A Winning Attitude

The JV team at my son’s high school made and incredible come back win this past week. The team was losing 21 – 2 at halftime. They’ve had a rough year up to this point and came into this particular game as underdogs. But something happened in the locker room that changed the hearts of the players for the rest of the game. We’re not sure if it was something the coach said or if the boys just got tired of losing that brought them together for that second half. But whatever it was, the change was evident in the team's play and the final outcome of the game. Our team won 24 – 21!
Whenever you experience a win like that, it’s inspirational for everybody – the players, the coaches, the trainers, the fans, the parents, etc… But we sometimes forget that the preparation process for winning required a lot more than showing up to play and a motivational halftime talk. These boys put a lot into getting ready for this game. As I said, they have had a rough year – in fact, they hadn’t won a game up to this point. And with every successive loss, the weekly practice sessions grew to be more and more challenging. These young men have taken and inflicted numerous bumps and bruises on one another as they’ve tried to implement new strategies and prepare physically for their first illusive victory. And not only has the physical challenge great, but the mental challenge has been equally as daunting. It’s not easy to overcome a losing attitude. When you’ve been beaten down on the practice field and had to endure numerous beatings on game night, it’s easy to give in to a defeatist attitude and settle for second best. But this night was different and the boys rose to the occasion. They steadfastly refused to give up, and in the end, celebrated a great comeback win over a favored opponent!
Sometimes in our faith walk it would be much easier to settle for second best and stop pursuing the dreams God gives us for our lives. I see so many people with a desire to make a difference in the world for Christ, but so often the setbacks, disappointments and discouraging words from other people leads them to develop a defeatist attitude. But if we truly desire to accomplish something great for God’s glory, we may as well accept the fact that there will be bumps and bruises along the way. We’ll have more than our share of scars and wounds in the process. There may be times when we question whether or not the pursuit is worth the effort. In my own life, I’ve wondered, “Why am I wasting my time doing this? I could be trout fishing! Why am I beating my head against the wall trying to love and encourage people that will never change?” But in the end, I have to either find the courage to change my attitude and continue to pursue the dream or lay down and quit. Sometimes life would be alot easier without all the headaches and the strife, but that's the price of following the dreams God has given me. And if they're His dreams, He is with us all the way... As I heard one fellow pastor say, "If it's God's deal, He'll pay the bill." God will supply all that we need to follow His dream.
Aren’t you glad Jesus didn’t give up on the Father’s dream? He endured the bumps and bruises of His assigned mission on earth and won the victory so we could receive the victor’s crown. And now, He has entrusted the treasure of His grace to us so that we can share His hope and love in this world. If that can only happen thru brokenness, bruises and wounds and hurt, then so be it; it’s worth the pain. For there is far greater joy than pain when we see God take our brokenness and demonstrate His glory in and thru our lives… May we all keep that attitude as we serve our Lord.
We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
Do as Paul said, “forgetting what’s behind, we press ahead towards the mark of the high calling in Christ…”

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Anger, Pride, Game Shows, & Other Nonsense

