10' 12' 14': Living from the Victory

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

Thursday nights you will find me at Life Group. Tonight was no exception. The score was 3-2 somewhere in the 4th or 5th inning when I left my house. I knew we were still down by a run but also had to turn my attention to the group and surrender my focus to the potential pennant winning game. As we ended the night I glanced at my phone and read 

Breaking News: Giants reach 3rd World Series in 5 years, def. Cards, 6-3, on Travis Ishikawa 3-run HR in 9th.

I was ecstatic and disappointed. Knowing that I could share in the excitement but grieving that I didn't actually get to experience it on the edge of my seat play by play.  Believe me when I tell you my time was well spent at Life Group and I wouldn't have taken back my decision to not move Life Group to a Giants watching party, although I did consider it. As we wrapped up and headed home, I was walking up the stairs to my door reading text messages and Facebook status updates filled with excitement and celebration, I knew it must have been an incredible game. 

I walked in to the post game playing and said causally "I wish they would replay the game." My brilliant roommate grabbed the remote and began to rewind the game. She had been watching since the 8th. This meant I could relive Michael Morse hitting a homer to tie it up in the bottom of the 8th to see Jeremy Affeldt retire Oscar Taveras to escape a bases loaded top of the ninth. This is when the true magic happened. Panda singles, Belt gets walked and Ishikawa approaches the plate. Two pitches  in and the heat rests on the shoulders of Michael Wacha, 2-0. Swing and a hit, Ishikawa has just hit a home run to bring the score to 6-3, the Giants are going to the World Series. 

As I sat on the edge of my seat watching the game unfold knowing the outcome I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:57. Although I knew the final score I was still experiencing the play by play. This is how we should live our lives. We know that Victory is ours because of the cross 2,000 years ago. Watching the game knowing that victory was coming didn't take away from the excitement but removed the anxiety that would normally accompany a 3-3 score in the bottom of the ninth. The fact that the tomb was empty and Christ rose should remove the anxiety we experience in our lives. I understand that there will always be things out of our control that throw us a curveball but can I tell you that those experiences don't catch God off guard. God is in control and has a perfect plan for each of us. We get to live in the Victory, Romans 8:37 Paul says "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." Be encouraged, you may feel like it's the bottom of the ninth with two outs but God has one more at bat and He will reign Victorious in your life. Trust in Him and believe that together we Own the Pennant. 

#OrangeOctober #3in5 

We Can All Hit Grand Slams

If you're around me for very long you'll learn that I love sports. From playing to watching, movies to TV shows, I am usually in if it involves sports. I am especially fond of the inspirational speeches given right before the big game in movies. Before I get into my point I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

1. Friday Night Lights Perfect

2. Miracle Great Moments

3. Any Given Sunday Game of Inches

Tonight as most Bay Area sports fans know, the San Francisco Giants played in the wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburg Pirates. In the top of the fourth Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt and Hunter Pence stood on base as Brandon Crawford hits the first ever grand slam by a short stop in postseason play. It was beautiful. The atmosphere was set, a sea of fans in black t-shirts (Gold not Orange), three eager runners ready to get on their horses, and one pitcher praying that this would be the pitch to turn the tables his way. Crawford makes contact and it goes back, back, back to the first row of the outfield. A hitter's dream, just far enough that he can jog the 360 feet from home plate to be greeted again in minutes by teammates.  This started the momentum that carried the Giants through the rest of the game and into the playoffs.

As I watched Crawford round third base and join his teammates in celebration I was reminded that our lives are filled with opportunities for grand slams. Now we may not be in front of 40,000 people playing a sport we train for eight months out of the year, however we do play for a team and are equipped to bring home a victory.  God has called each of us to play a role in the victory He set out before us. The difference between the victory we saw on ESPN tonight and the one I am talking about is we have no control over the overcome, in fact Romans 8 tells us the outcome is already decided, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."

Looking back people won't remember who was on base when Crawford hit the grand slam that put his name in the record books next to Buster Posey (2012), Will Clark (1989) and Chuck Hiller (1962) as fellow Giants players to hit grand slams in a postseason game. I hope to live my life so that when people look back on it they won't remember my name but rather the God who I gave my life to. While living in a world driven by Facebook likes, Instagram <3, and Retweets, I urge us all to remember that our victory comes from this fact: He loved us first.

Each player has a role to play in making a grand slam happen, all had to face the pitcher, get on base and remain safe while allowing the player after them to continue the trend. In our world there are opportunities with our smiles, a conversation with a stranger, remembering to text your friend when they told you they were going through a tough time. Together we can build communities that hit grand slams by being there for people and showing them the love that Jesus came to demonstrate. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

I hope this is how we approach the opportunities in our lives to hit grand slams. Let's do our part, play our role and encourage the next person to do the same. All with the same goal in mind: Make Jesus Famous. There are grand slams happening all the time, and recognizing your role only helps to bring all the runners home.


Here's to an #OrangeOctober