As I write this we are in the middle of the flu and sickness season.  If you caught one of the bugs going around, you know it is no fun.  No one likes to be sick.  It is one of those ugly parts of life in a fallen world.  There are a lot of those.  Sickness, suffering, disappointments, conflict, frustrations, even death itself…are all only here because of sin.  It is important to make that connection because Jesus came to solve sin.  Everything bad in life now is present only because of sin.  We are in the weeks leading up to Easter which is a very appropriate time to consider just why Jesus, God’s Son, took on a human body and entered our human race.  Paul summed it up pretty well in his letter to Timothy… “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst!” (1 Tim. 1:15).  Jesus came to fix the sin problem that I have and you have.  He did it by enduring much worse suffering and punishment than we have ever encountered.  He not only bore the trauma of beatings and execution at the cross…He endured separation from God the Father as He took our sin on His own shoulders.  The punishment your sin deserves fell on Jesus.  Think about that!!  Only because of it can you and I be saved.  Are you?  If you have chosen to believe in Jesus for salvation here is an oddly comforting truth: the worst things you go through in this life now are the closest thing to Hell you will ever experience!  Heaven is guaranteed for those who have been saved by Jesus.  That makes the sickest days, the hardest problems, the ugliest events we face…the closest experience to Hell we will face.  The flipside of that statement, though, is heartbreakingly real as well: for individuals that do not know Jesus, the happiest times in this life are the closest thing to Heaven they will get to experience.  Sure, life here does have happy times…but nothing compared to the glory of heaven.  Heaven and Hell are real places.  The only way to get to Heaven and avoid Hell is to trust Jesus.  Maybe there is someone you need to reach with that message this Easter?!v

The Eagles.  My favorite football team is the Eagles.  I know they didn’t make it to the Superbowl.  They didn’t even make it passed the first round of playoffs, but they’re still my team and I don’t care who knows it.  We stand firmly behind our teams.  I have Eagles’ shirts, sweatshirts, a hat and jacket.  I used to have window clings on my bathroom mirror until they shriveled up so much that I had to re-cling them every day. 

I’m actually more of a NASCAR fan, but I’ve been impressed by other football fans.  Since living in Michigan, I’ve come to know some Detroit Lions’ fans.  Now THOSE are fans.  They also have the shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and coats; but what is impressive is that they wear them in public – with pride.  They are die-hard fans of their team.  If the Eagles lost as much as the Lions, I would probably just keep wearing my Phillies shirts through the winter months, but not these enthusiasts.  They continue to support their team.  These devout fans are true Lions’ ‘fan’atics. 

God calls us to fanatics as well.  He calls us to stand firmly behind Him.  He calls us to wear the colors of a Christ-follower with pride – so everyone knows whose team we’re on.  He calls us to be “unashamed”.  Paul says in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”  Paul was unashamed.  There was no doubting Paul’s loyalty to the God team.  He let everyone know He was a gospel ‘fanatic’.

How about you?  Do you stand unashamed for God?  At work?  Online?  At home?  With your buddies?  Decide now to no longer be ashamed of God.  There’s no reason to be.  You know He is going to bring a great victory.