Jesus, Church and The NBA

me and ivonnah had a bet during the NBA Finals game. she was rootin’ for the celtics and i was rootin’ for the lakers. whoever won the bet would be able to write a guest blog post on the “loser’s” blog. we ALL know what happened last week.
so here i am.

hello. i am patricia. and i am a laker fan. i love food. coffee. people. prayer. i’m a single mother. i love Jesus. and i am determined to change the world. that about sums me up. if you wanna know more you can read about my wonderful life at my blog www.ricianne.com or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/pa3cia

anywhoo, i decided that it would be apropos to write something about basketball since this was what the bet was all about. so here is my take on “life lessons from the NBA: what the church can learn from the lakers/celtics finals.”

1. HISTORY CAN BE CHANGED. [isaiah 66:8]
these 2 teams have met 12 times in the NBA finals and the celtics have won 9 times against the lakers. history and stats showed favor towards the Celtics winning this series. after the embarrassing loss in 08… the lakers were called “weak and soft”. it took this team being humiliated for them to work hard & grow in their “weakness”, as well as grow in their strength. and with determination, they were able to change stats and history.

the church has been called “useless” in this day and age. in fact, christians are mostly humiliated in media coverages, calling our stand for purity and life “weak and soft.” our teachings have been irrelevant and our lifestyles are a joke because, instead of being an example, we have become hypocritical, hypercritical, and judgmental. we need to study how and where and what we’ve been doing wrong and right as a body of Christ and see to it that we implement the changes that are needed to be made in order for us to win our family/friends/school/workplace/city/nation back for God.

2. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A ONE MAN SHOW. [proverbs 11:2]

game 2 – ray allen shot eight 3 pointers in one night and set a new NBA record… but during game 4 he couldn’t even make a shot. game 5 – kobe shot 19 points in one quarter and stole the show. and yet even the MVP could not win the game all by himself. don’t rely on your “own” talent and strength to win. you can’t be a one man show. which goes hand in hand with my next point….

3. BUILD A GREAT TEAM AROUND YOU. [ecclesiastes 4:12, mark 6:7; acts 2:1]
because you weren’t made to shine alone. you need a coach to help you become a better you. you need a gasol and a fast rondo. you need vets like garnet and fish who’s been there longer than you have and know how the game is played. you need a drooling big baby, a little nate and a flying shannon. and ofcourse do not discount the “weird” people in your life – ones like ron artest, the ones who we love to hate but grow to love.

to make it in this world, we need to build a team of christians around us who can help us live out this life victoriously. even Jesus invested His time and His life to His 12 big men and a few crazy women and with that team… they were able to change the world.

5. FOCUS AND BE DETERMINED. [hebrews 12:1b; james 1:4]
this video says it all http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2B-NSNn3IY&feature=fvst. you can have haters hate and talkers talk. but if you keep your head in the game (or in the destiny that God has called you to do) and stay on your mission, nothing will be able to stop you.

6. SUPPORT OTHERS AND STAY LOYAL. [ephesians 4:16, hebrews 12:1a]
jack nicholson. an award winning actor. he doesn’t really need to be on the court side cheering young kids on. but he does, and he has been for the past 20 years. he is NO bandwagon fan. his presence is so felt during the games that he’s even quicker to defend the players than the coach does. his loyalty to this team has paid off as he has become a laker/forum/staples icon that his nickname is “coach nicholson”. (it’s been said that he donates his own money for parades to happen.)

are you that loyal to your church family, friends, and the team that God has given you? do you stick with them through good times and bad? and if you’re one to have “arrived”…. do you stay complacent or do you still get involved and cheer the next generation on? this is a challenge to become like jack. make a mark in history by staying loyal to God and your team. do what needs to be done by sowing your life [money, resources, time, encouragement] to help the next generation reach their fullest potential so that they can be winners as well.

that my friends, is the top 6 lessons i learned from watching the NBA finals.

my finals thoughts on this: they need to bring the NBA short shorts back to make basketball more entertaining 😉

have a great week!

