At All Times

St. Francis of Assisi:

"Preach the Gospel at all times and, when necessary, use words."

Evidence

If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Tim Tebow

If you are a fan of the National Football League, then you know all about Tim Tebow.

If you are not a fan of the NFL, then you need to know that Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were 1-4 this season before Tebow took over as their starting QB. Since that time, the Broncos have gone 5-1, including multiple come-from-behind, last-minute or overtime victories.

Tim Tebow also is a deeply-committed Christian, and he is very bold about showing his faith on the football field. As a result, Tebow has many fervent supporters, but he also has attracted a whole lot of equally-fervent detractors. Football fans tend to be very black or white in their opinions about Tebow, either loving him or hating him. A large part of this, I believe, is due to Tebow's very-public faith stance.

God has given Tim Tebow a very public stage on which to show his faith, and I admire him for his boldness in doing so. Whenever I see Tebow publically proclaiming his faith in Jesus Christ on the football field, or during a TV interview, I think of the Apostle Paul's words in Romans 1:16 (NKJV), "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." In Matthew 10:32-33 (NKJV), Jesus declares, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven."

Tim Tebow has shown himself not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and he has confessed Jesus Christ publically before many millions of men and women. He is to be commended for the boldness of his faith on a very public stage.

Black Friday

Today is Black Friday in the USA, the day that is supposed to represent the official start of the Christmas holiday shopping season. Many stores opened their doors at 10:00 PM or at midnight on Thanksgiving, while other stores opened their doors at 4:00 AM this morning. TV news video showed hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of people lined up in the middle of the night outside of stores, and then storming the doors once the stores opened for business.

It is all so obscene and vulgar.

In California, a woman injured 20 other shoppers with pepper spray at a Walmart so that they would not grab the items that she wanted to buy. In North Carolina, there was gunfire outside of a store. In past years there have been deaths on Black Friday. In New York a man was trampled to death outside of a store when people stepped and stomped on him as the store opened its doors in the middle of the night.

In Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NKJV), the author, presumed to be Solomon, wrote, "Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure ... And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind."

In Luke 12:15 (NKJV), Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."

Black Friday has become a day of unbridled greed and materialism, in direct contrast to what Jesus taught in Luke 12:15.

Black Friday.

It is a day that is very appropriately named.

Thanksgiving

Psalm 50:14 (NKJV) - "Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High."

Psalm 95:2 (NKJV) - "Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms."

Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) - "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name."

JFK Dallas 11/22/63

48 years ago today, on November 22, 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Any American who was alive that day will remember exactly where he or she was, and exactly what he or she was doing, when the news was broadcast that President Kennedy had been killed.

John F. Kennedy was just 46 years old when he was assassinated on that fateful day in Dallas, and his wife, Jacqueline, the First Lady, became a widow at the young age of 34.

As the presidential motorcade wound its way through downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963, and as the motorcade slowly made its way past the Texas School Book Depository building, it is highly unlikely that President Kennedy was aware that his life was about to end in a matter of mere seconds.

But it did.

One of the lessons that we can learn from the tragic events of November 22, 1963, is that life is fleeting.

Psalm 103:15-16 (NKJV) says, "As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone ...."

Psalm 144:4 (NKJV) says, "Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow."

Isaiah 40:6-8 (NKJV) says, "All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever."

Life is fleeting, and our days are like grass, or a flower of the field, or a breath, or a passing shadow.

Our lives on this earth are fleeting and transitory, but the word of our God - and God Himself -stands forever.

That is where our focus should be as we remember the events of a very dark day in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Sparrows

In 1905, Civilla D. Martin wrote a beautiful and timeless hymn entitled, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow." This classic hymn's refrain states, "For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me."

Martin's hymn is based on the words of Jesus found in Matthew 10:29-31 (NKJV), when Jesus told His disciples, "Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

In this cold, hard world, oftentimes it can feel as if God somehow has forgotten you or has abandoned you. We are particularly prone to feel this way during the darkest days and nights of our lives. Yet the words of Jesus in these verses, and in His comparison of our lives to those of the sparrows, shows how even the smallest details and the most insignificant circumstances of our lives fall under God's control, will, providence, and sovereignty.

God cares about the smallest sparrow and He cares even more about you. For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me - and you.