Lessons from golf…

I tend to see negatives more than positives (pessimistic). I like being by myself, tune out small talk and carry burdens that belong to God. Every now and then, world news or sad news closer to home can become too heavy and I want to escape into humor, or into the marvels of God. 

At the same time, sincere and serious spiritual discussions are enjoyed and helpful. If a prayer warrior prays with me, deep joy comes along with it, particularly if that prayer puts a strong focus on the goodness and power of God. To combat negatives, I occasionally open a devotional written by Phil Callaway, a Christian comedian who uses golf experiences as his illustrations. He is funny but serious, knows Jesus and that the Lord can use anything to instruct him. For instance, he uses this quote to begin today’s reading:

“We learn so many things from golf — how to suffer, for instance.” — Bruce Lansky

Callaway goes on to describe a tough course that is like golfing in a fog. He tells of one hole over a hill where the hole could not be seen from the tee box and his father had to lift him up so he could see the flagstick.

He describes that with humor, then likens it to how the people in the downtown area of New York navigated by the trade towers. One man told him,  “Everything is located in relationship to them. We can’t believe they’re gone. We’re simply disoriented.”

His point is that few things in this life remain constant, certain, unchanging. I can relate. Friends move, or die, or their health declines. Callaway says he sometimes longs for those days when his father would put him on his shoulders and show him the direction to take. 

I can relate to that too, and thankful that we have a Father who lifts us up to see what to do next. I remember having lunch at the same table as author and missionary widow, Elizabeth Elliot. Someone asked how she accomplished so much and how did she structure her life. She replied, “It is easy. I just do the next thing — and I always know what it is.”

I no longer golf and Callaway didn’t say this, but walking with the Lord is like golf. Hit the ball, go where it lands, and hit it again. Persist. Take the next shot. I usually know what it is.

Procrastination is easy though. The hill hides that flagstaff. What iron do I use? How many times will I need to hit this? Yada, yada. But as God says, persistence pays off. The part that is easy to resist is the way endurance is learned:

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:2–5)

Temptation to quit comes often, especially if prayers go unanswered and labor seems to produce no harvest. As for the temptation, the Father lifts me up to see this:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

And another thing, developing persistence is not for me, but for others. When I want to quit, it is usually for selfish reasons. Again, the Father shows me where to aim:

And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, (2 Timothy 2:24) 
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (2 Timothy 2:10)
Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

These instructions do not totally forget my needs though. God wants me to “hit the target” stay out of the traps, and be encouraged to keep trying:

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

PRAY: Lord, when I feel like quitting, Your Spirit and promises lift me up. You remind me this is not a game like golf, but it does have objectives. You want me to have the same things that I pray others will have. So I will persist in praying that all Your people will be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of You, fully pleasing to You and bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You, and giving thanks. (Colossians 1:9–10) So be it!


 

The Bible is a work of nonfiction . . .

 

Storytellers fall into two camps. Some are concerned that every fact is correct. Others are convinced that the story needs embellishment to be more interesting. The second group don’t seem to mind the first, but the first group often label the embellishers as grandstanding liars.

This helps to understand two biblical terms. Yesterday’s word was inerrancy, meaning that every single word in Scripture is true in the original documents. Some translations may miss the exact meaning of some words or verses, but the Bible can be relied on as true in all that it says.

The other term is infallibility. It refers to the truth of God’s Word as a whole. There is no embellishing even in the poetry of the Psalms or the vivid use of metaphors and other figures of speech used to illustrate spiritual realities.

