior of the world.
The words had been written hundreds of
years earlier and spoke of a new freedom that was coming in the future. When
Jesus stood up to read, He was saying the future had arrived. Liberty would come through Him.
“And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He
unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
And he rolled up the scroll and
gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the
synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:17-21, emphasis added).
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
The Good News—the best news ever—is
that faith in Jesus frees us from the death we deserve for sinning against God.
It frees us from the punishment that would be inflicted upon us at the end of
our lives for the evil things we’ve thought and done.
While Christ followers still battle
with sin, they are no longer slaves to it. Through the power of Christ, His
people can be set free from the bondage of greed, vanity, pride,
pornography, addiction, abusive behavior, gluttony, selfishness—and any other sin under the
sun. Here’s what Jesus
said about the freedom He offers:
“If
you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
“Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone
who practices sin is a slave to sin.The slave does not remain in the house
forever; the son remains forever. So if
the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
God created human beings, not robots.
We don’t have to accept the freedom He offers us through Jesus Christ. He gives each person the free will to accept or reject His salvation.
But the Bible warns that hell is a real place where real people end up when
they knowingly reject the truth.
Likewise,
those who choose Christ are not forced to obey Him at every turn. But God makes
it clear: the best life is one that’s devoted to honoring Him. As the Apostle
Paul explained to some of the first Christians:
“’All things are lawful for me,’” but not all things are
helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated by
anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
“For you were called to
freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).
From cover to cover, God’s Word points
to freedom in Christ. And God doesn’t leave us wondering how to grab hold of
the freedom He offers. It starts with acknowledging our brokenness—and
admitting we are slaves to sin. And it ends with choosing Jesus and following Him daily. Only He
can break the bonds of slavery and lead us to true freedom, now and forever.
Caterpillar Snake Run with 12 pound medicine ball to 4 locations with exercises at each location.
First stop H&R Block
Merkins 20 IC
Air Drama Squats 25 OYO
Flutter Kicks 25 IC
Second stop Adkins Law Firm
Diamond Merkins 15 IC
Ballerinas Toe Squats 25 OYO
American Hammers 25 IC
Third stop field behind apartments
Hand Release Merkins 20 OYO
Bobby Hurley 20 OYO
Absolution 10 IC
Final Stop field behind AO
Walking lunges across field passing medicine ball
Burpees 10 OYO
Toy Soldier Set 40/20/10
F3 Message: New Beginnings bud around you and within you every day. You don’t need a clean slate. God is in the business of making all things new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has come the new is here.
Peter 1:3 Praise be to theGod and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Jeremiah 29:12 For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Warm-a-Rama
All i/c
20 seal jacks
20 Windmills
20 seal waves
20 Cherry pickers
20 mountain man pooper
The Thang
Mosey to new HOB entrance
Pax pair off
Big boy 45’s.
Wheelbarrow to light pole
Sumo squat 45’s I/c
Wheelbarrow to light pole
Leg lift 45’s.
Wheelbarrow to light pole
Legs 6″ squats. I/c
Wheelbarrow to light pole
3rd F
All in
Talked about how Abraham was all in sacrificing his son Issac for the Lord.
Genesis 22
Mosey back to CHOP
13 HIM showed – semi, Ruxpin, leatherman, Vanilla, Chappie, Wildwing, Chairman, toy soldier, Waterfall, doubtfire, Fireplex, nugget, FNG gump
10 Pax showed for a rainy morning beatdown at the hands of Doubtfire
WARMARAMA:
20 SSH IC
20 Windmills IC
20 Cherry Pickers
20 Smurf Jacks IC
THE THANG:
Mosey to Food Lion, Bear Crawl from light pole to light pole and do 25 Burpees, Crawl Bear back to opposite light pole and do a 60/30/15 Toy Soldier set
Mosey to Car Wash via Morris Ave.
3rd F: PRAYER
Prayer is much more than bringing to God your list of wants, desires, and needs. It is a radical act of worship that reminds you of who you are, who God is, and what life is all about. Prayer is surrender:
Prayer is surrender to the reality that there is someone more ultimate than you.
Prayer is surrender to the reality that life isn’t just about you.
Prayer is surrender to the reality that you need help.
Prayer is surrender to the reality that there is wisdom greater than ours.
Prayer is surrender of your right to live as you choose.
Prayer is surrender of your hopes to God’s grace.
PAX were encouraged to step up their prayer life and to make it a daily habit to be prayer warriors and to consistently lift our M’s, 2.0’s, careers, and community to our heavenly Father.
Warm-up: SSH, Sun Goddess, Smurf Jacks, Hairy Rockets, Mountain Man Poopers.
