"Healthy Lifestyle Is the Secret to Longer Life." Some things should simply not have to be said and this is certainly is one of them. Even those with a minimal level of common sense should instinctively get that.
But obvious, or not, it has been studied and reported on by Laurel Yates, a doctor of internal medicine at Harvard's Brigham and Women?s Hospital in Boston. The research followed 2,357 men and found that a healthy 70-year-old, who had never smoked, had normal blood pressure and weight and exercised up to four times a week had a 54 percent chance of living until age 90. Further. It was also revealed that obesity reduced the odds of reaching 90 by 26%. The study claimed that genes probably determine about 25 percent of a life span but that 75% still depended on individual lifestyles.
The Bible has also stated many 'seemingly' obvious things. Most evident is that man is born in sin and spiritually dead, a condition that eventually kills physically regardless of the length or quality of his or her physical life. But Scripture does promise certain general benefits through healthy and godly living. And perhaps the cost of the above study could have been used elsewhere by reading and heeding what is outlined in Proverbs 3:7-8. "Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones."
But most importantly sin also utterly destroys spiritually and eternally as passages like Romans 5:12 forcefully convey. "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." Other verses like Romans 6:23a are equally blunt. "For the wages of sin is death." It is interesting to note that the Bible shows in 1Timothy 5:6 how it is possible to be physically fine and, at the same time, spiritually deceased. ?But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.?
Sin?s effects are again quite obvious. But the solution to some physical ills and overall spiritual health is expressed plainly and clearly in passages like 1 John 5:11-13. "And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
God?s word admits that caring for the physical body is somewhat helpful. Doing so can make life longer and more enjoyable and can allow for more and better Christian service. But His main focus has been, and always will be, forgiveness of sin, spiritual health and maturity, faithful service and eternal life - all principles clearly summed up in 1 Timothy 4:7-8. "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."
In other words, for the natural man: "Healthy Lifestyle Is the Secret to Longer Life". But for a believer in Christ, "A Healthy Christian Lifestyle Is the Secret to a More Abundant Lifestyle Now and the Blessings of A Future Life in Heaven".
Bill Breckenridge
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
A Mother’s Love
Looking at the cute face of 11-month old Kyson Stowell you’d never guess he had been torn out of his mother’s arms and thrown 150 yards into an open field by a tornado. Motherly love and self sacrifice reached its apogee arising from the depths of that tornado’s fury in Castalian Springs, Tennesee.
As the killer storm approached, Kyson’s mother Kerri was on the phone with her fiancé’s sister. She said that she was taking shelter in the bathtub clutching baby Kyson. Then she called her mother, and the cell phone went dead in the roar of the tornado. When rescuer’s arrived at the address they found only sparse rubble. Giving the nearby pasture a final search, they saw what appeared to be a doll. And then it moved. It was baby Kyson, lacerated but alive. His mother’s lifeless body was discovered nearby. Kerry Stowell’s fiancé believes she tried to keep her son safe as the storm closed. "She would have given her life to protect her baby," he said.
In the raw pain of death, a miracle has emerged. As I read this moving story, another account of an old minister came to mind. I pulled down the tattered 1923 "Cyclopedia of Religious Anecdotes" from my shelf and read again the illustration "from a sermon in the Brooklyn Eagle." I share it with you as an illustration of human self-sacrifice reflecting the greatest sacrifice of all.
"Do you not remember Norman McLeod’s story of the Highland mother? She was a widow; taking her babe she started to walk across the mountains, some ten miles, to the home of a relative. A terrible snowstorm suddenly fell upon the hills, and little by little the mother’s strength failed. Next day, when men found her body it was almost stripped of clothing. Her chilled and dying hands had wrapped her clothing about the child, which was found in a sheltering nook, safe and sound. Years afterward the son of the minister who had conducted the mother’s funeral went to Glasgow to preach a preparatory sermon. Somehow he was reminded of the story he had often heard his father tell. Instead of preaching the sermon he had prepared, he simply told the story of the Highland mother’s love. A few days later he was summoned to the bedside of a dying man. ‘You don’t know me,’ said the man. ‘Although I have lived in Glasgow many years, I have never attended a church. The other day I happened to pass your door as the snow came down. I heard the singing and slipped into a back seat. There I heard the story of the widow and her son.’ The man paused, his voice choking, his eyes were filling. ‘I am that son,’ he sobbed at last. ‘Never did I forget my mother’s love, but I never saw the love of God in giving Himself for me until now. It was God that made you tell that story. My mother did not die in vain. Her prayer is answered.’"
