River of Life Church
  • Home
  • How Can I Serve
  • Map
  • Pastor Mark Radeke
  • Giving
  • Upcoming Events
  • Contact
  • ReMarkablog
  • Beliefs
  • Event Photos
  • Daily Bible Reading
  • Online Messages
  • Service Volunteer Sign-up

The Long Road to Overnight Success

10/5/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
I was half listening to public radio and the the discussion caught my attention when they began talking about the long road to instant success. I do not know who was the reporter, who was being interviewed, what the program was, but only that the answers struck home.

Everyone wishes for instant success. We observe a company that becomes a multimillion dollar operation overnight, but do not see the years of sacrifice when the owner mortgaged his home to make the company viable for another year.

We see an athlete become a superstar overnight signing a contract worth millions, but do not see the thousands of practice swings, throws and years on the farm team pulling in a smaller salary than what they could make at a "regular" job.

When we see the overnight success, we forget the great sacrifice of time, treasure and talent it took for that athlete, musician, artist, entrepreneur, inventor and developer to become successful. The conclusion of the interview reviewed common remarks the "overnight successes" gave to their secret of success:
Keep doing the right things long enough and success will follow.

Their secret to success may have come from a Proverbs in the Bible:
Proverbs 2:6-8
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He holds success in store for the upright,
    He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
8 for He guards the course of the just
    and protects the way of his faithful ones.


The long road to overnight success.

0 Comments

Accept the Challenge

6/12/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Accept the Challenge was the motto for this year’s Bike MS 150. More than 3800 bikers raised over $3 million dollars helping fund vital MS research, programs and services for more than 17,000 people who live with multiple sclerosis in our area.

I was glad my son invited me on this successful ride. My daughter, another son, and his coworker were included in the Radeke Riders team. The weather was hot and the wind strong in our faces both days. Our muscles were sore, our behinders tender, but our spirits were high. We felt we were part of something huge, something that was going to make a difference.

We all want to be part of something that makes a difference in our world. On the MS 150 ride there were people who made a difference by raising thousands of dollars and by those donating dollars. There were volunteers who made a difference by their cheerful service to the bikers. There were people along the route who honked horns, rang cowbells, and cheered those who were pedaling.

You and I have opportunities every day to impact and change our world.

The Bible records an event about a woman who accepted the challenge. She performed a costly, leave nothing behind act which brought criticism from those who saw her actions. The only person which mattered to her was Jesus Christ and her actions brought praise from Him.

Mark 14:3-9 (NLT)
3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.
4 Some of those at the table were indignant. “Why waste such expensive perfume?” they asked. 5 “It could have been sold for a year’s wages and the money given to the poor!” So they scolded her harshly.
6 But Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me?7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

The key to making your mark in the world does not happen by raising support to fight a worthy cause with thousands of others. It begins with accepting the challenge and giving your everything to Jesus Christ every day in every way.

What are ways you will accept the challenge by giving everything to Jesus today?
Comment here:


0 Comments

Life Choices and Life Changes

6/4/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
The graduation ceremony in our high school was yesterday and this morning I saw the bleary eyes of seniors who were just leaving the all-night party at the high school. Today, they begin the biggest changes of their life! Apart from the dramatic physical changes from infant to age five, the next five years for the graduate includes major life choices and changes.

Over the next five years, today’s high school graduate could enter the military, enter the work force, or complete their undergraduate studies at a tech school, community college, or university. They may begin a career and before five years have passed may already change careers. They may marry and begin raising a family. They will likely move from home,  stay at a dorm, rent an apartment,  buy a home or all of these before their five year high school reunion . Their move from home may bring them to worship at a different church than what they grew up in, cause them to pursue a relationship with Jesus Christ or not go to church at all.

The choices the graduates make over the next five years are major life decisions:
What college should I choose?
What branch of the military do I serve?
What career do I pursue?
Who will I spend the rest of my life with?
Where will I worship?
Who will I worship?

The prayers you and I can offer up for the graduating seniors in our lives are prayers that they would keep their eyes and heart on Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5-6
  Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Tell me about the graduate in your life that you are praying for. Comment here:


0 Comments

Why is the Football Team in the Weight Room Now?

5/30/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Many of the players of our high school football team are showing up in the school’s weight room by the droves. Why?

They are getting ready now for playing well in the fall. They are doing strength training, agility training, core development, and focused muscle development for those coming off of injuries. They have opponents that are also preparing for the fall season. They plan on being better than any opponent they face.

