Month: January 2014

Expectations

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The word expectation means the state or act of looking forward or anticipating something.  Expectations are everywhere, and a lot of times we have expectations set for ourselves.  As Christians sometimes our expectations get all of our attention and we forget why the expectations were set in the first place.  When those expectations (often unattainable by our human efforts) fail to be met, panic and chaos sets in.  Why so?

There is a difference between an expectation and a goal.  A goal is a healthy milestone set to motivate you and keep you focused.  An expectation can be unhealthy in that it requires unrealistic abilities on your end and can just lead to confusion, frustration, and stress.  For example, Bill Harmon grew up being the son of 1948 Masters champion Claude Harmon.  Now a golf instructor, Harmon says one of the most important things his father told him while golfing is “I don’t know why you get so upset. You aren’t that good.”  It may sound mean, or degrading but it is so true!  In the game, expectations can be set ridiculously high for ourselves that no matter what, we will always be failures in our own eyes. 

I believe the same can be said for those living for Jesus.  Why does it radically surprise us when we screw up? The expectation of living a perfect life is completely unattainable, and God knew that!  That’s why he sent Jesus to die for our sins so he could still know us.  Floundering in our sin and our past mistakes is forgetting the saving, redeeming power of Jesus Christ our Lord!  Trying to live on our own merits only brings us into complete disarray, but it is so easy to do!  Expect GRACE when you repent to a loving God and never forget who you are in Christ alone when you accept him into your life!  Thanking God for all things and being content in all situations frees us up from the worldly expectations we set for ourselves.  As a Christian we are made alive through Christ, nothing that we can do earns that!  Expect him to carry you today!

               

                

Dying to Live

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If someone you knew told you that they didn’t fear death, but they were excited for it, what would you think?  Maybe you would ask yourself if they were suicidal, or perhaps they believe in a religion which guarantees paradise after this life.  As a true Christian living in fellowship with your creator, you are neither of these but death should still stir excitement in a Christian’s heart.  Reading that, it probably sounds really weird and creepy.  How could death be something positive at all?  If you know 100% that you are going to heaven, a place where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Rev.21), and where you get to live in community with the very God-man who died then rose on the cross for your sins, eternally, where everything is perfect…It’s pretty exciting. 

There are so many ideas out there about death, a lot that probably aren’t publicized but are thought up on those late nights when so many people toss and turn trying to figure out what the heck is going to happen when they die.  So it begins with what you think death is…how would you define death?  Then again how could any of us know?-we’re still alive!  Is Heaven real or is it just some fairytale made up to make people feel better about their demise?  Is Hell real?  How bad do you have to be to go there?  How good do you have to be to get into Heaven?  All questions everyone has asked at some point in their lives.

The thing so absurd about death is the conclusiveness, and the fact that it can happen anytime, anyway to anyone.  While I am writing this, a plane could crash into our house and instantly kill my family and I.  On this earth, none of us would ever be heard from again…just like that.  It is horrible and depressing to think about.  Though I do not want to die, I can say with full confidence in Christ that I am not scared of it anymore.  I remember asking my mom when I was little, how do you know you are getting into Heaven?  It was not until I developed an actual relationship with Christ, did know where I was going to be when I died.  Not because of how I felt, what I did, or what I heard but simply by the fact that I had to trust in Christ’s ability and words more than my own, trusting what he said in the bible and believing it.  Trusting in something that would never be able to be taken from me, his promises, love and truth.  Not in “good” stuff I did, because the truth is that none of us could ever be good enough.  Nobody can earn their way into Heaven!

As for being excited about death, if you have accepted that you are a sinner but realized how much Jesus loves you and repented of those sins and turned to Christ in faith, giving him your heart and life, God wants to spend eternity with you in Heaven!!  Jesus conquered death.  Paul writes in Philippians that “to live is Christ, to die is gain” (c.1 v.21).  This coming from a dude who used to kill Christians, and was against God.  Heaven is something to be incredibly excited for!  Take a moment and think about the best possible scenario you could be in right now in which you would be the happiest.  If you have Christ, imagine that scenario times infinity…that’s Heaven.  Our minds can’t even imagine how awesome it will be…I sure can’t wait to find out!

Death is not the end…it’s only the beginning in a period outside of time.  And for those in Christ to die is to gain everything!  But for those who do not trust in him, they will live eternally separated from their creator in Hell. God wants to reconcile with us all so bad, he doesn’t want that for any of us!  However, he is a Holy God who must judge sin and he will do so.  Die to yourself, to live in him!

