Devotion 1.29.19

The countdown to Super Bowl LIII has begun.  That would be Super Bowl 53 for those of you wanting it in plain Arabic numerals instead of Roman numerals.  During a student-led conversation in Southlake Carroll when I was working on their strategic plan, one student asked about archaic learning.  "I mean, why do we have to learn Roman numerals?" he asked.  I replied, "How else will you know which Super Bowl it is?"

The NFL, back in its day, used Roman numerals as part of its theme of real men, in battle, like gladiators in the arena.  Flags flew, men played in conditions of the open air stadium in all kinds of conditions (even the name of the arena has Roman origins), and we have memorable NFL game films done by a man who made military films in World War II, John Facenda, as the narrator (see this link to hear his familiar voice with the familiar theme the NFL used at that time).  The NFL was a man's world, and the terms were of military origin.

Clearly we no longer use Roman numerals much, nor do we really talk about football in terms of gladiators in an arena battling it out on the gridiron to ultimate victory. (Click here to hear George Carlin's comparison of baseball and football - it is funny.) . That was then.  This is now. Football has changed to fit today's much more sophisticated fan who is complex.  Fan base is younger and more diverse, so it responds differently to the culture of football than it did 30 or more years ago.  The truths of the game are that it is still a brutal sport played on a field of play.  The men today have grown stronger, bigger and faster.  Despite our opinions of how soft the men who play the game are compared to yesteryear, I would bet good money that anyone I know would not be able to walk off the field after one direct hit from a line-backer coming at you full speed, or being tracked down and blocked by a 220-pound back coming out of the backfield.

There are truths in life and there are trends.

That is true for the church.  Truths and trends.  The truth we learn early is that Christ is  "the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14) . Sharing Christ with the world so that others may learn of His redeeming love and grace is our mission.  We may use trends in life to serve as a catalyst in how we approach these truths, but the truths do not change.  The trends may not serve us well as a church in some cases, but in others, we may resist a trend because we want to stay in our comfort zones.

Another truth is that Christ didn't come to enable us to find comfort zones.  In Luke 12, Christ asks, "Do you think that I came to give peace on earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division."  Christ came to give spiritual peace, but not an earthly peace his disciples may have envisioned at the time.  To respond to the call of Christ is to set ourselves to be at odds with the world and worldliness.

We pray that we adhere to the truths found in scripture and that we zealously go out to take the good news to the lost.  This zeal may move us well away from our comfort zones, but the call of Christ isn't extended to be in comfort.  We pray that we always know the difference between truths and trends and that we use trends to serve God, not man.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 1.24.19

Rudolf Hess is dead.  I repeat, Rudolf Hess is dead. 

If you don't know who Rudolf Hess is, then we can find someone to blame like the education system, but a short bio would be in order.  He was a Nazi who helped Hitler rise to power to become one of his lieutenants in the German government.  In what was a fairly bizarre act in 1941, Hess flew to Scotland to negotiate a peace where he was arrested and imprisoned in Spandau Prison.  Of course, the conspiracy crowd, existent even then, insisted that was not Hess but an imposter.  As such, they felt that the real Hess lived in relative peace in some undisclosed place, so when Hess died in 1987, it was rumored he wasn't dead.

Except that a DNA test administered recently on a Hess descendent matched the DNA from blood taken from Hess during an exam in 1982 from Spandau Prison.  Hess, the sole occupant of the prison until he died in 1987, was confirmed dead again.

While there is no humor in what Hess and the Nazis under Hitler did, there is this bizarre, either sad or humorous, activity that takes place when something of significance happens.  There are those who will, with almost the level of certainty beyond absolute, deem a conspiracy of the event.  Our own history in the US is deep with conspiracies from those in our history through present day.  One from my childhood during the first Arab Oil Embargo was the fact, FACT, that General Motors had a carburetor in a vault deep in the basement of Detroit that got 100 miles per gallon.  Of course, they were just sitting on it because the oil barons were making millions on gas.  Imagine our surprise when they quit using carburetors and went to fuel injection.

Can you begin to wonder what the talk was during Christ's day shortly after his death and resurrection?  The panic among those who sought to sew seeds of conspiracy for the missing body of Christ?  Those fishermen have hatched a plot to take his body and begin to insist he's back among us! This is a disaster!  We must make sure this "risen" thing doesn't stand! Even one among them, Thomas, wasn't satisfied with just the simple statement among those who had already seen Christ.  "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands...." (John 20)

From the day of the fall of man in the garden until now, we still look for the sign.  In Mark 9, a man brings his son to Jesus to heal.  Jesus asks about the boy's condition and the man tells Christ that his disciples couldn't cast out the unclean spirit.  In a moment of desperation, the man exclaims to Christ, "...if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus replied, "'If you can'!  All things are possible for one who believes." The man cried out, "I believe, help my unbelief!"