John 15:13 sums it up for all of us. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."
Of Christ’s sacrifice, Galatians 1:3-5 says, "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
David Virkler
As the killer storm approached, Kyson’s mother Kerri was on the phone with her fiancé’s sister. She said that she was taking shelter in the bathtub clutching baby Kyson. Then she called her mother, and the cell phone went dead in the roar of the tornado. When rescuer’s arrived at the address they found only sparse rubble. Giving the nearby pasture a final search, they saw what appeared to be a doll. And then it moved. It was baby Kyson, lacerated but alive. His mother’s lifeless body was discovered nearby. Kerry Stowell’s fiancé believes she tried to keep her son safe as the storm closed. "She would have given her life to protect her baby," he said.
In the raw pain of death, a miracle has emerged. As I read this moving story, another account of an old minister came to mind. I pulled down the tattered 1923 "Cyclopedia of Religious Anecdotes" from my shelf and read again the illustration "from a sermon in the Brooklyn Eagle." I share it with you as an illustration of human self-sacrifice reflecting the greatest sacrifice of all.
"Do you not remember Norman McLeod’s story of the Highland mother? She was a widow; taking her babe she started to walk across the mountains, some ten miles, to the home of a relative. A terrible snowstorm suddenly fell upon the hills, and little by little the mother’s strength failed. Next day, when men found her body it was almost stripped of clothing. Her chilled and dying hands had wrapped her clothing about the child, which was found in a sheltering nook, safe and sound. Years afterward the son of the minister who had conducted the mother’s funeral went to Glasgow to preach a preparatory sermon. Somehow he was reminded of the story he had often heard his father tell. Instead of preaching the sermon he had prepared, he simply told the story of the Highland mother’s love. A few days later he was summoned to the bedside of a dying man. ‘You don’t know me,’ said the man. ‘Although I have lived in Glasgow many years, I have never attended a church. The other day I happened to pass your door as the snow came down. I heard the singing and slipped into a back seat. There I heard the story of the widow and her son.’ The man paused, his voice choking, his eyes were filling. ‘I am that son,’ he sobbed at last. ‘Never did I forget my mother’s love, but I never saw the love of God in giving Himself for me until now. It was God that made you tell that story. My mother did not die in vain. Her prayer is answered.’"
John 15:13 sums it up for all of us. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."
Of Christ’s sacrifice, Galatians 1:3-5 says, "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
David Virkler
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Falling Apples
In describing a son, a great man once observed, "The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree." Another stated of a boy, "He’s a chip off the old block." Another saying, perhaps more familiar, is "Like father, like son." Recent Super Bowls are living athletic proofs of these sayings.
The Manning name has graced football for years. Archie was a college and NFL star who received numerous awards. At his college alma mater, "Ole Miss," he was named Quarterback of the Century. Manning played ball with the Saints, Vikings and Oilers and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979.
Archie and his wife Olivia, who is involved in extensive charitable work, had three sons. Their oldest, Cooper Manning, had a great high school football career as a wide receiver and probably would have been a college and NFL star himself until a serious spinal cord disorder took him off the field. It was a stunning blow that he accepted graciously. Second son Peyton Manning is quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts and was named MVP in their defeat of the Chicago Bears in last year’s Super Bowl. Youngest son Eli Manning led the New York Giants to their incredible win over the favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII a few days ago.
Is all this simply coincidental or accidental, just a weird twist of family fate, or is there some familial tie that binds them? The Mannings’ parental imprint is astonishing. These boys vicariously lived and breathed football all their young years as dad played so much. Mrs. Manning evidently impressed young Eli with her acceptance of the lonely disciplines of a football family.
There is a verse from wise old Solomon that applies here. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." "Train up" is the translation of a Hebrew word meaning "to narrow" or "to discipline." "Way" simply means "a road."
Hebrews 12:7-11 has a fabulous expansion of the principle of the disciplined narrow road. "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."(emphasis mine)
These last two Super Bowls are really the "afterward" in the Manning family. The word "chastening" means "child rearing" or "training up a child," and it carries the idea of discipline. And a disciple is one who is disciplined. There seems to be a nutty notion abroad that a child is benefited by giving him unfettered freedom. Don’t correct the child, just let him loose. You see it all the time in restaurants, shopping centers and on playgrounds. The thinking today seems to be "Don’t crowd the child; you’ll hurt him somehow." A wise man once stated, "The child that argues with his mother over putting on his overshoes has no time left to build a snowman." Another said, "He has freedom of the seas who is prisoner to the compass."
