"FRESH!"

Remember when Michael Jackson sang "You know I'm bad. I'm bad,”—the word “bad” meaning “good.” Now “bad” has been displaced by “fresh.” The Urban dictionary defines “fresh” as something really good and eye-catching—example: "Those are some fresh shoes!" or "That's a fresh car!" or "Man, you're fresh!"

Now hang on. I’m about to make a sharp left turn…

In the early Methodist testimony meetings, John Wesley made it a rule that no one was to give a testimony that was more than one week old. It had to be “fresh.” And anyone who had no story to tell of the Lord's dealings with him during the previous seven days was considered a backslider. Would you and I have to sit silently in one of Wesley’s meetings because we had no “fresh” word?

During their journey in the Wilderness, the Israelites were fed by “fresh” manna every day. If they tried to save the “manna” for the next day, it would spoil. It was only “fresh” [good] for a day. Centuries later, Jesus said He was that bread which had come down from heaven! [By the way, He was born in Bethlehem which is translated “House of Bread!!”) And just like the manna from heaven had to be consumed daily, Jesus taught us to pray “give us this day our daily bread.” All of this begs the question: do we approach God’s Word everyday expecting something “fresh?”

What will You and Michael Vick do with Your Fresh Start?

In this first blog post of the new year, I’d like to proclaim “it is a new day!” But you already knew that. Because every day in Christ is ‘new’ (Ro. 6:4); and every day begins with a fresh start (Lam. 3:23). One of the reason everyone loves a “rags to riches” story is that it offers a fresh start to the person who had a bad start.

A few years ago, Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, was given a fresh start. His is a story of a young man who went from “rags to riches,” then “riches to rags,” and now “rags to riches” again. (Are you still with me?) His is a story of redemption—of God’s grace and mercy. You see, Michael Vick was born again.

You are probably familiar with Michael’s remarkable story. In 2001, barely out of his teens, he was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. His performance on the field resulted in two season playoffs. His salary and endorsements made him one of the riches players in the NFL. But that all ended in 2007 when he was indicted and pled guilty to running an illegal interstate dog fighting operation. Michael served 21 months in prison, lost his position with the Falcons along with millions in endorsements—he was forced to file for bankruptcy. Disgraced, no one ever thought he would play national football again.

Then while in prison, Michael was born again. And upon release, he was drafted by the Eagles, and is back on the top again—arguably one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. The question of Michael’s real comeback—his conversion—is still in question. People are asksing 'was his a “jail house” conversion?' Or has he sincerely thrown off his past of gambling and drugs? Though Michael’s success on the gridiron is irrefutable, the question remains. What is Michael Vick doing for God's kingdom with his fresh start? Let me say it again: Today is a fresh start for all of us. What will you do with yours?