"But" out!

*GOD*day!

Luke 10:28

 ²⁸“Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.”

This morning I was reading in my chronological about Jotham, son of Uzziah.  Jotham did as his father did, but…

1. He did not sin.
2. But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

I Think This Is What Is Called An Incomplete Pass

I don’t understand all the hoop-la about sports.  I like sports well enough, I’ve written this here on the blog enough.  What I know about sports, my father would say, could fit in a thimble.  What I do get about sports are some of the sayings when applied to life.  Like Incomplete Pass.  Truth be told I have no idea about what that means.  So I’m going to look it up right now…

Wowza, I Had No Idea

You might have known but I did not know this… there is a NFL Digest of Rules.  Amazing!  Why?  Why is this so amazing to me?  It’s amazing, and now I’m getting off track, but not really as I can see clearly where GOD is now desiring for me to go with this, it’s amazing because it’s RULES!  The very thing that mankind says it doesn’t like about GOD or the Bible.  Sheesh, talk about twisted sisters and brothers.  This is how satan skews it all up in the heads and hearts of mankind.  Oh yes, it’s true, we need to get rid of the “but” in our life, but it’s because the “but” behind us is because we allowed for something in our lives, that was sinful, maybe not of our own doing, but allowance.  It makes for the “but” ahead of us, not so pleasing to the Lord.

Oh and that incomplete pass?

An incomplete pass is a term in American football which means that a legal forward pass hits the ground before a player on either team gains possession.

Forget that for a minute though and take a look at just some of the penalties of incurred in football.  Football seriously has more rules than GOD.

These are just the penalties, these are not even the rules of football.

Automatic First Down
1. Awarded to offensive team on all defensive fouls with these exceptions:

1. Offside.
2. Encroachment.
3. Delay of game.
4. Illegal substitution.
5. Excessive time out(s).
6. Incidental grasp of facemask.
7. Neutral zone infraction.
8. Running into the kicker.
9. More than 11 players on the field at the snap.

Five Yards

1. Defensive holding or illegal use of hands (automatic first down).
2. Delay of game on offense or defense.
3. Delay of kickoff.
4. Encroachment.
5. Excessive time out(s).
6. False start.
7. Illegal formation.
8. Illegal shift.
9. Illegal motion.
10. Illegal substitution.
11. First onside kickoff out of bounds between goal lines and untouched or last touched by kicker.
12. Invalid fair catch signal.
13. More than 11 players on the field at snap for either team.
14. Less than seven men on offensive line at snap.
15. Offside.
16. Failure to pause one second after shift or huddle.
17. Running into kicker.
18. More than one man in motion at snap.
19. Grasping facemask of the ball carrier or quarterback.
20. Player out of bounds at snap.
21. Ineligible member(s) of kicking team going beyond line of scrimmage before ball is kicked.
22. Illegal return.
23. Failure to report change of eligibility.
24. Neutral zone infraction.
25. Loss of team time out(s) or five-yard penalty on the defense for excessive crowd noise.
26. Ineligible player downfield during passing down.
27. Second forward pass behind the line.
28. Forward pass is first touched by eligible receiver who has gone out of bounds and returned.
29. Forward pass touches or is caught by an ineligible receiver on or behind line.
30. Forward pass thrown from behind line of scrimmage after ball once crossed the line.
31. Kicking team player voluntarily out of bounds during a punt.
32. Twelve (12) men in the huddle.

10 Yards

1. Offensive pass interference.
2. Holding, illegal use of hands, arms, or body by offense.
3. Tripping by a member of either team.
4. Helping the runner.
5. Deliberately batting or punching a loose ball.
6. Deliberately kicking a loose ball.
7. Illegal block above the waist.

15 Yards

1. Chop block.
2. Clipping below the waist.
3. Fair catch interference.
4. Illegal crackback block by offense.
5. Piling on.
6. Roughing the kicker.
7. Roughing the passer.
8. Twisting, turning, or pulling an opponent by the facemask.
9. Unnecessary roughness.
10. Unsportsmanlike conduct.
11. Delay of game at start of either half.
12. Illegal low block.
13. A tackler using his helmet to butt, spear, or ram an opponent.
14. Any player who uses the top of his helmet unnecessarily.
15. A punter, placekicker, or holder who simulates being roughed by a defensive player.
16. Leaping.
17. Leverage.
18. Any player who removes his helmet after a play while on the field.
19. Taunting.

