The 900

Fall is a pretty busy time for me.

Not only is it a return of school and all the headaches that it entails, but it is the start of soccer.

I currently referee high school, youth club soccer and adult league games. There are a lot of referees who work a lot more games than I do. I don't work every night or day of the week.

Part of that is that I am not as young as I used to be. A mans got to know his limitations.

Last week I worked a game between two Christian high schools. I've done both schools several times over the past few years and a lot of the kids were familiar. It was really evenly matched with a back and forth game.

It ended up tied 3-3 at the end of regulation so we went to overtime. At the end of overtime it was still tied so we went to: "shots from the mark" or penalty kicks. The home team ended up winning 4-3.

Really an exciting game. The guys were well behaved (for the most part). The spectators were pretty calm (for the most part) and the coaches didn't yell too much (for the most part). The weather was a rare beautiful fall day. Not too hot and not too cold.

But for me it was also memorable since it was my 900th game refereed. I have kept track of my games ever since I started (mainly to make sure that I got paid).

I know there are plenty of guys who have done more, but that is OK. It is still a milestone that I feel pretty good about.

On to a thousand...

An Interesting Anniversary

So yesterday, Tuesday 1 September, we finished going through Brother Yun's book: Living Water.

It was a good study. Very thought provoking. And very challenging.

And very long. It took almost eight months to finish at about a chapter a week.

And we finished on 1 September which was the anniversary of Marie Monson setting foot in China in 1901.

Marie was a Lutheran missionary to China who often challenged the leaders of the Chinese church on their faith. She challenged them to repent and have more than head knowledge. They were to have heart knowledge of the Holy Spirit. And they were personally responsible before God for their own inner spiritual life.

Marie showed up in China one year after the Boxer Rebellion where over 150 missionaries and thousands of Chinese converts were killed. She stepped out boldly.

In faith.

When she arrived in China, the church was weak and there were few Christians. Today, millions of Chinese Christians hold her in high regard for they consider themselves her spiritual decedents.

And today we are challenged to step out boldly.

In faith.

Not in comfort.

In faith.

Not in security.

In faith.

It may not be to go to a foreign country to live for 31 years. It might be to just go next door and start building a relationship with our neighbors.

It might be to stand up in our congregation for what we know is right.

It might be to put our agenda on hold to help some stranger in need.

It might be to not give in to pressure at work to "fudge" the numbers a little and to take the consequences.

It might mean having to leave the church that you have been comfortably attending for years to go where you see God working and join them there.

It is to not live in fear of what others may think about us. But to live secure in the knowledge that we are doing what God wants us to do and we are where he wants us to be.

To live in faith and step out boldly is to live the Great Adventure, the only adventure that truly matters for time and for eternity.

And that is scary indeed. For we look about us and see what we have and then we want to hold on to it.

And the unknown can be pretty fear inducing. But if we believe that Christ died on the cross for our sins, we know how the story ends.

And let me never forget that...