The Bible speaks about youthful discipline. "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. … Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul" (Prov. 29:15 & 17). This rod is one of correction, according to Prov. 22:15. "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
If my father were disciplining me today as he did when I was a boy and the state-mandated rules forbidding spanking were enforced, he would probably be spending lots of time in a jail cell under some liberal judge’s ruling.
Check out how many missionary kids become missionaries and how many pastors’ boys become pastors. That’s why we shouldn’t criticize missionaries who have large families as I’ve heard some do. "How can we support all those kids on the field?" Support them willingly because they are raising more missionaries.
My dad was a preacher, and so am I. As the Manning boys were imprinted with sports, I was imprinted with Scripture and service as Dad served others in ministry. A healthy, guided childhood produces a wonderful generational continuity—a splendid example of which is seen in tandem Super Bowls.
David Virkler
The Manning name has graced football for years. Archie was a college and NFL star who received numerous awards. At his college alma mater, "Ole Miss," he was named Quarterback of the Century. Manning played ball with the Saints, Vikings and Oilers and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1978 and 1979.
Archie and his wife Olivia, who is involved in extensive charitable work, had three sons. Their oldest, Cooper Manning, had a great high school football career as a wide receiver and probably would have been a college and NFL star himself until a serious spinal cord disorder took him off the field. It was a stunning blow that he accepted graciously. Second son Peyton Manning is quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts and was named MVP in their defeat of the Chicago Bears in last year’s Super Bowl. Youngest son Eli Manning led the New York Giants to their incredible win over the favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII a few days ago.
Is all this simply coincidental or accidental, just a weird twist of family fate, or is there some familial tie that binds them? The Mannings’ parental imprint is astonishing. These boys vicariously lived and breathed football all their young years as dad played so much. Mrs. Manning evidently impressed young Eli with her acceptance of the lonely disciplines of a football family.
There is a verse from wise old Solomon that applies here. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." "Train up" is the translation of a Hebrew word meaning "to narrow" or "to discipline." "Way" simply means "a road."
Hebrews 12:7-11 has a fabulous expansion of the principle of the disciplined narrow road. "If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."(emphasis mine)
These last two Super Bowls are really the "afterward" in the Manning family. The word "chastening" means "child rearing" or "training up a child," and it carries the idea of discipline. And a disciple is one who is disciplined. There seems to be a nutty notion abroad that a child is benefited by giving him unfettered freedom. Don’t correct the child, just let him loose. You see it all the time in restaurants, shopping centers and on playgrounds. The thinking today seems to be "Don’t crowd the child; you’ll hurt him somehow." A wise man once stated, "The child that argues with his mother over putting on his overshoes has no time left to build a snowman." Another said, "He has freedom of the seas who is prisoner to the compass."
The Bible speaks about youthful discipline. "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. … Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul" (Prov. 29:15 & 17). This rod is one of correction, according to Prov. 22:15. "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction shall drive it far from him."
If my father were disciplining me today as he did when I was a boy and the state-mandated rules forbidding spanking were enforced, he would probably be spending lots of time in a jail cell under some liberal judge’s ruling.
Check out how many missionary kids become missionaries and how many pastors’ boys become pastors. That’s why we shouldn’t criticize missionaries who have large families as I’ve heard some do. "How can we support all those kids on the field?" Support them willingly because they are raising more missionaries.
My dad was a preacher, and so am I. As the Manning boys were imprinted with sports, I was imprinted with Scripture and service as Dad served others in ministry. A healthy, guided childhood produces a wonderful generational continuity—a splendid example of which is seen in tandem Super Bowls.
David Virkler
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
So Much For Greatness
It began with the greatest season, by the greatest team, using the greatest offense and propelled by what some feel to be the greatest quarterback and coach of all time.
And now there is talk of the greatest catch in the greatest Super Bowl thrown by a quarterback from the greatest family in NFL history. Even the size of the audience was the greatest to ever watch a sporting event in America. Then there also arguably the greatest Super Bowl loss and upset ever seen.
But on a single Sunday night in Arizona several aspects of certain football immortality came to a screeching halt. The unlikely victory by New York's Giants over the mighty New England Patriots, not only prevented seasonal perfection, but likely stifled the expected title of the greatest team in NFL history. They will now be known as very good, one of the best, a dynasty, but not necessarily the greatest to ever grace the gridiron.