Five Yards and Loss of Down (Combination Penalty)

1. Forward pass thrown from beyond line of scrimmage.

10 Yards and Loss of Down (Combination Penalty)

1. Intentional grounding of forward pass (safety if passer is in own end zone). If foul occurs more than 10 yards behind line, play results in loss of down at spot of foul.

15 Yards and Loss of Coin Toss Option

1. Team’s late arrival on the field prior to scheduled kickoff.
2. Captains not appearing for coin toss.

15 Yards (and disqualification if flagrant)

1. Striking opponent with fist.
2. Kicking or kneeing opponent.
3. Striking opponent on head or neck with forearm, elbow, or hands whether or not the initial contact is made below the neck area.
4. Roughing kicker.
5. Roughing passer.
6. Malicious unnecessary roughness.
7. Unsportsmanlike conduct.
8. Palpably unfair act. (Distance penalty determined by the Referee after consultation with other officials.)

15 Yards and Automatic Disqualification

1. Using a helmet (not worn) as a weapon.
2. Striking or purposely shoving a game official.

Suspension From Game For One Down

1. Illegal equipment. (Player may return after one down when legally equipped.)

Touchdown Awarded (Palpably Unfair Act)

1. When Referee determines a palpably unfair act deprived a team of a touchdown. (Example: Player comes off bench and tackles runner apparently en route to touchdown.)

This is just a perfect segway for GOD and me to talk about today’s passage I read too.

GOD-answer

So you are asking yourself now the question: What in GOD’s name does this have to do with “But” out?  I’m so glad you want to know what GOD’s point of view is, as that is the best place to start.  The digest of rules man has get all messed up with the rules GOD has and the next thing you know you think GOD has so many rules, you don’t want to play life by them.

That’s sort of what plays out here in the life of Jotham.  Read for yourself and see if you can catch the “but” of the meaning of all this.

2 Kings 15

^32-35In the second year of Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, Jotham son of Uzziah became king in Judah. He was twenty-five years old when he became king and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok. He acted well in God’s eyes, following in the steps of his father Uzziah. But he didn’t interfere with the traffic to the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines; they continued, as popular as ever. The construction of the High Gate to The Temple of God was his work. ^36-38 The rest of the life and times of Jotham, the record of his work, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. It was during these years that God began sending Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah to attack Judah. Jotham died and joined his ancestors. They buried him in the family cemetery in the City of David. His son Ahaz was the next king.

This Is What Happens When GOD-men Make An Incomplete Pass

When people who teach and preach GOD’s Word leave out even the slightest of “Jesus said, or GOD said”, they input the but.  Mankind worries itself crazy with getting a big old butt, but that real but to worry about is the but we leave out of the equation.  When it comes to doing what GOD says we need to do to get the job done for GOD, the insert of said “but” and omitting or adding to, well, there ya go.

Imagine now if Jotham would have gotten rid of the idols.  What if today we had preachers and teachers of GOD’s Word not looking to make a name for themselves, not looking to be the popular man of the hour, but teachers and preachers of GOD’s Word willing to take a stand and forfeit the “but” that everyone else throws into life.

The only but you need to know is that when you utter “But I can’t”.  It better be because you aren’t wanting to sin against GOD.  Because quite honestly, Jotham didn’t sin, but he certainly didn’t take care of the problem with the people either now, did he?

How about you, will you accept the challenge today to do as Jotham did, BUT go one better?  Will you, are you, willing to stand up for a wrong, or better still input the right for GOD.

John 8:41-43

 ^39-41They were indignant. “Our father is Abraham!”

   Jesus said, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would have been doing the things Abraham did. And yet here you are trying to kill me, a man who has spoken to you the truth he got straight from God! Abraham never did that sort of thing. You persist in repeating the works of your father.”

   They said, “We’re not bastards. We have a legitimate father: the one and only God.”

 ^42-47“If God were your father,” said Jesus, “you would love me, for I came from God and arrived here. I didn’t come on my own. He sent me. Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”

Romans 2:14-16
When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.

Until all have heard of and know, His Love,

Jeannie Bee

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