THE THRILL OF VICTORY AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT. It is time once again to join with the huddled masses to observe well-trained, dedi-cated individuals who put it all on the line as they seek that often elusive goal of grabbing the Olympic gold medal.
I enjoy watching the Olympics, cheering for the home team, rooting for the underdog. I am awestruck by the grace, power, endurance and skill of the participants. I am often humbled and emotionally moved by their dedication and the seemingly insurmountable odds that they have over-come to be considered an Olympian.
Going for the gold demands radical obedience to an extreme regimen, in order to accomplish what some may see as an audacious goal. In some manner it sounds like what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ, the Lord.
Jesus calls His followers to take up our cross and follow Him. The goal in this is to be like Jesus, to follow Him in word and deed. This, like becoming an Olympian, demands radical obedience to an extreme regi-men. It is not for the faint of heart. Thankfully, the strength to compete comes not from ourselves, but from the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We compete in an Olympic-sized event empowered by the Almighty God.
May we all, with new vigor and drive, run the race set before us unto His glory. Let us all race to win, for the prize is ours to share. Let us not settle with just competing, or with attaining the bronze, let’s go for the gold!

I HAVE HEARD THOUSANDS OF SERMONS in my life, not to mention thousands of Bible study lessons, and a few of them still minister to my soul. There were scores that were quite memorable, and sadly, more than a few that were worth forgetting, but the ones that really stick with me are the ones that were never preached from behind a pulpit.
I was reminded, while watching a DVD report of the clean-up efforts in the Gulf States after the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, that we are all to preach the good news, and sometimes use words if necessary. Here are a few of my favorite “sermons” and what they preached to me:
• Dan Webster (my youth pastor) drew me aside once and said, “Randy, I want to pour my life into you, but there are some sins that you need to take care of first.” I knew what he meant, and de-sired that discipling relationship and so I made the changes.
• Eric McCready (church member and ultra-marathoner): He fin-ished the 10k race we were running and he turned around and ran back about two miles so to run alongside me and encourage me to the finish line.
• Pastor Arvid Carlson (while I was wet-behind-the-ears-youth pas-tor) at a staff meeting once told me, “Randy, don’t be the first by which the new is tried, or the last by which the old has died.” Words that still echo throughout my ministry.
• Linda Kay (friend, soul-mate, and wife of almost 29 years) whose life and words have taught me forgiveness and unconditional love and more than once challenged me in my walk in Christ.
Lest this walk down memory lane get too long, I best stop here. But suffice it to say, I have heard many good sermons. Sermons that en-couraged and challenged me. Sermons that moved me to action and brought me to tears. Sermons that live!
Oh, that we may all so preach!

TAKE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PEOPLE and pack them into a flying metal container at 30 thousand feet and then get a good number of them coughing and sneezing and it’s a miracle if any of us make it out of there without catching some dreaded disease!
Consider it. Sitting shoulder to shoulder, almost knees to back, all breathing the same air, how is it that we don’t all get sick, or worse? How can we come out of such a situation without catching what others have? Beats me.
While dwelling on this “miracle,” I started thinking about how people can rub shoulders with those of us “infected” with the love and grace of God and not “catch it” either? Almost everyday I bump into the same people, and yet very few of them seem to catch what I have. Why is that?
Maybe it’s because they got their spiritual flu shots. You know how it is; you get a little bit of the real thing, but just enough to keep you from catching it full-blown. Or possibly it’s because I don’t get close enough to them to spread the “blessing germ.” Or I don’t allow the Holy Spirit to breathe His breath upon them. And yes, there are those who are just too well protected, it’s as if they were living in some plastic bubble that keeps them from ever breathing the rarified air of the Spirit. Whatever it is, I guess I need to try a little harder to infect them with the blessings of the Lord.
Come to think of it; it gives a whole new meaning to the saying, “God bless you!”