Continuing what we discussed last week...

The scripture that God enlightened me with that day is found in John 1:4-5. It states, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” See, in Christ, in God, and in the Holy Spirit there is no darkness. If someone tells you that God put a sickness on them to teach them something, it’s not true. In 1 John 1:5 the word states, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness.” (There should be a trumpet sound after this verse!)

Therefore, sickness and poverty are darkness. God only resides in the light. God created it that way. He wants us to walk in the light everyday, but it is impossible for us to walk in darkness and light at the same time. In the natural sense, once you turn the light on, there is no more darkness in the room. It’s the same in our walk with God daily. If we choose to stay in the light of God’s Word, the darkness of situations that come our way will have to flee.

Going back to John 1:4-5, we see that verse ending with, “and the darkness did not comprehend it.” This word comprehend is an interesting word. You would think that we are talking about understanding something or remembering something, but the actual Greek meaning of this word is to seize, to pull down, to conquer, or to hold under one’s power. Therefore, this definition should really read like this: “And darkness does not have the ability to suppress or to hold the light under its power or dominion.” Praise God! So, no matter what darkness Satan is trying to bring into your life, that darkness has no power to remain there. You may feel like you are at rock bottom, knocked down and unable to get up again; BUT that power of darkness does not have the ability to keep you there, suppress you down, or take you out. Darkness does not have the ability to overcome God’s light. So, when you are dealing with a “bad attitude” like I was, run to the light of God’s word.

Run to this verse when you feel the pressure of life! Second Corinthians 4:9 tells us, “We occasionally get knocked down, but never get knocked out.” We, as Christians, have been given an ability, through God, to keep going even when darkness tries to overtake our lives. Remember, God is light and in Him there is no darkness. The only way darkness can reside in your life is if you allow it. But, we overcome if we allow the light of God’s word to shine in the darkness. The only time we are down and out is when we stay right where we are not fighting for the light. See, that day when I was upset about the loss of my favorite team I was not in the light. I could have continued to be in anger, effecting everyone around me with a bad attitude, but I chose to do something about it. I went in that office (not happy), fought my flesh, and got in the Word of God. Instantly, my attitude began to change because the light of His word was over taking the darkness. The next thing I knew, the Holy Spirit was prompting me to pray for the kicker that missed the field goal. I began praying for the referee and for people around me. I had chosen light over darkness, and God was able to use me to pray for others.

God needs us working with Him to bring His light to hurting world.

-Coach Brim

Over the next several weeks, we will be talking about staying in the light. So, don’t miss the next several blogs. I promise you, this could change your life!

Through a situation in my life (a bad attitude) I came across a revelation that has set me free. I want to share it with you so that it can help you with your walk with God.

Can you have a bad attitude and still be a Christian? Yes! Can you have a bad attitude and still go to heaven? The answer, once again, is yes! Your salvation is not affected by your attitude, but your walk with God on this earth is. In Matthew 5:14, the Word tells us that we are to be the light of the world. It is really hard to be the light of the world when all the world is seeing is a bad attitude.

I am a huge Chicago Bears fan, and I have been since I was 8 years old. I watched the movie, “Brian’s Song” and began my journey of being a Chicago Bears fan. I vowed that day to be a fan for the rest of my life. I tell people, I cried through that movie as a kid and have been crying ever since!

This year, Chicago finally made it to the playoffs for the first time in ten years. This was our year! This was the year that we would go all the way. We had the best defense in the league, and we were Super Bowl bound! Kaleb, my son, and I have on our Chicago jerseys watching the game. It’s the very last play of the game, and Chicago is kicking a field goal (which would put us ahead). The kick is up! It’s good! We have won the game! We are going to the next round! Kaleb and I are jumping up and down, running around the room, rejoicing over our win! Then suddenly, we noticed a referee waving his hand saying, “A timeout was called before the kick.” We had to kick again. What?! So, we kicked again and missed. Instead of winning, and being on top of the mountain, we lost the game.

This is where my bad attitude came in. I was so mad. I was mad at the referee. I was mad at the kicker. I was mad at the jersey I was wearing; I was just plain mad at everything! I even texted my wife, who was at prayer meeting. “Don’t talk to me about the game.” I was definitely not walking in the light at that moment.  I was not being the light of the world.

I was so upset about not winning that I knew I had to do something. So, I ran to the Word of God. I locked myself in the office with the Bible and began reading in John. When I read John 1:4-5, the bad attitude began to lift off of me. These verses say, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Two words stood out, light and comprehend.

Let’s start with light. Light is a constant. Darkness cannot stay where light is. Think about it: when you walk into a dark room and turn on the light, what happens to the darkness? It disappears. The room becomes filled with that light. It is the same with the Word of God. The moment I brought in the Word of God, my situation began to change. My bad attitude was replaced with the “light of the Word of God.” The scriptures even tell us in Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light on my path.” In other words, the Word can bring light to every situation in your life. Go to the Word of God when a problem arises and that Word will bring you light!

- Coach Brim

Hey Champions!

I am so glad to continue this blog from the last two weeks!  A couple of weeks ago, we talked about not reaching your goals but pressing on. Last week we talked about letting go of the past and laying hold of the promises of God. I hope all of you are working on these two areas in your life! This week we want to add one more piece to this puzzle that will help you to have a more successful 2019. Isn’t God so awesome? He tells us exactly how to have a successful life in Him, and it’s found in His Word.

Once again, we are going to continue in Philippians 3, but we are going to start with verse 14. Paul states, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Our 2019 is going to be different than all the years before, because we have already decided in the last two weeks that we are letting go and pressing on. We just needed to add another goal for our success to come forth, and Paul gave it to us in verse 14. You may think it’s the word press, and that is a great thing to do! But, that’s not it. You may think it’s the word goal, and that is awesome! We should all set goals and press towards that goal, but that’s not it. And of course, prize is a great word!  Who doesn’t like prizes? We have even preached on being prize minded, but that’s not it. No, the word for today is UPWARD. Upward? What’s the big deal with the word upward?

Well, let’s look at the definition of upward. Upward means to move toward a higher place. No matter what situation may come our way in 2019, we are moving to a higher place. We are not going to take the low road of worry and regret but take the high road of upward motion in God.  Trust Him and His word, and press on to what the word says about you and your life. Read the Word and you will see, it’s all an upward motion in God.

Now, let’s re-word Philippians 3:14 using this definition of upward: “I press toward the goal for the prize of moving forward to a higher call of God in Christ Jesus.” As long as you continue to forget the past mistakes, laying hold of what Christ did for you, pressing forward in it and always moving to a higher place in God, you will end 2019 better than you began it! Does this mean that you won’t have any trials or situations come along? No! It just means you will handle those situations better because you are moving toward a higher place.

So, let’s go, Champions! Let’s make 2019 our best year yet. Let’s determine that no matter what comes our way, we are pressing forward and moving upward to what God has called us to do!  

- Coach Brim