The Christian life is a matter of becoming in intrinsic character what we already are in Christ.

If you govern a people based on the exceptions you will end up with a broken down welfare system that allows people to live irresponsible and full of excuses.

If you govern your life based on exceptions you will end up with the same results.

Charles Spurgeon is often referred to as the “prince of preachers” and proves so by still being so relevant and regarded today.   He also had a faithful church member  and supportive deacon named, William Olney, On the Lord’s day after Mr. Olney “fell asleep” Mr Spurgeon preached a message on Acts 13:36 in regards to the death of his beloved friend.

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep – Acts 13:36

In this sermon Spurgeon went on to define what it means to serve one’s own generation.

1. It does not mean to be a slave to it.  It is not to drop into the habits, customs, and ideas of the generation in which we live…that man serves his generation best who is not caught by every new current of opinion, but stands firmly by the truth of God.
2. It is not to fly from it. If any man says, “The world is so bad, that I will avoid coming into contact with it altogether… he is certainly not serving his own generation.   If he shall shut himself up…and leave the world to go to ruin as it may, he will not be like David…Come forward and fight evil, and triumph over it  whether it be evil in doctrine, evil in practice, or evil  any other kind.  Be bold for Christ, bear your witness, and be not ashamed.
3. It is to perform the common duties of life. He that at home cannot or will not undertake ordinary duties, will not likely be able to serve his age.  The girl who dreams about the foreign missionary field, but cannot darn her brother’s stockings, will not be of service either at home or abroad.  Do the commonplace things, the ordinary things that come in your way, and you will begin to serve your generation, as David served his.
4. It is to be ready for the occasion when it comes...If you want to serve the church and serve the age, beloved friend, be wide awake when he occasion comes.  Jump into the saddle when the horse is at your door; and God will bless you if you are on the look-out for opportunities of serving Him.
5. It is to maintain true religion...This David did.  He had grave faults in his later life..but he never swerved from his allegiance to Jehovah the true God…We, too, shall truly serve those amongst whom we dwell by maintaining true religion…The spread of “pure and undefiled religion” is a certain way to serve those around us.
6. It is to continue to serve all our life. Notice well that David served “his own generation”; not only a part of it, but the whole of it.  He began to serve God, and he kept on serving God.
7. It is to prepare for those who are to come after us…We must be looking ahead as far as ever we can, not with unbelieving anxiety or unholy curiosity; but after the fashion in which David prepared abundantly before his death.  If we cannot find a successor to enter upon our service when we have to leave it, yet let us do all we can to make his work the easier when he comes to it.

The Indy Star has an article on John Wooden and the celebration of his 99th birthday.  At one point article said of the town he was born in that the only place you could find the name ‘Wooden’ was under Sunday school pictures in the church building.  It is interesting because Christ and biblical thinking seemed to play a central role in the life and success of Coach Wooden.  Many of the simple principles seemed to be instilled and passed down from his father.  He taught his boys”Two Sets of Threes”.

One which dealt with Honesty:

Never lie

Never cheat

Never steal

And the other which dealt with adversity:

Don’t whine

Don’t complain

Don’t make excuses

At his graduation from elementary school coach Wooden’s father gave him a $2 bill and a card which had a poem on one side:

Four things a man must learn to do
If he would make his life more true:
To think without confusion clearly,
To love his fellow-man sincerely,
To act from honest motives purely,
To trust in God and Heaven securely.

And a list of “Seven Things to Do” on the other:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Help others.
3. Make each day your masterpiece.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Sometimes I wish I could just do things my way,

but I realize that most of the time  that means things would simply be messed up a different way.

The other day Tyler came up to me in the morning and said:

“Daddy when I get bigger, I am going to take your job.”

It is cute when kids want to grow up to be like you, but this sounds more like a hostile take over.

AP:  Chicago The vote in Copenhagen was carried on huge television screens set up in the Daley Center to carry what many had hoped would be approval of Chicago as host. It had seemed so likely to many in a city still basking in the glow of hometown Sen. Barack Obama’s election as president.

Instead, Chicago was bounced in the first round, bringing an audible gasp from the crowd. The elimination came so quickly that some would-be revelers weren’t sure what had happened and they asked bystanders if they had heard what they thought they heard.

Many stood for a few minutes, staring at the screens, and at least one flung his hands into the air in a crude gesture toward the TVs. Within seconds, people began filing out of the plaza.

“I’ve never really had a disappointment like this,” said Ken Rudd, a 33-year-old salesman from Evergreen Park. “This is one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.”

As I read this I could not help but think of the passage from the Gospel of Matthew in chapter 7

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Losing an Olympics when you thought you had it is nothing to losing one’s soul when you thought you had secured it.  It appears to be there will be similarities in the reasoning.  Those on that day will want to prove their worth, what they had done and think that they deserve to be rewarded for the greatness of their reputation.