The Thang
Mosey to HO Brittingham Elementary School. Share 10 facts about D-Day throughout the workout.
High Knee run from 1st light post to 2nd
Lt. Dan from 2nd post to 3rd
walking lung 3rd post to 4th
bear crawl 4th to 5th post
merkin crawl (merkin and move laterally and merkin until arrows on road)
30 Burpees
30 Bigboys
Mosey around parking lot
20 Bobby Hurleys
20 Flutter Kicks
Mosey around parking lot
10 Iron Mikes IC
10 Outlaws
Mosey to AO
On 6 June 1944, British, US and Canadian forces invaded the coast of Normandy in northern France.The landings were the first stage of Operation Overlord – the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe – and aimed to bring an end to World War Two. By night-time, around 156,000 Allied troops had arrived in Normandy, despite challenging weather and fierce German defences. At the end of D-Day, the Allies had established a foothold in France and within 11 months Nazi Germany was defeated and the war was over.
Here are 10 things you may not have known about the operation:
1. Photography appeal
As early as 1942, the BBC launched a bogus appeal for photographs and postcards from the coast of Europe, from Norway to the Pyrenees. It was actually a way of gathering intelligence on suitable landing beaches and Normandy was settled on. Millions of photos ended up being sent to the War Office and, with the help of the French Resistance and air reconnaissance, military bosses were able to target the best landing spots for D-Day.
2. Phantom army
The Allies put a lot of effort into trying to convince the Germans that the invasion was going to be near Calais, not Normandy. They invented phantom field armies based in Kent as part of their D-Day deception plan, named Operation Fortitude. They built dummy equipment – including inflatable tanks – parachuted dummies, used double agents and released controlled leaks of misinformation which led the Germans to believe the Allies were going to invade via the Pas-de-Calais and Norway. The Germans took the bait so much that even after D-Day they held many of their best troops in the Calais area expecting a second invasion.
3. Two million troops
By 1944 more than two million troops from more than 12 countries were in Britain preparing for the invasion. On D-Day, Allied forces consisted primarily of US, British and Canadian troops but also included Australian, Belgian, Czech, Dutch, French, Greek, New Zealand, Norwegian, Rhodesian [present-day Zimbabwe] and Polish naval, air and ground support.
4. Weather watching
The officers organising the operation were very particular about the timing of D-Day. They wanted a full moon with a spring tide so they could land at dawn when the tide was about half way in – but those kind of conditions meant there were only a few days that could work. They chose to invade on 5 June, but ended up delaying by 24 hours because of bad weather. It was Group Captain James Martin Stagg who made the vital forecast and persuaded General Eisenhower to change the date.
When the D-Day forces landed, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was asleep. None of his generals dared order reinforcements without his permission, and no-one dared wake him.Crucial hours were lost in the battle to hold Normandy. When Hitler did finally wake up, at around 10am, he was excited at news of the invasion – he thought Germany would easily defeat the Allies.
7. Commonwealth strength
While America formed the biggest national contingent, the combined force of Commonwealth service personnel – mostly British and Canadian – was greater. Of the 156,000 men who landed in France on 6 June, 73,000 were American, and 83,000 British or Canadian. The Commonwealth naval contingent was twice that of the Americans.
8. Bloody Omaha
There were five beaches that were chosen for the operation, codenamed, from east to west, Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, Utah. Casualties varied widely – on “Bloody Omaha”, where around 4,000 men were killed or wounded, one US unit landing in the first wave lost 90% of its men.On Gold Beach, by contrast, casualty rates were around 80% lower. The fighting during the Battle of Normandy, which followed D-Day, was as bloody as it had been in the trenches of World War One. Casualty rates were slightly higher than they were during a typical day during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
9. Smashed toilets
The
vibration of HMS Belfast’s guns firing during D-Day was so powerful it actually
cracked the crew’s toilets.
10. Pub test
Having been given his top-secret mission to attack the Merville battery on D-Day, Terence Otway had to be certain his men wouldn’t spill the beans ahead of 6 June 1944. He sent 30 of the prettiest members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, dressed in civilian clothes, into village pubs near where his soldiers were training.
Bolt 45’s IC (4 Count) – 15 squats to
halfway down. 15 squats halfway to full
down. 15 full squats.
Mountain Climbers – 15 IC
Windmills – 15 IC
Dips – 15 IC
The Thang
Mosey to County Building Steps. Each PAX crosses the steps without skipping
any steps.
Mosey to Armory steps and completes Aiken legs – 20 squats, 20 box jumps, 20 lunges (10 each Leg), 20 split Jacks (10 each Leg). The twist is that each PAX will take each step up and each step down at the Armory before performing each exercise. Rinse and Repeat.
