Undefeated

Hello Emmanuel,

I apologize if you get this late.  It is 11:59 A.M. as I type this, so technically it IS the Monday Morning Pulpit.  I have been reminded how busy things can get in the church.

The Bengals are 6-0 for the first time since I was a Junior in High School (1988).  I remember that my Junior year was my best year.  I got the best grades that year; scored a 26 on the ACT; batted .361 with 20 stolen bases in 21 games and wrote my first novel. 

 Do you remember your best year?  Have you had that time frame when everything seemed to be great?  Yes?  No? 

We have the habit of remembering the bad times.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it is because feelings like sadness and fear are the two strongest emotions and they leave a deeper imprint.  But for this edition, I challenge you to think really hard on when the best time was for you.  I’ll give you a second……

Ok… second is over.  Got it?  Good.  Now I want you to consider the possibility, even if it the slightest possibility, that tomorrow or next week or next year is even better than the best you’ve ever had it.  Do you think that is possible?  Do you think God wants it to be possible? 

For it to be so, it starts with a mindset.  It starts with believing that God wants you to have a good, happy, fulfilling life.  It starts with the faith that says ‘With God, anything is possible’.  It then proceeds with you behaving like you expect things to go well.  Stop looking for monsters under every bed.  Walk like you know that God is on your side (or you are on God’s side).  Talk like the optimist God wants you to be.  You might have heard the phrase, ‘the power of positive thinking’.  I prefer to think of it as the power of faithful living.

Live like God has given you life.  Talk like Jesus has given you hope.  Love like you know what it means to be loved. 

The Bengals are on a bye next week.  You know what that means?  For the first time ever, they will be undefeated after the 7^th week of the season.  Who Dey!

Now I’m going to go tackle the rest of my Monday.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe