Lessons from Candy Crush Saga

Like thousands of other people, I have recently become addicted to Candy Crush Saga. The premise of Candy Crush Saga is simple, you match pieces of candy on a grid to score points. As the levels increase, the difficulty increases. Most recently I have struggled to get past one level, failing time after time. This all got me thinking of how we can learn many lessons from this simple game in relation to our life and days on earth.

1. You only have so much life - use it wisely
In Candy Crush a person has a limited number of lives and each life must be used wisely. If these lives are wasted, a person must wait a given amount of time before receiving another life. This applies to our earthly life as well. We each only have one life to live and thus we should use our life wisely - to accomplish the purpose that we have been created for and to spend our time on the priorities that matter. 

2. Don't take the move that seems obvious and "feels right"
In Candy Crush there are a wide variety of moves that are available at any given time. Making the wrong move is irreversible and could cost you the entire game (a life). Therefore, it is often required to look over the entire board to look for available moves, to consider how a particular move might affect the future of your game. This is true in life as well. We are often faced with situations and decisions that need to be made. We should not take the first and most immediate choice available, instead we should stop and consider how this decision will affect our life and our future. 

3. Friends and family are necessary to our success
In Candy Crush you can ask friends and family members for additional lives, additional moves, and additional tickets to help you proceed throughout he various levels of the game. What is more, you can ask friends and family members for tips and tricks to help with particular levels that you find yourself stuck on. The same is true in life. A solid and dependable foundation of friends and family members - people that we know love us and will support us - are required. Friends and family members bring us inspiration and encouragement at our times of deepest need and desperation. Friends and family members can speak truth and life into us when we think we can't go any farther. 

4. A faithful "higher power" is a necessity
In Candy Crush pieces are dropped from the top of the game board, with little to no knowledge of what pieces might be coming next. (I often complain to my wife that the "man upstairs" is failing to drop the pieces I need). In each one of our lives we need help from The Almighty God, who cares for us, sustains us, and gives us everything that we need to carry on and to find victory in this life. 

When God Says Go...

If you ever played games as a child, I'm sure you took part in "Simon Says" or "Red Light, Green Light". There are many more similar games that remind me of one important truth regarding life and following directions.

When God says "GO" you "go"!

I don't want to ever forget this, and I hope you don't either. See, it's often easy to go where God calls us - when it is apparent that He is calling us in a particular direction and when it is clear that He is saying "go".

What is more difficult it's to stay still when anxiety, fear, or discouragement are upon us.

Sometimes we just feel like running, we feel like hiding, we feel like going when and where God has not called us to "go".

But I don't ever want to "go" where God is not calling me. I don't ever want to run and hide because of fear or discouragement. 

When God says "GO" you "go". When He does not you "be still"

A Jesus Timeline

We just began a teaching series on Sunday evenings - "Journey Through The New Testament". Below is part of the outline from week one  - "The Gospels". This is a brief (limited) timeline of Jesus' time on this earth according to the Gospel accounts.

Autumn, A.D. 28:

•          Jesus left Nazareth and went down for Him baptism

•          Right after His baptism He went into the mountains to be tempted by Satan

•          Then He went back to Salem, and then to Cana

◦          The first disciples were from there – John, Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel

Spring, A.D. 29:

•          The first miracle was at the wedding in Can

•          Jesus then moved to Capernaum, where he established His base of operations.

•          While Jesus was at Passover in Jerusalem, Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, came to Him at night and Jesus explained the need to be “born again” (John 3:16)

•          This was about the time of John the Baptists last testimony

 

Winter, A.D. 29:

•          Jesus met the woman at the well at Sycar

•          Jesus went back to Cana and healed the son of a royal official

•          Jesus healed a man at the Pool of Bethesda

Spring, A.D. 30:

•          John the Baptist had been imprisoned in  Jerusalem

•          In Galilee, Jesus began to broaden His public ministry

•          At the synagogue, in Nazareth, Jesus read from Isaiah and the townspeople tried to throw Him off of a cliff

•          Jesus left Nazareth and went back to Capernaum

◦          There He called four more disciples

•          Peter's mother-in-law and a leper were healed

 

Summer, A.D. 30:

•          Jesus healed a paralytic in Capernaum

•          Matthew was called

•          Jesus and His disciples picked grain on the Sabbath

•          Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath

•          Jesus preached the sermon on the mount 

Fall, A.D. 30:

•          Jesus healed a blind and dumb man in Capernaum and was accused of doing this by the powers of Satan

•          From this point on Jesus spoke publicly only in parables

•          The seven kingdom parables in Matthew 13 were spoken

•          The people accused Jesus of being Satan

•          Jesus rebuked the storm

•          Jesus encountered the demonic man in the region of the Gadarenes and permitted the demons to go into a heard of pigs

•          The disciples went back to Capernaum

Winter, A.D. 30

•          Jarius's daughter is raised

•          A woman with an issue of bleeding was healed

•          Two blind men and a dumb man were healed

•          Jesus arrived back in Nazareth and opffened people.