Greatness is a term that is sometimes used a little too loosely. True greatness should be applied only when no other descriptive term can be applied. And greatness is often used to label people or events that are far from legendary in their true impact or overall importance.
In any discussion on ultimate greatness, the Creator of the universe must be present as His greatness is fully unique and unquestioned. In His Word He uses the term 'great' to describe Himself and what He has done for a lost and needy humanity. The kid's dinner table prayer said it well. "God is good. God is great".
Ephesians 2 reveals the magnitude of His infinite love for those without hope apart from His great grace in Christ. Verse 4 begins, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
Then Peter 1:2-4 reveals what is in store for those who have become new creations in Christ. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
Much more could be said on the subject God's unparalleled greatness. But to narrow it down to the core essentials, God's great love has fully overcome man's great sin. Further, He has given to His followers a great enabling power allowing them to live a victorious and godly life.
And finally, God has been careful to offer great warnings like the one in Hebrews 2. There He presents the ultimate question to life's greatest single decision - to accept or reject the sacrifice of His Son. Verse 3 is clear, concise, and clearly convicting. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation."
Hopefully all who hear the good news of Jesus Christ will trust Him as savior when they come to grasp His great sacrifice as revealed in John 15:13. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
Bill Breckenridge
And now there is talk of the greatest catch in the greatest Super Bowl thrown by a quarterback from the greatest family in NFL history. Even the size of the audience was the greatest to ever watch a sporting event in America. Then there also arguably the greatest Super Bowl loss and upset ever seen.
But on a single Sunday night in Arizona several aspects of certain football immortality came to a screeching halt. The unlikely victory by New York's Giants over the mighty New England Patriots, not only prevented seasonal perfection, but likely stifled the expected title of the greatest team in NFL history. They will now be known as very good, one of the best, a dynasty, but not necessarily the greatest to ever grace the gridiron.
Greatness is a term that is sometimes used a little too loosely. True greatness should be applied only when no other descriptive term can be applied. And greatness is often used to label people or events that are far from legendary in their true impact or overall importance.
In any discussion on ultimate greatness, the Creator of the universe must be present as His greatness is fully unique and unquestioned. In His Word He uses the term 'great' to describe Himself and what He has done for a lost and needy humanity. The kid's dinner table prayer said it well. "God is good. God is great".
Ephesians 2 reveals the magnitude of His infinite love for those without hope apart from His great grace in Christ. Verse 4 begins, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."
Then Peter 1:2-4 reveals what is in store for those who have become new creations in Christ. "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
Much more could be said on the subject God's unparalleled greatness. But to narrow it down to the core essentials, God's great love has fully overcome man's great sin. Further, He has given to His followers a great enabling power allowing them to live a victorious and godly life.
And finally, God has been careful to offer great warnings like the one in Hebrews 2. There He presents the ultimate question to life's greatest single decision - to accept or reject the sacrifice of His Son. Verse 3 is clear, concise, and clearly convicting. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation."
Hopefully all who hear the good news of Jesus Christ will trust Him as savior when they come to grasp His great sacrifice as revealed in John 15:13. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
Bill Breckenridge
Monday, February 4, 2008
Historic Imperfection
It was a perfect season, until imperfection reared its ugly head in the final minutes of America's biggest sporting event. When the dust settled, the surging New York Giants defeated the supposedly invincible New England Patriots by 3 points before a stunned crowd and record national audience. The upstart Giants were not supposed to survive earlier contests in Dallas and Green Bay, but they had. The odds of Giants going all the way were 20 to 1, but they won. They were not supposed to beat arguably the best quarterback and team of all time, but they did. It seemed nearly impossible, but it wasn't!
Friday night before the Super Bowl, I showed a movie clip at a youth program at out local church. It has become my all-time favorite - bar none. Its title, interestingly, is 'Facing the Giants'. The story is about a small Christian high school and their embattled Christian coach fighting for his job. Coach Taylor's personal struggles lead to a profound revival in his faith which in turn lead to a spiritual renewal in his team and then the entire student body.
Long story short, the 36 smallish members of the Eagles make it to the state championship and face the mighty 3-time champion Giants. They were outnumbered, outweighed, out-experienced and out-classed, or were they? The coach had earlier stressed, and convinced his boys, about a new purpose for the team's efforts. They would play to glorify God. They would praise Him if the won. And they would praise Him when they lost. And praise Him they did. And win the big game they did, as well. Like the unexpected Super Bowl victory of the NY Giants, the heavy underdog Eagles faced a superior foe, but prevailed and accomplished the seeming impossible.
