Place Your Bets!


Just yesterday I heard another amazing statistic about this year's Super Bowl.

In an article published by CBS News, 2024 was predicted to be a record breaking year in terms of the amount of money spent on betting, with an estimated $23.1B changing hands.

Can that number even be right?!?!

If it is, it means a lot of people were trying to "get rich" in this lifetime by placing bets on either the Chiefs or the 49ers.  I think that many are trying to fill a "hole" they feel in their lives with cash, and the things cash can buy - but I wonder how many of those same people have "placed their bet on Jesus".

Jim told me about the famous mathematician and scientist, Blaise Paschal, who, when asked about his reasons for being a Christian, said this: "The wise decision is to wager that God exists, since if you win, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing."

To Paschal, believing in Jesus seemed like a pretty "good bet."

And here is the thing:

I feel like when someone truly accepts Jesus and puts their faith in Him, the Holy Spirit begins working on their hearts.  So that even if their initial reason for coming to him was a 50/50 wager on a "good bet," God will begin to enrich their lives, their love, and their hope - and to fill that hole that no amount of money or stuff can satisfy. 

THAT'S the power of Jesus.  THAT'S a sure bet!

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." - Romans 8:11





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Petition for Prayers

Image
Hi there - today is my 400th post and I am wrestling a bit... so I'm asking for your prayers. I started this blog o ver a year ago, convinced it was something God wanted me to do.  It was way out of my comfort zone, and certainly not something I’d have done 10 years before, but  I had hoped that i n some way, it might help people get closer to Him. I knew that once I had finally given my life to God, EVERYTHING in my life changed, and  I desperately wanted people to experience the same JOY and PEACE I have felt since making that decision.   As they say, “I was like a poor beggar telling others where they could find food”. For months, the posts flowed easily and I would feel the Holy Spirit's inspiration…the words on the page practically writing themselves.  However, I'm not sure that is still the case.  Sometimes I feel as if I am struggling to hear His voice, and I honestly don't want to be writing MY thoughts - I want to be sharing HIS. So, I'm going to t...
Read more

The Journey to the Cross (Day 4 - THE LADDER)

Image
In the city of Jerusalem stands a church called  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.   It has been proposed as the place of both the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it has been a place for pilgrimages since the 4th century. Considered holy, the site is cared for by no less than six denominations including Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Coptic, Ethiopian and Syriac Orthodox.  As such, it has been carefully parsed out into sections.  And sadly, arguments and violent clashes are not uncommon. Jim visited the church once on a trip with Northridge and told me about "The Immovable Ladder".  Apparently the ladder is a " bizzare outcome of religious stubbornness pushed to extremes. " For " Sometime in the first half of the 18th century, someone placed a ladder up against the wall of the church. No one is sure who he was, or more importantly, to which sect he belonged.  The ladder remains there to this day.  No one dares touch it, l...
Read more

The Journey to the Cross (Day 3 - ONLY JESUS)

Image
Today’s Holy Week post has me thinking about the 12 disciples. ONLY JESUS Can you name Jesus' 12 disciples?  If you've been watching The Chosen or reading your Bible regularly, you might be able to.  However - there are some, who - at least for me, are a bit in the shadows. Sure I know Simon/Peter, and his brother Andrew .  And then there was James and John, the sons of Thunder (or Zebedee to be exact).  There was Matthew, and Thomas, and Judas Iscariot.  And there was Simon the Zealot, and another James...but...but...a nd here is where my mind isn't as good at remembering.   So I Googled it. There was also Philip - a Jewish man from Bethsaida who apparently was the one to tell Nathaniel (another lesser known disciple) that "The One" Moses and the prophets had foretold in the Old Testament, was here.  Following Jesus' death Philip became a missionary in Greece and for his outspoken faith proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God - Philip was stoned and...
Read more