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

Devotion 1.10.19

I'm confused.  For those of you reading this who aren't from Lubbock or don't follow Tech sports, there was a change at the helm of Tech football that saw the beloved Tech son Kliff fired after several seasons (five was it?).  Anyway, he didn't win when needed, as much as needed (bowl eligibility), or crucial games.  Kirby Hocutt, the athletic director, said Kliff was a great man.  He really gave no tangibles about the reason for termination, but the unstated was obvious.

The record produced apathy which produced stands more than half empty (the optimist view) which produced a lull in.... can we say it?.... dollars.  There's the rub.  Half empty stands mean no season tickets, no revenue at the concession stands, no money for a parking slot or more importantly slots for a tailgate with 1000 of your best friends, and fans leave at half to go watch a game in comfort if that game isn't important if the season is a foregone conclusion or if the game is out of hand.  Worse, they leave if Tech has shown an ability to lose in the final seconds, so who wants to stay to watch the likely outcome?

That hurts, even if basketball and baseball have become dominant forces, because football, like it or not, is king.  So, back to my initial premise, my confusion is over the fuss that Kliff has managed to create after a lackluster career here at Tech.  Off to USC where he will be presumably great at what he was great at - offensive coordinator.  Good, we loved Kliff and want him to succeed.  Wait, hold on, no, apparently he's not going to USC but is being pursued by the NY Jets to become their offensive coordinator.  Well, that's great because the NFL would be a great place for Kliff because he can focus on the players and the offense and not all the red tape of NCAA rules for recruiting or recruiting itself.  No, wait, apparently, yes, it is fact now that Arizona will hire Kliff as a head coach.

Many opinions are out there as to his potential success or lack of in this new role.  We'll leave that, like other topics, to those who are "in the know," but the crucial point for all of us, including the church, is this:  When do we get tempted to do something because we've seen it from afar?  What does that mean?  That means we see Pastor A at a church, see his dynamism, and get tempted to see if he wants to come to our church and be dynamic and all.  We see Program B at a church we visit and come back saying, "We have found the Silver Bullet, and it put Our Lady of Enchantment on the map.  We should do that here!"  We simplify the answer to the symptom as an answer rather than go to the heart of the issue.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing about Matthew 22 (the greatest commandment being love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself), "What we are in ourselves, and what we owe to others, makes us a complete whole."  Charles Ringma, in his daily devotions based on the work of Bonhoeffer, says, "True life has to express itself in a self-assertion that  is a free  response of gratitude to God and which sees the well-being of the other." 

At our heart of what we do has to be our love of one another and our love of others as we love ourselves.  We pray this gospel message permeates our activity as we seek to further God's kingdom on the foundation of the gospel message.

Hope Men's Ministry

Devotion 1.9.19

Epic fail...

That's the name of the activity we set at this time every year known as a resolution.  I'm setting myself up for epic fail.  Exercise, goals for work, family, money handling, being kind to animals....  These things all sound great in my mind, but in the end, we know that gyms make bank on people who sign up and cease coming within six weeks.

What if, though, you set a very serious goal?  Quit drinking, smoking, lose weight due to diabetes, heart, or other related health issues? You didn't start an exercise routine to lose weight or gain muscle mass, you started a routine to improve the quality of your life.  That's serious stuff.  So is perhaps controlling anger, improving the relationship with your spouse who is also your children's mother, and other areas we tend not to disclose that may require external help like counseling.  What if your control of money is due to a gambling addiction or other unhealthy lifestyle? What if you have addictive behavior that is being addressed by serving the addiction, convincing yourself you have it mastered and not the other way around?

Then let's not be so dismissive of New Year's Resolutions if they aren't the routine, every man's goals we often make fun of.  May I encourage each of us who are attempting to improve or enhance our lives to consider this:  Put Christ at the center of your day and your goal.

Isaiah 42 tells us “a bruised reed he will not break and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.” This passage is repeated again in Matthew as Christ reveals himself adding, “...until he brings justice to victory.” This passage alone has come across my screen or in my open Bible through the spoken word or study at least four times in the past month so I feel compelled to share it. Christ is our ultimate care giver, not extinguishing even the faintest desire to overcome. His love extends to us as he reaches us in our deepest weakness to show his love, no matter what that affliction is.  The study note says, "Jesus the servant compassionately cares for those who have been abused."  That may include self-inflicted abuse.  Near the breaking point, Christ reaches out to us, not extinguishing that faint glimmer of hope.

We pray that where we need help, we turn to Christ and ask. We turn to those we trust who may guide us faithfully. We pray that Christ lead us through those dark valleys into still waters as we seek to end cycles that don’t serve us or those we love.

Peace,

Hope Mens Ministry

Devotion 1.8.19

Thank you Pastor Dan for giving me the opportunity to return and write devotions for our Men's Ministry for the month of January.  I hope the break recharges your batteries because I know that writing devotions can become a grind, even when you enjoy it.  David Baldner

What's the single greatest thing anyone has ever done for you?  A job?  An act of kindness?  Taking a burden for you and from you to give you relief?  Paid a compliment on your or on your family?  As I look back over a life of almost 60 years now, I can think of many, many acts directed toward me that put a smile on my face.  Being a young educator and finding guidance from an old gentleman in the church I went to, who taught me a great deal about thinking and leadership, is one act I remember.  He taught me how to build a fishing rod, and he taught me how to fish (my dad did too, but we didn't know the Gulf Coast like this fine man did).

Another thing that this man did for which I will forever be grateful is he taught me how to pray.  How to talk to God the Father and approach Him.  How to have a conversation with God.  His prayers always opened, "Gracious and Merciful God...."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great Lutheran theologian, borrows from 1 Thessalonians 1: 2 - 3 where Paul writes, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before God your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."  Bonhoeffer says, "Above all, we must not neglect the greatest service that is left to us, our faithful daily intercession." (The Way to Freedom) Not in the very least, but most importantly, we should pray for one another.

My brothers, I am sorry to tell each of you that I often fail at prayer for my brothers in the faith, being thankful each day for the blessings you bring to me of friendship, conversation, and acts of faith.  May we each take time in our day to lift each other up in prayer regardless of our status, how we feel about one another, or our differences we may have.  As brothers in faith, we do share the most important aspect of life, faith in Christ Jesus.  May we constantly and daily keep each other in prayer as men, husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, grandsons, and friends.

Hope Men's Ministry