•          John the baptist was beheaded

•          The Apostles were sent out in pairs

•          Jesus returned to Capernaum

Sprint, A.D. 31:

•          The twelve apostles returned to Capernaum

•          Jesus then returned to Bethsaida, which became a major base

•          Jesus fed 5,000

•          Jesus walked on water and returned to Capernaum

•          Jesus preached His sermon on “the Bread of Life”

•          Jesus was accused of eating with unwashed hands

•          Jesus went to the region of Decapolis

•          Jesus healed a deaf and dumb man and fed 4,000

•          Jesus went to Magdela where the Pharisee's demanded a sign

•          Jesus took a ship to Bethsaida where he talked about the yeast of the Pharisee's

•          Jesus traveled north to Caesarea Philippi

•          Jesus went up on the Mount of Transfiguration

•          Jesus healed a possessed boy and returned to Capernaum

•          Jesus went down to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles where He declared Himself to be the Living Water

•          He forgave a woman of adultery and returned to Galilee

Winter, A.D. 31:

•          The Samaritan's rejected Jesus

•          Jesus went to Perea, east of the Jordan and presented several parables

◦          the good Samaritan, the unrighteous steward, the rich man and Lazarus

•          Jesus sent out the seventy disciples

•          Jesus traveled to Jerusalem and healed a man born blind

•          Jesus stayed at Bethabara

Spring, A.D. 32:

•          Jesus traveled to Bethany

•          Lazarus was raised from the dead

•          Jewish leaders plotted to kill Lazarus and Jesus

•          Jesus moved to the village of Ephraim

•          Jesus encountered ten lepers and gave a number of parables

•          James and John's mother made the request that Jesus make her sons one and two

•          Jesus traveled back to Jericho where He healed blind Bartimeus

•          Jesus called Zaccheus and presented the parable of the ten talents

•          Jesus went to Bethany for His final week – the “Passion Week"

God Does Not Need Help

As a Pastor of a church - expected to speak to, hold the attention of, and introduce life transformational ideas to people week after week - I often search for interesting stories and illustrations for sermons and teachings. Often the stories and illustrations come up well short - rarely do I find a gem. More often, I will use a story from my own life, a lesson that I have taken from a life experience, or an illustration from my family or home life.

Yet - truth be told - I am sometimes in need of the perfect gen for a sermon or a teaching that I  create a story of my own. There is nothing wrong with that! Other times, I am down to the wire and I will adapt someone else's account to make it work in my situation. I don't see anything wrong with this! However, there are a few times that I have taken a life experience of my own or of someone else's life and I have embellished it - added to the details - to make it "better" or to make it more fitting to what I want to convey.

This morning I thought of a recent story that I had told and I realized the error of my ways. I was trying to help God by adding to the details of something that He had done in my life. And, whether we are willing to accept it or not, God does not need any help from any of us.

God does not need any help from any of us.

God Show Up

As I reviewed my demon notes this evening - the first in a series called "Be Still" - I read over Psalm 46. And I came to the deep understanding that I have nothing profound to say tomorrow, I have no groundbreaking insight or wisdom to expound, I have very little for the people who come to worship with us tomorrow. Yet, I am still counting on transformation and life-change to happen!

So, tonight - as I stood in our kitchen - my prayer rang out; 

"I need You to show up tomorrow God."

"I am depending on You to show up tomorrow God."

"I am expecting You to show up tomorrow God."

See, no matter who else shows up to worship tomorrow, no matter what is said - or not said, no matter what else happens, we are hopeless - truly lost - without God. So, I am basing everything on God showing up in our worship - in the stillness, in the quiet, in our lives. 

The Cost of Impulsive Decisions

The escaped convict from the Illinois prison was caught this past week (see previous post here) after being on the loose for more than 4 days. After he was captured the news stories started to come in - I am still waiting for the details of how he evaded law enforcement, helicopters, and k-9 units for more than 100 hours. One of the stories that I found particularly interesting was one in which he claims he had "no motive" in his escape;  

Illinois Department of Corrections Director of Communications Tom Shaer says Jared Carter had no motive when he walked away from the Robinson Correctional Center. He says he made an impulsive decision, bad decision to leave a minimum security prison where he had work clearance that’s now led him to a maximum security prison where life is much different. Carter has been relocated to the Pontiac Correctional Center. In the meantime, he says the DOC will review its practices and procedures. He says the DOC has two-thousand to three-thousand inmates among work camps, work details outside prison walls on prison grounds and work crews in communities and state buildings and that’s happened without incident for years. He says periodic review of all supervision and other procedures is important at all times. Carter is the first inmate to ever escape from the Robinson Correctional Center.

