Because It's The Cup!

The Stanley Cup  is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League's playoff winner. It is the oldest existing trophy awarded to a victorious professional sports franchise. The first Cup was given out in back in 1893 and  professional teams first became eligible to challenge for it in 1906. Then after a series of league mergers and folds, it was established as the championship trophy of the NHL in 1926. The Montreal Canadians have won the Cup a record 24 times while the Detroit Red Wings have won the Cup 11 times, the most of any United States based NHL team.

This week it was the Pittsburgh Penguins who again won the coveted prize. Captain Sidney Crosby hoisted the Cup for the third time, and two years in a row, after defeating a very competitive Nashville Predators team that had never been to the finals before. But this trophy is arguably the hardest championship to win.That is  largely because of the physical grind and demands of the game itself. There really is nothing quite like the intensity and stress level of playoff hockey because winning the NHL's ultimate prize is so often like a survival of the fittest.

But what makes this trophy even more special is something unlike anything else in all of sports. After the victors celebrate their win, each participating player and coach then has their name physically engraved on the prized hardware itself. Currently, a player must have played at least half of the regular season games for the championship team (provided the player remains with the team when they win the Cup) or have played in at least one game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Typically, the winning athletes in other sports will get a ring and a parade following their championship run. But only in hockey do they each have their name immortalized on the historic trophy. It is an honor unlike any other in sports.

One of my dreams while playing this sport as a youngster was to have my name written on Lord Stanley’s prize. Few who play don't have that fantasy at some point or other. That of course did not happen, and it is safe to safe now that it won’t. Only a select few will ever know that honor and amazing experience. But whenever I see the Cup being hoisted above the heads of each winning player,  I am instantly reminded of another place where names are individually  inscribed. But in this instance it as a place that is infinitely more important than even on the greatest sports trophy of all.

It is called the 'Book of Life’ and is referred to in the Bible in Philippians and repeatedly in the last book of the Bible. In Revelation chapter 20 and verse 12 John writes, "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life . And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

It is true that there are but two categories when it comes to the Stanley Cup. There are those who have their names written on it and those who do not. And of far greater importance is that the same holds true with the names that are, or are not, written in God’s Book of Life. But getting one's name written in this spiritual and heavenly book does not require some intense competition.It does not take talent, luck or extreme hard work. But it requires only a single act of saving faith in God’s Son as personal Savior. That is seen in numerous passages of Scripture including one of my all-time favorites. It is Ephesians 2:8-9 and it is the passage that led my own mother to Christ many years ago now. It reads, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
 
For anyone to have his name placed on Lord Stanley’s Cup takes great talent,  effort, good health and a few key breaks along the way. It is a very special, but very temporary, earthly honor. But getting one’s name inscribed on the Book of Life, and for all eternity, has nothing to do with any personal effort or worldly accomplishments. It is about being saved through God’s grace and by trusting in God's Son - period. . He is the one who did all of the work on the cross to provide the true and ultimate prize of salvation for us all!

"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."  (Romans 3:24)



Bill Breckenridge

Terror In The UK

Much of the world is again in total shock and disbelief after the deadly suicide bombing that took place after an Ariana Grande concert in Europe’s largest indoor arena. A total of 22 were left dead including young children and an off-duty police officer.  Some remain missing and many more were critically injured - some having major organ damage and potential loss of limbs. 

As usual, leaders everywhere denounced this latest assault on the civilized world and on helpless innocent people. And maybe this will be the time when some kind of real action will follow the strong language that always falls of the deaf ears of the wicked. The Prime Minister has raised the threat level to the highest possible rating believing that there is a very real concern about  another attack.

Authorities have named Salman Abedi as the suspected suicide bomber. The Greater Manchester Police revealed on Wednesday that three men have been arrested in the south of the city in connection with the concert bombing attack including Abedi's 23-year-old brother. Meanwhile, Abedi's father spoke for the first time since his son's death to deny his son’s Involvement. He stated, "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."

The key phrase that struck me in that last sentence was, ‘since his son’s death’. If his son did not believe in killing innocents, and did not do so, why then does he not simply show himself to the authorities and quickly prove that his body was not scattered all over the crime scene? It seems to me like that would be an easy start in proving that his son may indeed be innocent of this horrific crime.  Or perhaps I am just missing something here?

As I thought about the potential impact of this supposedly dead attacker suddenly showing himself to be fully alive, I was reminded of what occurred after Jesus died upon the cross. The purpose of His death was obviously the polar opposite of those who die only to brutally and senselessly murder others. The death of Christ was to save and redeem all sinners. It was to fully deal with the spiritual death sentence that resides on all of humanity – even to those who commit the worst atrocities imaginable. He sacrificed Himself to save and not to kill. He died in order to provide eternal life and save from eternal death.

But unlike Salman Abedi, Christ did appear after his death. That is revealed in 1 Corinthians 15:4-8 where the Apostle Paul wrote, “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”  And the additional proof of His being seen alive was the life-altering response in the lives of those who would change the world forever because He in fact did rise from the dead.

