Morning Musing: Hebrews 13:5

“Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, ‘I will never leave you or abandon you.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I have never been to Vegas. I’d like to go someday for the spectacle alone, and to see some fun shows, but that’s honestly about it. Gambling just isn’t something that appeals to me. I’ve only ever been in a casino once, and that was to eat. I’ve never bet on a sport either. I do play some fantasy sports (badly) with my family, but that’s about it. I recognize that I’m in reasonably small company in that especially given my age and sex. In spite of my own distaste for the practice, sport betting in particular has become a big business in the United States thanks to a Supreme Court ruling a couple of years ago that removed all the roadblocks to its nationwide legalization. There have been many voices along the way warning that this isn’t a good path for our country to be walking down. Some news broke yesterday offering up a perfect demonstration of why. Let’s talk about it.

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Underdogs

This past Sunday we took another step forward in exploring the story of Jesus’ birth through the Gospel of Luke. When Mary received the news that she would be mother to the Messiah, everything she knew about the world got turned on its head. More than that for her, everything about her own life got turned on its head. What she came to recognize early on in this journey, though, was that this God she was following was in the business of turning the world upside down. In a powerful proclamation of praise, she acknowledged as much, and in the process reminded us of something important about God’s character. Let’s explore that together here. Thanks for reading and sharing.

Underdogs

I have basically three sports teams I cheer for and whose progress I follow during their relevant seasons. The Kansas City Royals, who have historically been a mostly mediocre team (2014 and 2015 being delightful exceptions). The Kansas City Chiefs, who have historically been pretty good, are really good right now since we’ve figured out how to play defense again, and things look bright in the years ahead. The third is the University of Kansas basketball team. They’re always good and this season look to be particularly fun to watch. Fun fact for UNC fans in the room, next year will be the first time since 1962 that your coach has not come to you by way of Kansas, so I have no way of guaranteeing any real success for you in the future (we’ll pretend Matt Doherty didn’t happen). 

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Morning Musing: Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter

If there was ever a case to be made for a particular verse of the Bible being the official verse of sports, I think this one would win the prize. It seems like every professional athlete who is willing to publicly claim the name of Jesus makes sure to put this verse on something he wears to play. And snapped up out of its context, it seems to serve the purpose of sports well. But is there any more to it? 

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