DECEMBER 16
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Mark 8:26
Sir Chris Hoy, the Scottish cyclist, was given the lifetime achievement award at the BBC Sports Personality awards in Glasgow last night. He is the most decorated British Olympian of all time, winning gold medals at all the major championships. Lord Sebastian Coe, another athlete, helped to recount the story of how Chris said he wanted to go into cycling after he saw the film ‘ET – The Extraterrestrial.’ There is a scene in the film where bicycles fly (this was an 80’s film remember) and apparently this inspired him to want to ride.
Giving his acceptance speech he said,
“When I was growing up, sporting champions to me were just people who were born to be champions. I thought they were a different breed to the rest of us. And over the years, and with some remarkable people to help you, you achieve some amazing things” BBC2014 Sport Personality
This is without doubt an amazing achievement and indeed it is people like this who inspire me to push my little abilities to the maximum. Lord Coe, in summing up said,
“Chris’s achievements will live longer than he film ET”
What are we here to do? Work? Make as much money as we can? Study and study some more? To become famous or is it to evangelize? What greater achievement can we have than to have drawn someone closer to the kingdom. As our text today asks,
“… what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul?”
If you find it difficult to talk about what you believe, use to blog to start a conversation and talk about a loving God who just wants to take you home.
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3
Today's song is "Holy Spirit rain down" - sung by the Heritage singers. 
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