What a stark contrast arises when considering the sacrifice of God’s Son for sinners versus those who selfishly takes their own lives only to kill and destroy the lives of others. Jesus Himself spoke forcefully to those who acted on behalf of Satan in John 8:44. He said there, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Again, compare that to what Jesus did, and why He came, as penned in 1 John 4:10-11. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

The actions of ISIS, and others who behave like them, could not be any farther from what Christ did and taught. The views and actions of those who are ‘of the devil’ and those who are ‘in Christ’ are beyond evident and as far as the East is from the West. The contrast could not be any greater and the solution for sin and clearer. It begins and ends with personal faith in the crucified Christ who rose again from the grave. In doing so He proved, not only His total innocence, but also His claim to be deity and the lone Savior of a fallen race in desperate need of redemption!

“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

Bill Breckenridge

The Very Best Mother's Advice

It arrives each year in May. And it has become one of the largest holidays as far as consumer spending. And of course it is none other than Mother’s Day. It is the designated time when moms are honored for their priceless contributions to their families and even their nation by extension.
The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.

After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who remained unmarried and childless her whole life—started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

There are many famous moms in the Bible. We were given insight into the lives of Eve, Sarah, the mother of Moses and others. But for obvious reasons, the mother of Jesus is in a class all by herself. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like for her raising a fully perfect and sinless son.

But there is one event where Mary and her son were in the middle of an interesting situation. It was the story of the wedding in Cana in John chapter 2. Mary was attending or even involved in the planning. Jesus and the disciples were invited guests. But at one point, Mary came to Jesus because they were running out of wine. But when she approached Him with the problem, he gave a seemingly odd answer in the form of a question. He basically said, 'What has that got to do with me since my hour has not yet come.' He was nicely telling her that he had new priorities and that his entire life was now about the soon coming cross. This answer may have confused his mom a bit. But she accepted it what he stated anyway.

But what is important here was Mary’s immediate response. She turned to the servants and said in verse 5, "Whatever he says to you, do it." Was she expecting a miracle of some kind at this point? We really don't know the answer to that question.

But either way, she was placing her full faith and confidence in whatever it was that the Lord would do - or not do. In the midst of this social crisis she was in the middle of, she was telling them, whatever my son says to you don't question it. Don't ignore it. Don't doubt it. And don't resist it. Just listen up and obey it . Mary was giving the servants 'the' perfect advice because she knew enough of Jesus to trust Him fully to handle any crucial matter perfectly! And isn’t this that level of faith we need to have in the Lord - no matter what the situation is before us?

Mothers are generally the ones in the family unit that provide sound wisdom for their children. This is generally good advice and especially when they are Christians and their suggestion are based on Biblical principles. And yet, there are none who are themselves perfect all of the time. But there is one word of advice that actually is. And that was summed up in Mary’s words when she turned to the servants and said, "Whatever he says to you, do it.”

The best advice we can ever give, or receive, is to do ‘whatever’ Jesus tells us to do. His perfect wisdom comes through various sources. It comes via the Scriptures, from the lips of his faithful servants, through fervent prayer and through the godly counsel of other grounded believers. And when this is faithfully received and acted upon, we can depend on experiencing a multitude of God's great promises like the one found in Proverbs 3:5-6.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Bill Breckenridge

The World's Most Dangerous Animals?

Recently I saw an article on the web that grabbed my attention. It was nothing earthshaking or some story that had urgent world-wide appeal or implications. It was just plain interesting – well at least it was to me. The source of the piece was www.conservativeinstitute.org. It is an organization that deals with conservation issues.

It began with this statement. “When you’re out hiking or swimming in nature, what creatures do you dread encountering? Many of us automatically think of creatures with gnashing teeth or razor sharp claws. Animals like lions, tigers, jaguars, sharks, and grizzly bears inspire plenty of fear. Many of the deadliest animals in the world however are quite small and sometimes even innocuous looking. Let’s take a look at the top 10 dangerous animals you should avoid both large and small.”

The article then went on to list these highly dangerous creatures, most of which would not be the choice of many of us. To see the entire article go to their website here.

I’m not sure if the order of deadly creatures was significant or not. But here are just a few that were given. Surprisingly it was the Jellyfish that was described at the outset. They shared that most all Jellyfish are dangerous. But then stated that the Wasp Jellyfish is the most deadly and is the most venomous animal on planet Earth! That one shocked me.

Next on the list was Cone Snail. Despite looking fairly harmless, this creature is also quite deadly. As a matter of fact, just one drop of its venom can kill twenty human adults. And there is also no antivenin. And once stung by one of these, you will almost certainly die within just minutes.

Third on the list was not as shocking to me. It was the Black Mamba snake. This critter  may look less fearsome than the Hooded Cobra, but it is arguably more dangerous. It lives primarily in Africa and has an aggressive nature when approached. The venom of the Black Mamba is extremely toxic. It typically causes collapse in humans within 45 minutes or less and death typically in 7–15 hours without any antivenom.

The other creatures that filled out the most deadly group included the Cape Buffalo, Siafu Ant, Death Stalker Scorpion. Puffer Fish, Hyena, and the Stone Fish – the most venomous ‘fish’ on the planet. And as stated, with the exception of the 2,000-pound Cape Buffalo, most of these creatures are quite small considering how deadly they can be when encountered in the wild.

But the article also included one more on list of deadly creatures. And when I saw it, I was both surprised and also not so surprised at the same time. Number 10 was humans. It said this. “Human beings may not stand to win in a fair fight against most of these species, but thanks to our ingenuity, we have learned how to arm ourselves with weapons and tools which have placed us at the top of the food chain. We also get extra points on the deadly scale for our aggression, not only toward other animals, but toward each other. No other animal starts worldwide wars or blasts whole regions of the earth into total ruin with nuclear weapons. Without a doubt, the most dangerous animal in the world is the face you see in the mirror each day.” Remind me to not shave or comb my hair anymore!

Although man is a created ‘creature’, he is far more than the others in the group. He has a soul and was made in the image of God according to Genesis 1:27. But when he fell into sin, total depravity instantly followed. And that is why he sadly earned a place, if not first place,  on this infamous list. That truth is even spoken to in James 3:6-8. “The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.  For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.”

Mankind’s aggression began way back when he first disobeyed God. Sin entered the world along with spiritual and physical death. And sin was passed along, at birth, to everyone from that point forward. Things quickly became so evil and destructive as to force God to wipe out most of the race and start from scratch with just a few righteous souls on the Ark. Man’s tragic blunder also brought chaos and devastating effects into nature itself including animal kingdom.  (Romans 8:20-22)

With all of that said, there is another difference between fallen man and all of the creatures that live side by said with him. As mentioned, man was created with a soul and spirit and was made in God’s own image. Yes, those attributes were damaged by the original sin – thus the current dilemma.  But unlike a Black Mamba, or any other dangerous and deadly beast, man’s basic attitude and nature can in fact be changed. Because he alone has a soul and God’s image stamped upon his heart, he can also rise above terrible and deadly activity. he can overcome the inherited harmful instincts that have plagued the race from almost day one.

And that most radical of changes can come from but one source – the very God who created man in the first place. The one who gave him physical breath in the Garden can also give him new spiritual life in his heart through saving faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 10:13) That reality can be seen throughout the New Testament. But it is summed up well in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 where Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Some day, in the future, the animal kingdom and nature will be restored to its original healthy state. That glorious picture is seen in Isaiah 11:6. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together.” But for the present, the only way that man can have his faulty selfish attitudes and dangerous behavior be truly modified is to trust Christ as his personal Savior and the Lord of his life. It is then, and only then, when the command found in 1 Peter 1:15 can become a reality and impact our broken world for good. “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”

Bill Breckenridge

The Case For Christ

Last night my family made its way to a local theater. It is something we rarely ever do because there is rarely anything these days we feel is worth going to see. So this was a rare exception.

The film opened across the country just a week before Good Friday. That timing was no accident because of the theme. The title is "The Case For Christ". If that sounds at all familiar, there is a reason. The movie was created from a best-selling book by Lee Strobel that has sold some 14 million copies worldwide since the early '80s when it was authored.

The basic premise is this. Mr. Strobel set out to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He had become angered when his wife became a born-again believer. So in order to do this, the award winning investigative reporter for The Chicago Tribune put all of his considerable talents to work for almost two full years. He was certain that Christianity could not stand up to any real and deep scientific analysis. And his research left no possible angle uncovered. But the more the reporter dug into the known facts, the more he found the exact opposite of what he set out to prove. To make a long story short, he eventually gave in to the reality that Christ was real, died on the cross, was resurrected from the grave and was who He claimed to be – God in the flesh and the Savior of mankind.

This most powerful film was, in my estimation, able to accomplish two great feats at once. First, it serves as an amazing witness to those who might feel like Lee Strobel who was a committed atheist. The film left no doubt as to the veracity of the Gospel accounts surrounding the resurrection. For any who may themselves doubt, or know someone who is rejecting Christ on any level, this would be the film that could speak to their disbelieving heart and change everything!

But the other aspect of "The Case For Christ" is how inspiring it is to those who have already come to Christ through faith. The film, as revealed through Strobel’s careful research, pointed out various aspects that prove out the Biblical accounts. He cites the massive support of the manuscript evidence for the New Testament, expert testimonies from the physiological and medical communities, and other aspects of Biblical criticism and historical data. These all helped Lee Strobel come to the conclusion of the reality and significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of God's Son.

As the film stated, the resurrection is indeed at the core of Christianity. Remove or disprove it, and the faith becomes null and void as is verified in 1 Corinthians 15:16-18. “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen, And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” But since the resurrection is true, Christ is truly God and therefore able to be the sacrifice for sin and the Savior of man!

If, when you read this, the film is still around, do yourself a favor and take it in. Or perhaps do someone you know who desperately needs Christ a bigger favor, and take them to see it. Either way it is a win, win! You will be encouraged in your faith, or, even better, perhaps see someone come to the saving faith you already possess.

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18-19)

Bill Breckenridge