Golf Is Life?

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Golf is a sport of patience, tranquility, and focus.  So simple on the surface, most people who have never played before insist that it isn’t a hard sport, or it isn’t even a sport at all.  Professional golfer and US Open Winner Rory McIlroy describes himself as “hitting a little white ball around a field sometimes”.  When you look at it that way, it doesn’t get much simpler and perhaps this is one of the reasons Mr. McIlroy is so successful.  Golf is described as 90% mental and 10% physical.  Bobby Jones, possibly the greatest golfer of all time, once said that “golf is played on a 5 inch course-the distance between your ears.”  You see, there is nothing more liberating than striping a ball deep down the middle of the fairway setting yourself up for an easy next shot into the green.  As the white ball trickles down the short grass in the fairway, there is a great sense of security and assurance.  Yet when something goes wrong and your ball ends up behind a one hundred year old oak tree seemingly wider than the ocean, panic sets in.  The great golfers are the ones who aren’t controlled by their emotions, who never are secure in their performance, that never panic when things head south.  Their only security comes in their method, not the results.   

                While reading Golf’s Sacred Journey by David L Cook, I realized why I love golf so much and how awesome of a sport it truly is.  Living out faith in Christ Jesus, and a round of golf are similar in certain ways.  If you have never picked up a club to play, I encourage you too first of all!  It is fun and something you can play for almost your entire life.  Golf will teach you more about yourself than you’ll ever realize while building your character shot by shot.  If you have never truly accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, this is something you must do!  He will never leave you, and will continue the good work he starts in every one of us our entire lives.  God will teach you more about yourself than you know, because he is your creator.  Day by day he will renew us and grant us mercies to take on the day.  Ask him into your heart today and to change you!

Every round of Golf starts with a fresh start.  You sit at even par in hopes to minimize mistakes and to score well by the end of the round.  Each day you wake up, you start at even par as well!  As a Christian we must remember that each day is a chance to start over.  The Lord’s mercies are made new each and every day.  Dwelling on past sins, and mistakes involves zero belief in what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross.  Instead, we must accept his forgiveness, believe we are saved by what he has done for us, and ask him to turn us from those sins then trust that he will complete the work he has started in you.  Same goes for Golf.  If all you are thinking about at the beginning of your round is how poorly you hit your driver off the tee the past two rounds and that cut slice deep into the woods you had on the first hole last time, your mind isn’t in the right place.  In life, the right place for our minds to be is steadily resting on the Lord as it says in Isaiah 26:3.  This keep our minds in PERFECT peace.  Not temporary, conditional peace based off of performance or results but unconditional peace in our loving savior!  Seriously, this means that when our minds are resting in Christ literally nothing that happens can take away the peace that he gives to us.  Similarly in Golf, the right place for our minds to be isn’t on the outcome or the effects but the method.  Mistakes are made and unfortunate things happen, but if the golfer isn’t solely trusting in the result but rather putting their trust in the truth of the process they will stay at peace.

Funny story.  I play golf and have many odd experiences with the game, but one stands out in particular and kind of relates into the whole concept of things happening in life we don’t have any control over.  I was playing with a friend and my ball was to the right of the green about twenty yards or so on the opposite side of the cart path.  If you’ve ever played with me, you know I have an absolute atrocious slice so seldom am I on the left side of the course.  Anyway, about thirty to forty feet up in the air lay a single wire with the diameter the size of a water bottle cap.  Seriously, the thing was barely even visible, and I have no clue what purpose the wire served, but it was there regardless.  Unaware of the wire, I took a short swing lofting the ball high up into the air directly on line with the hole.  To this day I believe that shot would have gone in the cup if not for the wire clipping my golf ball’s flight sending it directly down into the cart path, launching it down the asphalt about 75 yards or so.  It was infuriating, yet hilarious.

The calmness and serenity Golf requires in order to be successful, is granted to us by Christ so that we can live for him.  The Lord says he gives those who believe in him peace, not as the world gives but as HE gives.  The peace that can’t be taken away, ever.  After all, one of his many names is Prince of Peace.  True peace, is only found in the resurrected savior.  The main difference between Golf and the Christian life is that at the end of one waits a finite score, but at the other waits eternal life with our creator.  Where does your peace come from?