Between chapter devotional...

Today's devotional is a between the chapters session.

Have you seen this short 56 second video from the Olympics? 
Sam Kendrick's pole vault run 

If you are not able to view the video let me explain it to you.  Sam Kendricks is a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve and also a pole vaulter on the 2016 United States Olympic Team in Rio.  He received a bronze medal.

Sam is running down the track with his pole in hand when he hears the national anthem being playing, "The Star Spangled Banner."  He stops in mid run and puts down his pole to stand at attention.  He is looking for an American flag to face and not finding any turns to the direction that the music is coming from.  He stands at attention as any soldier would do until the anthem is completed.  He then picks up his pole and heads back to starting line.  He forfeited his pole vault attempt to honor his country's anthem.  It looks like his actions were pure instinct to all those times in the military when attention was drawn to a call.  He sacrificed one thing for another.  He stopped what he was doing to address something that was more important.

I don't know how many times I have watched this video.  I keep asking myself the question, "Do we stop for God?"  Are we teaching others the importance of stopping for God?  We have trained ourselves nationally to remove our caps, put our hands over our hearts and face our flag but have we trained ourselves to sacrifice one thing for another for the sake of the worship of our God? 

I feel we have lost this in the church.  The statistics show a decline in our worship attendances nation wide because our lives have become busier.  Sunday has turned into a day to make up what we didn't get done during the week or another day of the weekend because it has lost its spiritual influence on us and our families.  As a pastor I want to say, "The world can schedule on Sunday but I just won't be there because I stop for God."

How do we get that back?  I am talking about that fervor of worship for God and the drive to put Him higher up on our priority list.  I am not sure.  I don't have all the answers and I feel the struggle of living in a world that has different priorities than what is found in Scripture.  I know that we can't shame people into it because that will only last as long as you keep nagging at it.  I know that we can't keep going back to "well, when I was a kid" because we are no longer a kid and sometimes we are part of the problem because we are doing what we are pointing a finger at.  I do think we can learn a solution from Sam.

Sam was and is a part of an organization that reinforces that patriotism on a regular basis.  The military teaches it but also displays it from top to bottom, from general to private.  An example is seen everywhere that soldier looks on the base.  The church needs to be that organization that reinforces the need for our time with God.  We need to teach it as so beneficial to our spiritual maturity and cherish it so that our children can look in any direction and witness those who stop for God.

Again, I don't have all the answers but there was something right done when Sam stopped and put down that pole to honor his country.  I think there is also something right done when we stop for God and put down whatever to honor Him.  Maybe the question this morning is, "Are you making sure to stop for God?"  Let's pray. 

"Lord, our world has many demands and some of them have crept over into taking time away from Your worship.  Help us not sacrifice time with You.  Help us to look at ways to keep stopping for You in the world that we live in.  May we as a church not reduce the times to worship You but increase them.  Amen."

Pastor Adam