That is our prayer daily as we seek strength from the Spirit to renew us daily.  That is our prayer as we ask for God to protect us from "the evil one," who lies in wait to find that one little crack in our armor that can become a gaping hole.  Our frailty needs daily attention through prayer and devotion to God's Word.  To that end, we confess to God, "I believe, help my unbelief!"

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 1.23.19

"The essence of chastity is not the suppression of lust, but the total orientation of one's life toward a goal." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In Psalm 19, David called it his "presumptuous sin."  "Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!" (19:13) The study bible calls "presumptuous sins" sins committed in arrogant disregard of divine commands.  David's were doozies, and thank God I haven't pulled big ones like old King David (you know the whole story).

Correction, yes we have.  Our presumptuous sin is when we ignore God's call in our lives and put our goals and plans above his.  "For that call to be realizable, we need to understand ourselves sufficiently so that we know our gifts, motivations, strengths and weaknesses," the devotion writer notes.  Bonhoeffer's quote at the start is superb.  We set our sites on simple avoidance rather than being consumed with the call from God and the goal that lies ahead, that of Jesus Christ.

Our prayer should be to be fully and totally driven to that goal that God has called us.  "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)  Pray that we fix our eyes on that goal God has called us and that we submit to his will so the Spirit works through us.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 1.22.19

That crash you heard Sunday was the NFL season coming to an end in spectacular fashion.  Several vulnerabilities in the game were exposed (bizarre calls or non-calls that replay was supposed to bring to an end and an antiquated sudden death system) as we now have two teams that I'm guessing most devotion readers could care less about  - New England and LA. At the risk of alienating friends long loyal to Dallas and other teams, New England may just be the single best team to ever take the field (and it is one team that I don't root for).  Make any argument you want, but the fact is they are always in the mix and have been for almost 20 years. None the less, Kansas City is out.

That said, we said adios on Sunday to Lubbock's favorite son, Patrick Mahomes, who did make football exciting this year.  How?  Mahomes made his presence known this year, even when he went up against Goliath known as New England.  He certainly made the sea of red at Tech games a sea mostly of Mahomes' jerseys from Kansas City.  Mahomes plays with intentionality and focus.  He sits between offensive drives with his head coach, Reid, and listens.  He doesn't argue with what was when penalties are called, only regroups and goes back out again to make the most of the next down.  Mahomes makes things happen that can only be described as miraculous when he does them.

Paul talks to us as Christians about this focus in 1 Corinthians 9: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

What would men of excellence look like as followers of Christ if this was our guiding principal?  First, we would be focused on what lies ahead which is the prize, that of Christ and the salvation He alone provides.  Second, we would be in strict training, daily prayer and devotion as well as sharing that prize with those who don't know it.  Third, we would encourage one another in the faith as we all stumble during our daily walk with Christ.  

We pray for this same focus we see on the gridiron from our best, like Mahomes, in our own lives in our own way.  We pray for the discipline necessary to fulfill Christ's mission for us as His faithful to spread the gospel.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 1.17.19

It was, in many ways, rigged from the beginning.  I have indisputable facts that are verified by those I know on the inside, and now that I've been given the power of the pen, I plan on fully prosecuting this calamity.

How else do you explain that two of the three winners of the Chili Cookoff during the Advent Season last Christmas were two employees of the church?  And when confronted with the ugly truth, they swapped one at the last minute (actually, after announcing the winners) to substitute for one of the staff members. The substitute had only come in late after the initial announcement.  Couple that convenient fact with the fact that the staff was hovering over the table where the judges were and there you have it.

Let it go? you say?  There are other, really egregious acts that I could concern myself with, you might say?

Sadly, I've seen families, businesses, organizations, and other kinds of entities melt down over far less.  Once you lance the boil, the poison spews, and as you sit and listen, you ask yourself, "How do you even remember that?  I can't remember what day it is." The environment can be, in a word, toxic. Interestingly enough, during a recent class, Pastor was talking about the multifold command in Matthew 22 where Christ emphasizes the greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself."    Christ is giving us instructions that are simple.  Love God, love your neighbor, and love yourself.

In our sinful and convoluted world, it is impossible for us to understand the simple act of truly loving ourselves, much less others.  That might explain the anger, resentment, hurt, and other pains associated with the feelings we experience when we feel as though we were betrayed or unloved.  While Christ doesn't say this, maybe it is simple enough to say, "Do you truly love yourself?"

