Failure Is Not Defeat

One fine summer afternoon in late July, 1968, two baseball teams competed for the right to play in the city finals. The game was close; one pitcher pitched a no-hitter, allowing no hits in the entire game. The other pitcher did likewise, through most of the game. Neither side was hitting, much less scoring any runs. Near the end of the game one batter managed to hit a short fly ball between second base and center field. The second baseman failed to catch the ball, allowing it to fall for a hit. A few walks and an error later, the runner scored the only run of the game. The final score was 1-0, ending the season for the losing team. Their second baseman was in anguish, knowing that the ball that fell could have been caught.  Failure on his part to catch a ball led to the only run of the game, and subsequent defeat.

I was that second baseman.  Although no one blamed me for the loss, I viewed my failure as causing our team's defeat.

Fortunately, God doesn't see failure as defeat. Even those who became successful failed, sometimes quite often. The Bible paints pictures of success stories with sordid details of many who failed, yet were not defeated:

Moses: murdered an Egyptian/had problems with anger management

David: combination adulterer/murderer/poor father

Peter: severe case of foot-in-mouth disease/lied to Jesus about never leaving Him/denied Jesus three times

Each of these men failed, yet succeeded. Moses led over a million people to the edge of the promised land. David had a heart after God; wrote most of the book of Psalms. Peter wrote two books of the New Testament. boldly serving the Lord until he died a martyr's death.

You may be a failure in the eyes of others-even your own-but not in God's. Why not begin to see yourself as God does-successfully carrying out His will for your life? You are who God says you are, you can do what God says you can do, and you have what God says you have, according to the New Testament.

Failure is not defeat for you, unless you choose to have it that way. What past failure(s) do you need to let go of today to enjoy life?

By Invitation Only

Like me, you've probably received countless invitations over the years. For me these invitations have ranged from weddings and graduations, to credit-card issuers and time-share resort "opportunities", with some birthdays thrown in from yesteryear. Hardly a day goes by without some kind of invitation arriving in my mail. The most important invitation I've ever gotten came from God Himself, inviting me to be in His family, the greatest family of all time. That invitation, written in  John 3:16, was addressed to "whosoever", of which I am one, as are you. Here God Himself extends a written invitation for "whosoevers" everywhere to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. Doing so brings that person into an eternal relationship with God knowing Him as one's Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ.

This divine offer is by invitation only. For those with a bible, this is a written invitation. In areas where bibles are scarce or banned, word of mouth invitations still work.

I hope that today's post has helped you see how special it is to be in God's family. After all, it's by invitation only.

Have you responded to God's invitation? Remember, being His child-being able to enjoy an eternal relationship with God as your Father-isn't something you apply for, work for, or claim by inheritance. If you aren't in God's family, but would like to be, you can pray this simple prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, I come to you in the Name of Jesus, Your Son, Who gave Himself for me. I say with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, believing in my heart that You raised Jesus from the dead for me. I thank you for receiving me as Your very own child. You are now my very own Heavenly Father. I am saved! I am now in Your family, the family of God."

If you just prayed this prayer I welcome you into God's family. Tell someone of your decision to live for Jesus Christ. If we can help in any way please contact us through our website at: hubertgardner.org

For those who are already in God's family how thankful are you that you responded to God's invitation when you did?

Faith to Fear to Faith

Of all those mentioned in the New Testament I admire Paul more than anyone other than Jesus, but I identify more with Peter. Why Peter? Because here's a man with a severe case of "foot-in-mouth" disease who God made into someone mightily used for the Gospel. In a moment of revelation, Peter boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Later, in the crisis of the moment, this same brash fisherman turned fisher of men denies even knowing Jesus at all.  How quickly faith can move to fear in times of crisis, when the storms of life come crashing down. In Matthew 14:22-33 we see the account of Jesus coming to the disciples by night, walking on the water. Peter, in a display of faith, said, "Lord, if that's You walking on the water, have me come join you (my paraphrase)". Jesus responded with an answer that both convinced and challenged Peter: "Come." On that basis Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water. Yes, Peter got his eyes on the wind, became afraid, and began to sink; however before there's any criticism of Peter, when's the last time anyone you know walked on water?

In an instant Peter went from faith to fear. To Peter's credit he got back into faith, with a helping hand from Jesus. The two then walked back to the boat. Jesus didn't carry him; Peter walked. Like a lot of folks, Peter needed a helping hand to get from fear back to faith, where he eventually spent the last years of his life-living a life of faith.

Maybe you've stepped out in faith, for healing, finances, restoration of a broken relationship, or finding your place in life. When the "winds" of adversity came, did you get your eyes off of what God said and, in fear, start to "sink"? Who did God send to reach out a helping hand to get you back in faith? I've had a lot of helping hands in my life to help me in my faith walk. Now, I have the privilege of helping others to get rooted, built up, and established in their faith, in Christ. I've been blessed to be a blessing.

How about you? Are you comfortable walking on "water", always in faith, or have there been times where looking at the "winds" distracted you from your walk? Disciplining ourselves to stay focused on God's Word will help us walk by faith, as Peter eventually did. Remember, the winds didn't stop Peter; it was fear. Returning to the boat in faith was accomplished despite the winds.

What part of this post can you relate to? Are you currently on the receiving or giving end of the helping hand of faith?