In the locker room following the contest, a humbled and sobered Coach Taylor went from player to player asking each the same simple question. "What is impossible when God is on your side?" To a man, each player answered the same. "Nothing, coach." The team then kneels together in prayer to thank God and further glorify His name.
A sideline throughout the movie is the inability for the coach and his wife to have children for 4 long years. That too was rectified along with having some of their severe material needs met by grateful parents who appreciated the spiritual impact made on their kids by the coach. The film ends by focusing in on a plaque over the Taylor's fireplace inscribed with the words, "With God, nothing is impossible."
Coach Taylor's Eagles represent a fictional account as wonderfully conceived and produced by the Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia. But the principle conveyed throughout is anything but fictional. It is Biblical.
In Matt 19:24-26, Jesus was dealing with a man who was unable to part with his material goods in order to follow the Lord. After the disappointing turnout, the Lord turned to His disciples and stated in verse 24, "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
When His stunned followers heard His perplexing words they responded as seen in verse 25. "When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" The answer in verse 26 was equally stunning, but reassuring. "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
The Bible constantly reveals the God of the impossible and shows His great sovereign power over all things. But there is one thing described as impossible when dealing with Him. It is spelled out in Hebrews 11, the great 'Hall of Faith' as it is known. Verse 5 speaks of the special faith of Enoch and how he fully pleased God. But the following verse relates the one impossible thing as far as God is concerned. Verse 6 reads, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It is possible to deal with the plague and lasting consequences of human sin, but quite impossible without sincere saving faith in Jesus Christ in the mix.
The Patriots saw their hopes and dreams of perfection dissolve before their very eyes. But those on the roster of God achieve a level of lasting perfection when fully justified in the fashion spoken of in Hebrews 10:14. "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
Bill Breckenridge
Friday night before the Super Bowl, I showed a movie clip at a youth program at out local church. It has become my all-time favorite - bar none. Its title, interestingly, is 'Facing the Giants'. The story is about a small Christian high school and their embattled Christian coach fighting for his job. Coach Taylor's personal struggles lead to a profound revival in his faith which in turn lead to a spiritual renewal in his team and then the entire student body.
Long story short, the 36 smallish members of the Eagles make it to the state championship and face the mighty 3-time champion Giants. They were outnumbered, outweighed, out-experienced and out-classed, or were they? The coach had earlier stressed, and convinced his boys, about a new purpose for the team's efforts. They would play to glorify God. They would praise Him if the won. And they would praise Him when they lost. And praise Him they did. And win the big game they did, as well. Like the unexpected Super Bowl victory of the NY Giants, the heavy underdog Eagles faced a superior foe, but prevailed and accomplished the seeming impossible.
In the locker room following the contest, a humbled and sobered Coach Taylor went from player to player asking each the same simple question. "What is impossible when God is on your side?" To a man, each player answered the same. "Nothing, coach." The team then kneels together in prayer to thank God and further glorify His name.
A sideline throughout the movie is the inability for the coach and his wife to have children for 4 long years. That too was rectified along with having some of their severe material needs met by grateful parents who appreciated the spiritual impact made on their kids by the coach. The film ends by focusing in on a plaque over the Taylor's fireplace inscribed with the words, "With God, nothing is impossible."
Coach Taylor's Eagles represent a fictional account as wonderfully conceived and produced by the Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia. But the principle conveyed throughout is anything but fictional. It is Biblical.
In Matt 19:24-26, Jesus was dealing with a man who was unable to part with his material goods in order to follow the Lord. After the disappointing turnout, the Lord turned to His disciples and stated in verse 24, "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
When His stunned followers heard His perplexing words they responded as seen in verse 25. "When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" The answer in verse 26 was equally stunning, but reassuring. "But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
The Bible constantly reveals the God of the impossible and shows His great sovereign power over all things. But there is one thing described as impossible when dealing with Him. It is spelled out in Hebrews 11, the great 'Hall of Faith' as it is known. Verse 5 speaks of the special faith of Enoch and how he fully pleased God. But the following verse relates the one impossible thing as far as God is concerned. Verse 6 reads, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." It is possible to deal with the plague and lasting consequences of human sin, but quite impossible without sincere saving faith in Jesus Christ in the mix.
The Patriots saw their hopes and dreams of perfection dissolve before their very eyes. But those on the roster of God achieve a level of lasting perfection when fully justified in the fashion spoken of in Hebrews 10:14. "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
Bill Breckenridge
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