How Deep Is Your Faith…

So I’m sitting here, and I’m thinking, and I’m chit chatting with Jesus…I do that pretty often, just like I would do with a friend, without running the risk of my business being in the streets in 60 seconds flat (if that offended you, well…). Anywho! I have this gift right, He trusts me with peoples secrets because He wants me to pray for them. I’ve always been that friend all of my friends trust. I know her side and his side…knowing the two people I put both stories together and come up with the truth. I say all of this to say He was training me up all of that time to make sure I could be trusted with the secrets He had for me.

I’m talking to Him and I’m like umm Lord, OK I’ve been praying for my family, friends, my twitter fam and whatever strangers You tell me to pray for! (yeah I was yellin’…walking down the street…on my prayer walk) How come when I pray for myself it doesn’t happen!? Or it takes a LONG time! But my friends call me the next day like “Thanks for praying”! (Like they KNOW that He used me to get their prayer to Him). I know, all bad, but hey I’m human…I apologized. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE that He uses me, and I LOVE that my friends trust me and they know that it’s a gift that He has given me, but I’m like dang Jesus!? Now I feel like Job! (Oh yeah, I did say that I wanted you to have faith in me like you did Job didn’t I?) That was about a three weeks ago…

As we were chit chatting the other day I’m thanking Him for my new niece, I was layed out on the floor cryin’ and snottin’ and…OK you get the picture, but He gave me a word that lead to a revelation…Faith. I say “OK, Lord you know I have faith in you”, but as I wiped my tears and blew my nose I thought about it, and I realized what He meant. He knows that I have faith in Him, because I do. I trust Him with all of my heart and soul! But when I pray for others my faith in Him is so much stronger! I get on my knees, I pray and I give to God. I don’t dwell on it or worry about it. I KNOW that whatever they need He will provide, but with myself I lack that confidence. I still worry and wonder, I’m not releasing it to Him like I’m supposed to. But by not releasing it to Him I’m showing a lack of faith. Why? Why do we do that, because I know I’m not the only one. Think about it, in life, when we’re pros at something we walk in BOLDNESS with our heads high and our chests out because we KNOW that we have learned whatever it is we need to do. We, we learned, us by ourselves by our own understanding (what does Proverbs 3:5-6 say?) Now we all have God given gifts…Hello! Given! He GAVE us something, we didn’t have to earn or work for it, it’s free! Something made from Him which is perfectly and wonderfully made, custom designed for each and every one of us. All we have to do is use it, share it to help others which is really helping ourselves because YOU GUYS He’s gonna bless us if we follow His word and do the will He has planned for our lives!

I have faith that when I ask my friends to pray for me that they will. I have faith that when I ask them to pray for strength in my nieces lungs that she will be OK because I’m confident in their relationship with Christ. That’s what it all boils down to, how is your relationship with Him? What does that say about me? How often am I studying my bible, not reading a passage and checking it off for the day but really digging deep and studying His word? The fact of matter is if our relationship with Christ is where it should be then there shouldn’t be any doubt in our minds. Our faith in Him should be strong.

I believe our lack of faith comes from us judging ourselves by our pasts. “Why would He bless me I’ve done x, y & z not to mention l,m,n,o,p”…We want others to forget and stop bringing up stuff that we already gave to God so why do we hold ourselves in bondage? I shouldn’t be secure in my prayer for others but shakey in my prayers for myself.

The crazy part is that He has faith in us…yeah us, ha! Our flesh, our spotty pasts, our pride, our mess ups. He has faith that we’ll do right by Him, once we get to know Him. Haha! He has faith that we WILL get to know Him! The Almighty, Most High, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Giver of Life has faith in us but we can’t have faith that He can pay a light bill or save a marriage!? With a single touch one can be healed from terminal cancer, He doesn’t even have to say a word. There was a woman in the bible who bled for 12 years, she was healed by simply touching the hem of Jesus’ garment. The instant she did her bleeding stopped! When He asked who touched Him she was afraid and it says she came trembling and fell at His feet. She told Him why she touched Him and you know what He said? “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” He was the man! Is that the problem? Are we afraid? Yep! Leaving that job is scary, leaving that relationship is scary, moving to a place where you know no one is scary. But if we have the faith in Him like she had what do you think The Lord will say to us? “Daughter, Son your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” All we have to do is have faith.

Oh, and last Sunday at church I was reminded that Job was blessed double after he prayed for everyone else…