There is a spiritual application to be gained from the football team’s example of early preparation and dedication. The apostle Paul writes to a church in Corinth and uses sports training as an illustration for spiritual victory.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

What was on the line for Paul was the telling of the good news of the gospel to as many people as he could before the end of his life. Victory happened when a person heard and responded to the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was placed in a tomb, was raised from the dead after three days and appeared to more than 500 people before returning to heaven.  The Holy Spirit was sent to give His followers power to live life for Him until He returns.

Paul planned on overcoming every opponent he faced that would try to prevent him from reaching this goal.

The best spiritual training for us involves a close relationship with Jesus Christ, a vibrant prayer life with the Father, and a clear leading of the Holy Spirit. Time spent in the spiritual weight room praying, worshiping, studying Scripture, memorizing Scripture develops our spiritual muscles and heals past injuries.

What have you found helpful in your spiritual weight room?
Comment here:


0 Comments

Baccalaureate

5/29/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Tonight is our high school’s baccalaureate service.  This is a student-initiated inter-church Christian service for the graduating seniors.   A mix of students from various churches lead the worship and students are selected to share about their faith. When a pastor in the community has son or daughter graduating, they are invited to share a sermon to the graduating class. For many students, this may be the last service they attend.

Following graduation, there is a summer full of open houses, summer jobs, and heading off to college. Unless the college freshman is attending a religious university with required chapel, many students forgo attending any church and often neglect their spiritual life altogether. A survey by George Barna shows that 65% of Christian high school students will leave their faith. So, a room with 100 Christian students, 65 of them will stop attending church and leave their after they graduate from high school.

Several reasons account for this change. New freedom, the change of routine and busyness of their freshman year changes their routine of life. Proper sleep, balanced diet, regular exercising and many other healthy disciplines are cast aside during college years.

Another reason their spiritual life is neglected is because it was something they had to do while growing up in their family and had never become a real relationship with God who loves them. I call this the “take your medicine” or “eat your vegetable” syndrome. They had to do it because they were told it was good for them, but the more they went, the less they enjoyed Christianity.

Many students face the same temptations in college that they did in high school, but now away from family or friends experimented and after plunging in, found it difficult to get out. Other students had never thought critically about the big questions of life. A brilliant professor or the belief systems of other students pulled them off of unsecured moorings. Still other students walk away from their faith because they grew tired of seeing people profess faith in Christ, but did not live a faith in Christ.

The baccalaureate service comes at the beginning of a student’s most important years of their lives. The next five years many students serve in the military, graduate from college or tech school, start a career, marry and begin a family. More than ever, they need the words from the Bible to transform their lives.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NLT)
 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.


What would you say to the graduating class if you were giving the baccalaureate message?
Comment here:


0 Comments

3 Keys to Finishing Well

2/1/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
My son and his friend went to the Minnesota Wild hockey game last night. The Wild had a 4-1 lead with three minutes left in the game. The arena was electric with excitement because the team was coming out off a very long loosing streak. Incredibly, the opposing team scored three goals in less than three minutes tying the score and with 29 seconds remaining, the opposing team scored the winning goal.

1. Start
Our hockey team started well, but did not finish well. If you do not start, you have nothing to finish.
2. Know the Cost
Jesus told this story about the importance of not only starting to follow Him, but know that it requires a complete commitment to stay with Him.
Luke:14:28-30 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?  For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
3. Keep on Keeping on
Paul writes this about finishing well:
2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Perseverance is keeping the faith, not giving up, and to keep on keeping on. A credit to the winning team, they never gave up.


0 Comments

    Mark Radeke

    Husband of one, father of five, pastor and friend of many.

    Archives

    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    December 2022
    March 2021
    April 2020
    January 2019
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    10 Commandments.
    Bible
    Business
    Christian Living
    Church
    Dreams
    Easter
    Evil
    Famous People
    Finishing Well
    Forgiveness
    Freedom
    Global Poverty
    God
    Grace
    Heaven
    Holidays
    Holy Spirit
    Hope
    Kingdom Of God
    Love
    Marriage
    Money
    New Ventures
    Outreach
    Parables
    Parenting
    Peace
    Poverty
    Prayer
    Prophecy
    Retreat Highlights
    Salvation
    Senior Citizens
    Spiritual Gifts
    Trinity
    Trust
    Valentine's Day Stats
    Water Baptism
    Wisdom
    Worship

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.