We pray that we see ourselves as God's creation, created new in Christ Jesus.  We pray that we know that God loves us as redeemed by His Son and as such, that we learn to love ourselves and others around us, even when they rig the chili cookoff.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 1.16.19

"Nobody knows the troubles I've seen."  I've heard the old blues song a few times, but I don't remember much except the line above.  There is a common refrain to, "How's it going?"  Goes something like this:  "No complaints.  Besides, no one would listen.”

That's the truth.  To start talking about the woes we face in life can become like a game of "Top the Bat."  Last one to the top who can palm the base of the bat wins.  Woes or troubles are just that, and mine may sound petty and minuscule compared to another person's.  "I've got a headcold that's killing me right now.  How about you?" "I have cancer."  Time to hush, back off.  

And yet we can't discount trouble we face.  The question is what do we do with difficulty?  We have several options when it comes to troubles or difficulty.  We can walk away from it.  The problem with that those of us of a certain age know is that should that be your solution, it will find you eventually.  You can confront the trouble head on, but if your difficulty or trouble is another person, confrontation is probably not the best method, especially if that is an aggressive confrontation.  

David says this in Psalm 55:  "'My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.  Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.' And I say, 'Oh that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness. Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved."

From the devotion on Bonhoeffor's work, the author says this:  "We can't carry the difficulty on our own.  Being alone in it will only intensify it, but others can't rescue us from it.  We need to face it ourselves, seek God's intervention and support, and open it to others so that they might encourage us to see it through to the end."  

Bonhoeffer came to his conclusion in prison and wrote to deal with the issues that were confronting him.  This devotion was based on his papers from that time.  He was executed by the Nazis before the camp was liberated.  We pray we learn to approach our difficulties with Christ, and with Christ, we pray that he help us confront our difficulties and seek God's intervention and support.  Then we turn to our brothers to help us as we travel the course of dealing with these difficulties.

Hope Men's Ministry

Charles Ringma, "Seize the Day with Dietrich Bonhoeffer"

Devotion 1.15.19

Listening to Dallas Cowboy fans after Sunday’s game on social media, I thought they’d finished the season 2 - 14 and missed the playoffs.  I went and looked at the standings again, and yes, with certainty, they made the playoffs and beat teams during the regular season that they weren’t supposed to.  As I listen to Cowboy fans, there is the hand-wringing that comes with fandom:  Dak isn’t the right QB (he was the second coming his first season);  Jerry Jones is an idiot (he certainly has never overcome his first season firing the beloved Tom Landry and the beloved GM Tex Schramme, but as a businessman, he’s built the Dallas empire to the point it’s close to surpassing the NY Yankees as the number one financial sports enterprise); the defense let us down (the defense was a surprising league-leading defense this year); and Jason Garrett’s an idiot (I can’t argue that because I don’t follow Dallas that closely, but I’ve seen worse in football).

It seems to me that the affliction that we find in sports is also one that we find in ourselves that afflicts faith.  Worry, Hurry and Blame, the Three Stooges which are obstacles to faith and in other areas of life.  

Two Sundays ago we looked at the Three Stooges who are obstacles to faith in a classic story from Luke 10, that of Mary and Martha.  Martha, frantically preparing the meal for Jesus who has stopped by the house to rest (hurry and worry).  Mary sitting at his feet listening to what our Christ has to say.  Martha, looking at Christ, pleads with him to lodge Mary from her seated position to help (blame).  Martha even says, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me.”  As an aside, that translates to a prayer to Christ sounding like this, “Jesus, I’m not sure you’re listening, I said fix this and now.”  Hurry, Worry and Blame.  

As we talked in Sunday school, we noted that it is understandable to be in Martha’s shoes.  After all, this IS the Christ.  This is bigger than the president coming to the house.  This is God in human form, so who wouldn’t want it to be perfect?  Yet what’s the motivation?  In fact, there was notable justification by many in the class on Martha’s behalf as we talked, but the answer from Christ is clear:  “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.  Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

In the end, Martha was not right.  She allowed Worry, Hurry, and Blame, who are obstacles to faith and prayer, to afflict her.  Sit down Martha. Relax.  You are worried and hurried about many things which has you pointing the finger.  Mary is sitting and listening.  She knows where her salvation comes from.  And it won’t be taken away from her.

So where do we find ourselves in our faith and prayer life?  Distracted.  Hurried.  Worried and needing to just take matters into our own hands?  Angry and feeling rejection to the point of seeking blame for my lot in life instead of going to God in prayer to accept my own actions and seek forgiveness when they’ve alienated me from God and my friends?  The Three Stooges were in the end, cute and funny.  The Three Stooges that are obstacles from faith are far from it.  

Pray we focus on Christ and that we take everything to him in prayer.  Pray that we have the time necessary to listen and reflect on life and what the direction that Christ is sending me?

Hope Men’s Ministry