Not Just a Fan

This post is gonna have to do with Sports and Facebook! I am a huge fan of sports, even though this year all my teams have let me down I am still a fan. I also enjoy Facebook, but I am not really the one who plays all of those games like Yoville or whatever other games there are.

On Tuesday I took my Dad to a Minnesota Twins game at the new Target Field. My Dad had never been there and so my wife and I said we would buy tickets for my dad for fathers day. I know it was a little late but oh well.

I went onto StubHub to look at the prices on tickets and I found seats on the third base line that are normally $36 tickets and got it for less then half of that. For those of you who are not following the Twins, they are 55 and 71. They have not had the season that all the fans were hoping for.

I began to think about how I got these tickets so discounted and tried to apply it to life. Sometimes in our world today I think that we have a lot of fans of Jesus. When things are going good they are all about going out to the field and wearing their jerseys and shirts about how Jesus is their homeboy. But when the going gets a little tough we sell off our tickets as cheap as we can.

In the same way on Facebook it is simple to put the Bible in your book interests on your "about me" page. You can become a fan of Jesus Christ on Facebook. I took the liberty to look up Jesus Christ on Facebook as a public figure and there were 3 million people who have "liked" Jesus.

While I think this is all good to be open on Facebook about your faith, I see at times where this boldness does not translate over into our real life. Now I don't want you all to think that I am just bashing on people, because I am writing this to myself probably more then anyone else. I am a pastor, on my Facebook page it says Youth Director at Hope Fellowship, and yet I find myself just being a fan of Jesus.

I think that if Jesus were to come back today he would be saying, "hey guys I don't just want fans, I want followers."

Matthew 16:24-26

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. ²⁵ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ²⁶ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?^[l] Is anything worth more than your soul?

In my life I don't want to be just another fan of Jesus on Facebook or one who only goes to the games when the team is good. I want to be a totally sold out follower of Jesus Christ! I know that means that I need to give up my own life to serve Jesus whole-hearted! What good is a life of just being a fairweather fan, what do we have to gain? I want to follow Christ and lose my life so that Christ can give me life! Who is with me?

Bible Character Fantasy Draft

Hey all I am back! I want to have something deep and spiritual to say to you all but for some reason God has me in a goofy mood today. Hey I have an excuse to be goofy, I am a Youth Pastor.

On Thursday I am going to be doing a Fantasy Football Draft! This will be my 6th year doing fantasy football, the 3rd with this league. I enjoy fantasy football, all the trading and drafting and dropping injured players. I like to think those who can't do play fantasy football.

As I was doing my devotions this morning I was reading a little in John and then reading some in Judges. I don't know if many of you have read Judges, but if you have you know that these people were like, beastly. Sure they have their flaws. Samson had a weakness for the ladies, Ehud jumped kings on the john (Okay that is actually kinda cool), Othniel married his cousin. But the judges and many other biblical characters were totally bad to the bone...in a good kinda bad way? Nevermind.

So I began to think, "what if we did Bible Character Fantasy Drafts?" Pretty sweet huh? I think if we were to do that it would look a little something like this...

(Cue Music!)

Commissioner: Okay quiet quiet. I would like to welcome you all to the 5th Annual Bible Character Fantasy Draft. Let's get started, first a few rules. Please don't pray that God will smite the person who takes the pick you wanted. Other than that you are good.

Team FirenBrimstone: With the first pick in this years draft the FirenBrimstone draft The Judge Samson.

Team DudeswithLongHair: No way we named our team after him! (Starts to Pray)

Commissioner: Ahahah no smite prayers remember.

Team Shalom: With the second pick the peacemakers draft Solomon.

Team FirenBrimstone: Good pick he may not be the most fit but that guy is smart.

Team Agape: With the third pick in the draft Agape drafts Jesus.

Team Shalom: Whoa Whoa I don't want cause any problems but no one said you can draft diety?

Team FirenBrimstone: Yea if the Son of God can be drafted we might as well mail in the season its over. If a guy can defeat death we are royally dominated!

Team LastShallBeFirst: I call God, I call God.

Team Agape: You can't draft God we have Jesus, they are one in the same!

Team GhostHunters: We call the Holy Ghost.

Team Agape: Seriously? Come on!

Commissioner: Hey guys this is a draft not a theological debate.

Team Lukewarm: We draft Lucifer.

Team FirenBrimstone: Not cool dude, not cool.

(Some time passes)

Commissioner: Alright we are almost done with this years draft. Only one Bible Character left. Who wants Judas?

Team FirenBrimstone: No way I am good.

Team Agape: Pass.

Team Shalom: While I just want to make peace with this situation I must decline.

Team DudeswithLongHair: Hair is to short.

Team LastShallBeFirst: Is that my mom calling?

Team GhostHunters: No thanks!

Team Lukewarm: Sure why not...

Commisioner: Awkward...

Maybe we should leave the Fantasy Drafts to football??