Goldberg, Me, and You

I really can't believe it's been 15 years since July 6, 1998.

15 years!

I, myself, was 15 years old.

World Championship Wrestling needed a new hero. Bill Goldberg seemed to fit the bill. Goldberg had been tearing though opponents for months. He had been a big star for the Georgia Bulldogs and even made a roster for the Atlanta Falcons. He was explosive and in each of his matches he had gone out and, in a matter of minutes, destroyed wrestler after wrestler. While there were better matches on the show, everyone was excited to see Goldberg's matches. Same drill each week: security walks him backstage to the stage, he would stand in the fireworks, blow smoke from his nose, attack, spear, Jackhammer, and pin his opponent. He was getting mainstream attention and his charisma was carrying him to heights seen by only a select few. On July 6, 1998 in front of over 40,000 wild, Georgia fans he beat Scott Hall and then Hollywood Hulk Hogan. He became the World Champion and WCW thought they turned the corner. They were wrong.

I was just a kid.

I was able to vicariously live through these heroes on TV, just like teenagers today still do with their heroes. 15 year old J.J. had low self esteem. I felt like I only had a few friends, but they were really only school friends. Very rarely was I invited to do anything by non-Church teenagers. I was told that I was annoying and that I wasn't funny. My face had blown up with acne. No girls were interested in me. I felt like a big loser. I didn't feel like I was adding all that much to the world. The good news...I was wrong.

It was only a matter of years (2001 to be exact) and WCW was no more. A series of bad decisions (including giving away the Hogan vs. Goldberg match on free TV) caused their ratings to sink. They were overtaken by their main competitor and purchased. WCW has been the butt of many jokes in the wrestling world ever since. Seriously, who wouldn't mock a company (even though the matches are rigged) that allowed David Arquette to be the World Champion?

I wish I could say that in a short matter of years that I had overcome those feelings about myself...but it took quite a bit longer than that. I found out that people did like me, but being a self conscious teenager with a backpack full of issues made that hard to see. It took me studying my Bible diligently to see that God loved me and to see that I had a lot to offer Him. Everything fell in place when I viewed life with the proper perspective. We should look at life through the metaphorical lenses of Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

So you may be different. Is that a bad thing?God used different types of people throughout the Bible. All kinds of people. Cupbearers. Shepherds. Fishermen. Sycamore pinchers. Tax collectors. God used many different people because of their abilities...The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 139:13-15 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth." When we look at a typical, sound congregation, we will see a vast variety of ages and personalities. God be praised that we have different ages, different personalities, different trials, and different experiences. The more versatile a congregation is, the further that their "light" can shine into a community.

To this day, sometimes I wonder if I annoy the fire out of my friends or that people don't like my jokes...but in the grand scheme of things, I really don't care. I want to use what I have to be effective for God.

Put on your Ephesians 2:10 glasses and look for opportunities to do good for God.

Equipped To Edify

I grew up in a relatively small town in Arkansas and played just about every sport that was offered. One of the things that our coaches would say was “There is no I in team.” The coaches were not just spewing clichés. We, at a young age, had to understand that we needed to rely on one another to win in team sports.

One of the most important mind sets a team can have is that of being positive. A positive, uplifting attitude will help players to play their best in whatever the sport. If the player next to me messed up a play, instead of berating him, we were taught to encourage. While we all had individual roles, we were able to better appreciate victory and to cope with defeat when we cared about one another and built each other up.

The Apostle Paul seemed to understand the concept of working together. At the conclusion 1st Thessalonians, Paul urged the Christian in Thessolonica to “…encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1) While we have an individual responsibility to “study to show ourselves approved” (2 Timothy 2:15), we have to realize the importance in edifying one another. The Hebrew writer tied this encouragement in with worship. When we look at Hebrews 10:24, we see that we are to stir one another up for good works. Life is hard enough with constant temptation. Instead of working at life alone, let's work together, help each other, uplift each other, and be the best "teammates" we can be so that we can all go to heaven.

Have you encouraged someone lately? If not, go out of your way today to let a brother or sister in Christ know that you appreciate them.

Let us strive to edify one another how God would have us to.

Leaving Sin Behind

In Bible study, we can see that the Corinthian brethren had issues to work out. Like a new convert, there are things that are going to take some time to understand and with them living in an immoral place, Paul had to be direct with some of the things that were going on. Paul writes, "...do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, we see that Paul gives a list of sins that cover a diverse list of sins.

The thing that sticks out in my mind is from 1 Corinthians 6:11. After the list of sins were given, Paul then proclaims ,”such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” When we see that list of sins and Paul’s following statement we can come to the astute observation that the Christians of Corinth had left those sins and were living a Christian lifestyle that we should be living as well.

The lesson to be taken is that they had to repent and leave those lifestyles. This should make a direct impact on us as Christians. There are many people in the world today that want to feel sorry for something they have done yet still continue in that sin, be it sexual immorality, adultery, thievery or any of the other litany of sins mentioned. The example we can follow from the Corinthians is that they completely and utterly left the aforementioned sins behind and Paul commended them for it.

Are we truly repenting when we repent of sins (Luke 13:3)? It’s one thing to pray to God to forgive us, but it is another thing to leave that sin behind and not return to it. When we pray to God we need to have prayers of repentance choosing to leave whatever sin or state of sin that we may be in so that we can live our life pleasing to God focused on Him (Colossians 3:1).

Some view feeling sorry as a reasonable way to have your sins forgiven but our sins are only forgiven when we repent and leave those sins in our past. Today, choose to not just feel sorry...get rid of the things that are hindering your relationship with God. Do as the Corinthians did. They didn't just feel bad. They repented of them, putting those sins behind them and leaving them.

"Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out," - Acts 3:19

"God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” - Acts 3:26