Run in such a way to get the prize.

This topic is a topic that is really on my heart right now. It's amazing how the Holy Spirit works. At church this morning the message was about what you do with your time can change the world and then I read James 4 and a passage in that chapter is about how we shouldn't boast about tomorrow. It's amazing how those two things and the importance of both relate.

Run in such a way to get the prize. Have that thought that in the back on your mind as your read this post.

James 4:13-16 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.

How many of you are already thinking of the things you have to do this week? I would guess all of you because I woke up and thought the same thing. It's very convicting. I realized that when I woke up this morning, the first think I thought about was things I have to do the rest of the day to get prepared for the week. What I should've been thankful for is that God woke me up this morning for another amazing day full of opportunities and blessings. I think we have all become creatures of habit to the idea of thinking too far ahead. After our game yesterday afternoon, I immediately started thinking about our game on Tuesday and the things that I myself need to do in order to get my mind and body ready. The Spirit caught me in the act though. When the Spirit is doing work it's a feeling like no other, it's indescribable. As I was sitting in the locker room thinking about the loss, and already thinking about Tuesday it hit me. I needed to enjoy and trust the moment that I was in. Yeah we may have lost, but we played our tails off and worked extremely hard all 40 minutes of the game. There are so many more things in life that are more important than winning or losing a basketball game. (I hate to lose) I came to the realization of the moment that I was in. I had my family in the stands waiting to talk to me. One of my best friends from high school was waiting to see me. My aunt and her friend drove all the way from Columbus to see me and cheer on the pilots. In a situation that had the outcome we didn't want, there were still so many blessings that came from it. Those blessings weren't just my family being there, it was coming out of that locker room and seeing parents and loved ones from all my teammates who loved each and every one of us unconditionally. How you mentally think with the time you have is so important.

That is just a little story about how you need to sometimes open your eyes and really cherish what is in front of you rather than looking towards the future. It's tough because the competitive nature in me and my teammates can take over, because we are hungry for a W on Tuesday and that is where a lot of our focus will be these next couple of days. It can't totally be that way. You have to trust the process and you have to trust time. There is a ton of preparation that we all put into the things that we do everyday. Whether it's basketball, school work, music, etc. In order to be successful you put in a ton of work, and endure a lot of things because mediocrity is not really acceptable. You have to begin to evaluate your days.

What does that look like to you? When you think of your life and things that are important what do you think of? I'm sure words come to mind like, relationships, loving others, etc. But what is a huge part of your life that you can control? Your time. What are you doing with your time. Are you getting caught up things that you shouldn't, are you playing your favorite video games too much? We all say that we don't have time to do things, but we do. We always have time. What we fill of days with is usually what matters most to us. For me, it's time spent with God, time spent going to class and doing homework, time spent working on basketball and my body, and time spent with my friends. That is what a typical day looks like in the day of Luke. There are things I just listed that I don't necessarily control. There are things that I have to do verse things I want to do. School is extremely important but I have to go to class and put a lot of work into my assignments and school work. Basketball is also something that I have to do. But I don't look at it that way. I absolutely love the game and love the grind every single day. I get to spend up to 4 hours dedicating my mind, body, and heart to the game nearly everyday. Another blessing, is that I get to spend time with my friends. One of the reasons I love college is that I have been blessed with life long friends. I get to spend everyday with the greatest friends that I have ever had. Being able to wake up and go to sleep in the same room as three of your best friends is one of the best feelings in the world. Sure they get annoying sometimes and I have to put up with them but I'll always love them no matter what.

Now this last thing is the most important and that is why I saved it for last. This is what has changed my life. Time spent with God. I am not trying to say that I live the perfect life and that I am a perfect Christian just because I spend time with God everyday. I mess up and sin just like everyone else. What you do with the time you have is so important! What you do with your time is how you will advance the kingdom of heaven. Be different, give your time, your heart, and your soul to God. You can do that in so many ways. Read your Bible, journal, read a devotional, pray, meditate, whatever it is give your time to him. God has blessed each and every one of you with talents and a purpose. How are you going to use those things God has blessed you with to honor and praise Him?  We will all stand before God someday and He is going to ask that question. "What did you do with what I gave you." I hope that you can have an answer for that and not just be like "Oh crap." (Justin Maust) Make that a goal for yourself, that you can answer that question. I don't know about you, but someday I long to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I know that if God asked me that question right now that I would tell him that I have used the talents he has given me in basketball as a platform to spread and share his love. I am not trying to say I am popular, but I believe that there are many people who know me because I play basketball, and because of that I hope that they can see my heart and what the number one thing in there is. That is a relationship with Jesus Christ and the love I have for Him. I use my time to read my bible, journal, and write blogs in order to encourage as many people as I can. Heck if one person is encouraged by this post, I will be happy and I know that God will be as well. God has blessed you all more than you could ever imagine. How are you using those blessings to advance the kingdom.

Next time you start thinking about tomorrow, don't do it. Think about what you can do with today. If you have a mindset to conquer every day, and give all you have to God everyday you will change this world in more ways than one. I encourage you to get the point where you know that what you are doing is God's will for you. Once you figure that out there is no limit to what you can accomplish. If none of this made sense (which I hope it did) remember that neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate you from God's loving presence. 

Don't boast about tomorrow, get to work today.