Both terms are about the character of God. He is not messing around with exaggerated or untruthful language to impress us. What He says is true to His character; He is holy, righteous, and wants His very best for those who trust Him. He means what He says and says what He means — and those words reflect who He is.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. (Psalm 19:7–9)

God’s Word is like that because God does not lie: “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (Psalm 119:160) and His “law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” (Romans 7:12)

Some Christians divide the OT with its law from the NT of grace, thinking that the law of God is no longer an issue because we live under the freedom of grace. However, Jesus said otherwise:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17–18)

Instead of abandoning the OT, it can be read as instruction for how to live now that Jesus has come and made forgiveness and eternal life available. As the NT says,

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

Pushing the OT aside means losing much of who God is and what He is like, His holiness and His determined love for His people. It also casts doubt on the full infallibility of Scripture. If the OT is useless, how can the NT have any value? Trusting the Word of God means believing God will not deceive or give counsel that will later prove to be in error. The principles of the OT are still true today and are the principles that mark the life of someone who trusts the Lord and has been transformed by His grace.

Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared. Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good. Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life! Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord, your salvation according to your promise; then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. I will keep your law continually, forever and ever, and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts. I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love. (Psalm 119:38–47)

PRAY: Jesus, the Bible enables me to see that from the creation of the world through all Your interactions with a disobedient Israel to the NT wonder that You came to die for my sin, I gain great faith that what You say is true and totally reliable, written to instruct my decisions and actions, and to give me assurance that You are just exactly as Your book reveals You to be!

PONDER: Psalm 119:165 as a reminder and proof of the infallibility of God’s Word. It says: “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.”

 

Thankful that God did not hide . . .

 

In the past few weeks, several television dramas include revelations where a father or a sibling or even a mother reveal themselves to their relatives. Prior to that, the family didn’t know of their existence, or thought they were dead. Sometimes the revelations were shocking and not a cause for joy.

Another much more important revelation is the Creator God revealing Himself to humanity. He did it in several ways, generally in creation, but specifically in speaking:

For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made . . . . (Romans 1:19–20)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power . . . . (Hebrews 1:1–3)

How did His OT people know it was God speaking? It must have been discernible because those who heard Him did unusual things. Noah built an ark before the weather included rain, just as God told him to do. Abram left his home and went where God told him. He believed the promise of a son, and that son was born when his wife was well past the age of bearing children. Joseph trusted God even under gross and unfair treatment and was eventually a great leaders and in a position to rescue his entire nation. The OT prophets heard God and repeated what they heard, even if it meant personal disaster.

Then God revealed Himself in a Person. He arrived as a babe, grew in wisdom and stature, made a favorable impression as a child, and revealed to the world what Almighty God is like. He was so utterly different than what the religious leaders expected that they killed Him, but He conquered death and lives forever, continuing by His Spirit to reveal God to human hearts.

This God spoke and still speaks in many ways. His people have had visions, were given prophecies, told much, and guided in many ways. They followed because they knew who was talking to them. Much of it was recorded: “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

The Gospels record the life and teaching of Jesus. Acts reveals the spread of His teachings through the apostles and early church, and the epistles tell how to apply His teachings to everyday life. Revelation tells of His triumphant return and the consummation of divine revelation. Both the OT and NT were written so that those of us who were not there in the days of Noah, or Abraham, or Joseph, or David, or the prophets, or Jesus Himself, could know what God wants us to know about Himself. It was done because we would not know God otherwise:

What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him — these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

As the OT says, God’s Word “is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) and “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29) This is echoed in the NT

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

God’s revelation of Himself shows me what is missing in my life, what needs fixing, and how to live as a person who trusts Him through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

PRAY: Jesus, I have heard first-hand from those who have had dreams and visions of You, even in these days. Most come from an historical background of hating Christianity and are now believers. Their faith is strong, standing against severe persecution and many have died rather than denounce You. This is the power of You revealing Yourself to them. Most of my vision of You is from Your Word, yet I know that if those who hate You destroyed all Bibles, You are able to sustain Your people with whatever we need to remain faithful to You. You are totally faithful to us — and I stand in awe of You.

PONDER: The wonder of God, holy and powerful and unseen, yet revealing Himself to mere mortals, and not only that, to mere mortals who all sin and fall short of His glory. Be thankful, oh, be thankful.