Mosey to Library and complete the Burp & Merk – Burpee with ascending merkins up to 10. Each PAX will Bear Crawl to each parking space line (parallel parking spaces) and complete a Burpee with a hand release merkin. Bear Crawl to the next space and complete a Burpee with two hand release merkins. Bear Crawl to the next space and complete a Burpee with three hand release merkins. You see the pattern now….:)…..Continue until completing a Burpee with ten hand release merkins over the course of 10 parallel parking spaces. @250 ft.
Mosey to School and complete the bottom feeder/deconstructed toy soldier set exercise. Crab walk to first sidewalk and complete 50 LBC’s. Crab walk to second sidewalk and complete 15 E2K’s each side. Crab walk to third sidewalk and complete 15 E2K’s each side. Crab walk to fourth sidewalk and complete 20 big boy sit-ups. The overall length of the exercise area was approx. 435 ft.
F3 Message – See below
Mosey back to Aegis. PAX completed @.9 mile mosey excluding the pain stations.
Count-O-Rama, Name-O-Rama, Naming of FNG (Welcome Kaisy !!) and the Circle of Trust. Please keep all our HIM in your thoughts and prayer.
F3 Message 06/01/19
Ron Hutchcraft Ministries
IT AIN’T OVER! – #2581 “Well, some of us had to wait almost 20 years for it – but the 1996 New York Yankees finally won the World Series. Now they had to be the champs to do it – the Atlanta Braves. And after the first two games of the best-of-seven series, I thought the Yankees had gone into a coma – they got creamed. Ah, but that’s when it got exciting – they came back to win next two games. The series was tied at two games apiece, of course – and the then Yankees appeared to doze off again in Game Five – they were behind 6-0! Speaking of dozing off, that’s what at least one Yankee fan did – including the guy I heard buying a newspaper the next day. He saw the headline announcing that the Yankees had come back and won that game 8-6! He grabbed that newspaper, saw the outcome of the game, and then said some things I can’t quote – after which he said, “I can’t believe it! I gave up on them in the seventh inning and went to sleep!” He missed a great victory.
Well,
I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “It
Ain’t Over!”
Our
word for today from the Word of God is a verse we need at least several times a
year, I think. Maybe this is one of your days for it and God knew that. Galatians 6:9 – “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the
proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
God
is challenging the mistake we make so often that costs us His best – we give up
too soon. Like that sleeping Yankees fan. He looked at the way the game seemed
to be going, decided it was as good as over, and he missed a great victory.
Well, God doesn’t want you to make that same mistake with something you’ve been
hoping for – something that looks like it just isn’t going to happen. You’re
tempted to give up. But God is flagging you down to say, “Don’t become
weary in doing good – the harvest you’ve hoped for is coming.” Like Yogi
Berra said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
The
problem is we look at the score right now and lose hope. But on God’s
scoreboard, it’s only the third inning, or maybe the sixth or the seventh. But,
you may be saying, “There just isn’t enough time for it to happen
now,” or “I can’t see any way it could happen now” – be careful.
You’re underestimating your all-powerful God – the One who delivered an entire
nation from Egypt in one night!
But
we tend to assume what the final score will be based on the score in the middle
of the game. And that’s when we give up and start taking God’s will detours –
we panic, we put together some patchwork solution of our own, we start leaning
on our own understanding instead of trusting in the Lord with all our heart, or
we just stop hoping, or praying, or working for it.
Which
leads me to that wonderful challenge I heard years ago from a seasoned old
saint – “Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the
light.”
Or, don’t give up in the middle of the game, or don’t give up even if it’s near the end of the game. You can’t tell what God is going to do for a wonderful finish to this game. God has a way of hitting a bases loaded, grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth with two outs – if you don’t give up before that harvest comes! I just hope you don’t miss that grand finish because you gave up on the game too soon!” From Ron Hutchcraft Ministries #2581″
Dawn and I were blessed with the opportunity to share an incredible blessing with a terminally ill seven year old. He had an inoperable brain tumor. We attended a Phillies game through a great organization where Dawn coordinated the efforts on the families behalf. The young man and his family are huge Phillies fans. The game we attended happened to be the ring ceremony for 2008 World Series champions, but the 2009 Phillies had yet to win. Down 10 – 3 in the seventh the Phillies put together an improbable rally that included four walked in runs by the Atlanta Braves. I’ve coached little league teams that haven’t matched that feat. I’m not convinced that God is a Phillies fan, but I choose to believe that he may have answered a very sick little boys prayers on that day. We were blessed to have been a part of that special game, and to share in comforting that very brave young man before the Lord took him home.