As I thought about his impulsive decision - and all that it will end up costing - I thought about the Christina life as well. Often we - a followers of Christ - make "impulsive decisions" that end up costing in some major ways. When we give in to peer pressure or temptation - without giving much thought to the way of God, His sacrifice for us, or His power within us - we are acting in an impulsive manner and the costs are huge. 

Just as the impulsive decision by this fugitive cost him more prison time, the loss of many of his minimum security treatment, and the loss of his work release freedoms. When we - as Christians - make impulsive decisions to sin we cost ourselves the continued connection and communion with God - there is a gap placed between us and God and we can not stand before Him righteously until we repent of our action. Further, when we act in impulsive ways we cost ourselves eternal benefits with God. 

But, the impulsive decision that was made by the prisoner did not only cost him, it also cost the city of Robinson (and many surrounding cities and communities) and the state of Illinois through the use of additional law enforcement personnel and equipment, through the "lock-down" that was placed on the schools, the closure of many businesses and organizations, the emotional stress that was placed on individuals and families, and much, much more. In this same way, our impulsive  decisions affect many, many people - our spouses, our family members, our friends, and on and on it goes. Even when we do not see the immediate results, the emotional and spiritual scars are left for years and years - generation after generation. 

So, the next time you are tempted - take a moment to think. Don't make an impulsive decision - the costs are worth considering! 

God is too Good

I was out of town at a conference this past Monday and Tuesday, which made Wednesday my "Monday". As I entered the church I knew that I needed to start the day in God's Word and with Him in prayer. However, I also wanted to knock a few things off my to-do list.

So, I compromised and began to pray (aloud) as I say down at my desk and, as I prayed, I began to look through the papers on my desk.

Noticing that this was not working, I took another approach. Opening my Bible to Sunday's sermon text, I began to read, study, and make notes for this week's sermon. 

Minutes in, I realized that this approach too was neglecting God. So I walked in to the Sanctuary to pray. When I saw the computer in the sound booth I decided to turn it on, wait for it to boot up, and then I began to take care of some things. 

Moments after the computer warmed up, I recognized that I had onvce again become distracted and, once again, I had lost my focus on God.

Has this ever happened to you? You know that you need to connect with God but you struggle - out of business, a loss of focus, or some other trivial excuse. 

I finally made it up to the front of the Sanctuary. Nothing would stop me now! 

As I turned toward the back of the Sanctuary I caught a glimpse of the attendance board in the foyer -"116" last Sunday. And God's Spirit came over me!

116 in attendance last week! My thoughts, my words, and my cry; "GOD YOU ARE SO GOOD!" Almost ten years ago the average attendance at our church was 16. Now, less than a decade later we are worshiping with 100 more people. 

I could go on and on with the blessings God has bestowed on our church family and on our family. But the bottom line is that "God is good"!

God is so very good! God is so good to our church family. God is so good to my family. God is so very good! 

Words just cannot express this. God is good - far too good to me!

Do you always say what needs to be said?

Sunday, as I was preparing to leave for church, I stopped in the living room to pick up my Bible and my sermon notes. My daughter pointed to my notes and asked me; "What is that?" "These are my sermon notes", I responded, "this is what I think needs to be said in the sermon this morning".
She then asked;

 

"Do you always say what needs to be said?"

 

This question of hers has been on my mind all day. Do I always say what needs to be said?

• Do I always say what needs to be said in the sermon?
• Do I always say what needs to be said in life?

So, I will pose this same question to you today.

• Do you always say what needs to be said when someone is in need?
• Do you always say what needs to be said when someone is hurting?
• Do you always say what needs to be said when someone is fighting?

Jesus Christ is our answer. He is our hope, He is our salvation, He is our joy. He is everything!
 

 

"Do you always say what needs to be said?"


Living a Life on the Run

After almost two days now, the man who escaped the prison is still on the loose (see previous post for more information), I can only imagine what his life has been like these past couple of days - wherever he has been hiding. I can only imagine what the rest of his days on the run will be like - looking over his shoulder all of the time, apprehensive about his next action, cautious about his every move.

Although we can only imagine what this must be like for him, many are living a life on the run, and they are seeking rest and safety somewhere, anywhere. Some have been running for days, months, even years. Your are exhausted and weary - unsure of what lies ahead. 

God is our Sanctuary. God is our hiding place - out refuge. God is our strength and our redeemer. God is our ever present help in times of trouble.

If you've been running, God invites you to come to Him and find rest and safety.