From: The Pastor’s Heart
Title: “Knock ‘em DOWN”
Pastor K. and I have been competitive athletes all of our lives and last night we began
another new season as members of the MLCM bowling league. It’s really a fun and
fulfilling sport where you compete against people of all ages and genders without anyone
having an automatic advantage. The two of us have been bowling together since we were
teenagers, and even though you wouldn’t think so based upon our scores last night, we’ve
got a pretty good handle on the strategy of the game. Everyone’s apart of a team, but the
person you’re ultimately battling is yourself. You’re always trying to do better with the
current role than you did with the previous one.
As disciples of Christ, we too find ourselves in conflicts and confrontations all of the time
with the enemy who works vehemently to defeat us at every turn. He’s tactical and
ruthless seeking only to satisfy himself by tempting us to fall into sin. He’s the author of
confusion and instigator of lies and deceit. He’s cunning and crafty, always looking for an
opening or venerability to exploit in order to lesson our affect on the lives of those who
need God’s guidance the most. I mention him in this detail because it’s imperative that we
know not only what we fight against, but who we fight.
The battle against the devil is more of an internal war than an external one. Paul phrased it
best when he said, “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing:
for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the
good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I
would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that,
when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
The concept in bowling is simple: knock down as many pins as you can with one role of
the ball, and if you happen to miss them all the first time, you have one more chance to
knock down what you missed. Everyone in every frame is given the same opportunity for
another time and this is also why I love the Lord like I do. He is truly a God of a second
chance. We’ve all missed the mark and allowed the pins of sin to remain standing in our
lives, but God who is so faithful, kind, and loving gives us a another shot to get it right. The
key is to not rush yourself, but to focus and be very precise on how you approach the
thing still standing in front of you.
Today, it’s my prayer that you stay in the game and fight to the end because the stakes are
too high and the investment too great for you to give up. Don’t beat yourself up if you
failed before, because we all have. If you’re still standing then it’s time to grab your towel,
wipe off the ball, get to your starting point, wait for all distractions to clear, take a deep
breath, see plainly what’s in front of you, and… “Knock ‘em DOWN!”
EVERYTHING WE DO MOVING FORWARD WILL BE INTENTIONAL AND DRIVEN WITH
PURPOSE TO REPRESENT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT!
NOTHING WILL BE DONE WITH ENERGY LESS THAN OUR BEST AND EFFORT BELOW
OUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL.
OUR SERVICE IS LOCAL, BUT OUR REACH IS GLOBAL – SO WE CANNOT REDUCE OUR
PRESENTATION DOWN TO WHAT’S CONVENIENT, BUT RATHER WE MUST RAISE IT TO
THAT WHICH IS EXPLOSIVE!
Get ready for major change that’s coming systematically, intellectually, purposefully, and
professionally. Nothing we do moving forward will be done haphazardly, sloppily, poorly,
or carnally.
We Are the LIGHT!
Sincerely,
Pastor J.E. Chandler, Sr.
(CEO/Pastor of MLCM)