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2 Timothy 1-2: You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

 

For those of you who know me well, I was once a hockey player. I was a goaltender. My job was to stand in the face of an onslaught of shots coming at me from all directions at varying speeds. When I discovered goaltending as a child I would watch the older kids in my position, listen to coaches, and watch as much hockey on TV as possible. I watched these guys flailing all over the place with an almost acrobatic like fashion to make the most dramatic saves. 

I longed to be so good, and so dramatic, making the most incredible saves on every shot. 

What I found is that my coaches kept showing me and teaching me about cutting down the angle, and facing the shooter, and in essence to be in the right position to stop the puck, thus avoiding the need to make the dramatic save. It was so counter-intuitive to my thinking and yet it is the most important part of goaltending. The one who stays in the best position is the one who will be the best goalie over the long haul. The need for the dramatic save decreases because if you're always in position, there is less net to shoot at, and the easy saves just come to you.

This is the same in our walk with Jesus. When we get saved, and we feel the desire to share Him with everyone we see, we often long for the dramatic impact to reach others. That happens to work about 5% of the time, and typically it is not very long lasting. I have found that when we put ourselves in the proper position before Jesus, we will be ready to face just about anything. There is no shortcut for reaching others, and the dramatic may have some affect on a few, but typically it does not stick with most. So let us all look for ways to be in position before the Lord, ready to receive His unending grace at all times. He will bring us to the right people who are ready to hear from Him. It will be natural, and easy to talk with people. There is no shortcut to developing relationships with others.  When we make friends with people our motive should be to get to know them, and let them get to know us. They will see the Lord in us, and when that happens, it is much easier to talk to friends about our best friend Jesus. Be in position to face the world. Not on our own, but through Jesus and rest in His divine authority. What I mean specifically, is don't be afraid to go where the world goes because the devil is there. So what if the devil is there.  You have salvation and the covering of Jesus. Put yourself in the position with Jesus, and He will lead you to meet others where they are in this life.

 

Father, thank You for blessing us with those divine encounters today.  Help us share with others the grace and love that You share with us every day.  Help us to be in position today in the hopes of sharing Your light with others and watching You transform them.  In Jesus name, amen.