Super Bowl, Super Hype
Could this be the year that a
modern NFL team goes undefeated for the entire
regular season and also wins all their playoff
games to be crowned the winner of professional football's biggest prize? The
game between New England and the New York Giants has
dominated this week's sports news. As you think
about the outcome of Super Bowl 42 or "XLII" as
it has been Roman Numeralized to emphasize the importance
of this eventful day, perhaps a bit of perspective
would be useful.
Is the Super Bowl all that important? Here
is a little quiz for you. Can you tell me the
two teams that played in the last 5 super bowls? Can
you tell me the winner of each game without looking
it up on www.superbowl.com?
Can you tell who was the Most Valuable Player (MVP)
in each of the last 5 games? Can you even remember
the teams that played in last year's Super Bowl? Is
anyone else old enough to remember why the Super
Bowl even exists? As Soloman explained in Ecclesiastes, all
of this is vanity. Ecc 1:14 " I
have seen everything that is done under the sun;
and behold all is vanity and a striving after wind. What
is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking
cannot be numbered." It is hard to remember
insignificant things because they lack the weight
of importance in the grand scheme of life and eternity. And
yet, the Super Bowl has become all consuming to our
society. The money spent on tickets, parties,advertising, entertaining,
and of course on betting is now in the billions!
As you reflect on the priorities
of your life, consider the amount of time you spend
in reading your Bible and in prayer. Is this fair to compare
your personal devotional time to the hoopla of a
Super Bowl? Is it fair to compare substance
to the superficial? Is it fair to compare the
time we spend watching all of our favorite sporting
events, television shows, and recreation activities
with spending time with the creator of the universe
who wants to relate to you in your personal space? I
think it is because all of this added to our busy
schedules tends to squeeze God into smaller and smaller
time compartments of our life. One year from
today, you will probably not remember that the New
England Patriots and the New York Giants played in
Super Bowl 42. But you might remember a truth
about God that you learned while spending some quiet
time alone. Here is a great idea from my friend
Glenn Repple about how to spend some of your time:
The process is very important. I have tried
many times to read the Bible through in a year.
It was not until I purchased the One Year Bible
that I was able to complete this amazing live changing
experience. I tried using online readings which
is attached below. I tried to use my own Bible
and read cover to cover. In 2005 Pat Morley challenged
a group of men to read the One Year Bible. This
finally was the process which gave me success.
The One Year Bible breaks up the reading into daily
bite size readings. This is my third year reading
the Bible entirely through and am beginning now
in October reading through the Bible for the third
time. This same challenge I would like to pass
on to each of you for 2008. Start now,
early and you will have a higher degree of success
of completion in 2008. Let me know if
you need help finding the One Year Bible.
Monday Morning Message Sent 2/4/08
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