In the opening week of the NFL season, the New England Patriots and the New York Jets met for a show-down at the Jets’ stadium. I really had no preference for either team to win, but I was surprised by the lopsided score – New England 38 to New York’s 14. Randy Moss, number 81 for the Patriots, had an incredible game – 9 catches for 183 yards, including a spectacular touchdown catch between 3 defenders! Unfortunately, Moss’ remarks in the locker room following the game, shows how bitterness and anger can overshadow an otherwise stellar performance.
Moss has had a career filled with moments of brilliance amidst inexplicable acts of behavior. One game he walked off the field before the game was over… He got “hot under the collar” and abandoned his teammates. Needless to say, he didn’t last much longer on that team. He was then traded to another team where he was again let go because he couldn’t control his outbursts. Of course, in Randy Moss’ mind, none of these things were his fault; someone else was always to blame – usually the media.
Yesterday’s post game locker room interview was no exception. Moss was asked if his performance against New York was an opportunity for him to revitalize his career. That set Moss off. He said, “I don’t need to revitalize – everybody knows who I am, so I don’t need to revitalize nothing!” The interviewer then asked, if his performance was “a restatement of [his] ability, and [his] place in this football league as a wide receiver.” To which Moss replied, “Man, I leave that up to you guys! That’s what the talk shows, and… and the game shows are for. You know, just to tell the people the nonsense that y’all believe in!” Brilliant! Now he’s blaming game shows – not to mention the fact that he just made himself look - shall I say - less than wise.
Randy Moss' answers just go to show you what an unbridled tongue can spew out when it is fueled by anger and bitterness. The relationship between Moss and the press has been tenuous at best. There's a lot of history there and I don’t believe very much of that history is good. As a result – although I doubt if he would admit it – Moss allowed the bitterness and anger from the past to interrupt the joy of a great personal performance and a great win over the New York Jets.
A lot of us allow our short tempers and prideful outbursts of anger to interrupt our lives. It has become common place to hear about people getting angry, cutting one another down, and even getting into fist fights as a response to interpersonal confrontation. In fact, it’s so common, there are video takes plastered all over the internet showing such fights and arguments from everywhere around the world. I realize that sometimes it’s hard to let the acidic remarks of others pass without lashing back, but it’s always best to let the situation and the offense to pass without letting our tempers get all worked up into a ‘wad’. Usually if we’ll wait before we react, we’ll be able to see straight into the heart of the nonsense and address it with wisdom instead of with something regrettable… that is, if it needs to be addressed at all.
One thing I learned from a mentor a while back is this: Whenever you sense that someone is getting under your collar, stop, breathe in deeply, count to seven, breathe out slowly, wait, and then respond only if you can address the issue without being angry. That’s good advice. The Bible says that we should be “quick to listen and slow to speak.” Don’t allow others to provoke you and interfere with the victories of your life.
And remember what James writes: “…if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:14,16-18)

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That Hunger Deep Within

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been cutting my weight. During my last annual physical exam, the doctor informed me that I have let myself go and put on several additional pounds that is starting to affect my blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. I'm no 21 any more... although I feel like I am inside. I tried to tell him that my problem wasn’t that I am overweight, I’m just under tall. If I had a few more inches of height, I could afford to carry around the extra pounds. He wouldn’t go for that... So I’m now on what I call "the starvation diet". Not really, but it seems like that. I’ve cut back on all the stuff that tastes really good, things like – ice cream, double cheeseburgers, fries, chili hot dogs and Oreo cookies with milk. And in place of all the good stuff, I'm eating deliciously tasting rice cakes, no fat pretzels, no fat thin sliced turkey, turkey burgers, lots of “rabbit food” and drinking gallons of water. One thing I’ve noticed about that kind of food: no matter how much I eat, I'm still hungry. My stomach is still empty. It's a little easier now than it was when I first started, but sometimes I would kill for a huge triple burger dripping with greasy cheese, extra mayo, and all the ‘fixings’… Thus far, I haven't given in to that urge. But it's not because I haven't wanted to... In fact, I'm writing this blog as a sort of therapy to keep from heading to Burger King! :)
As a pastor, I'm always looking for lessons from life. As such, I’ve discovered a very clear parallel between my insatiable hunger for food and my walk with the Lord. When we're born into this world, we have a natural void... an emptiness inside our soul. As we grow older, we become more acutely aware of that emptiness. It's a hunger deep within that longs to be filled with something - we're just not sure what. Naturally, most of us start looking for things of the world to fill that void. We try to satisfy the hunger thru relationships, sports, hobbies, money, partying, etc. But sooner or later we discover all that stuff leaves us empty. It's like eating unflavored rice cakes. The truth is, only Christ can satisfy the emptiness we have in our lives. Only He can sustain us spiritually... Only thru a relationship with Him do we begin to discover the reason for which we were created and find the nourishment our souls long for.
When I came to realize that, I tried to do things for God in order to earn my seat at His table. I was raised with a good work ethic - "Nothing in life is free." "Make something out of yourself." "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps." So naturally I thought that would work with the Lord. And if I showed Him how dedicated I am compared to everyone else, He might give me more! But none of that philosophy works with Him... As a matter of fact, it gets in the way. And I found myself continually hungry for more…
A lot of us associate righteousness with working harder… doing more for Jesus… never missing a Sunday at church… giving… you know, all the righteous stuff we force ourselves to do. But the righteousness that Jesus offers to us is a gift – we can’t work for it – it’s free. All you need is a hunger for more of it. He promises righteousness to those who are empty. He gives it to those who are aware that there is something missing in life that nothing else can satisfy. And the amazing thing is that you can only be satisfied when you simply receive it – like a baby being fed by a mother – “Open wide!” Even if we tried to earn Christ’s righteousness, we don’t have enough years nor enough energy to do enough to merit receiving it. We sometimes think, “If I go to the right church, perform the right rituals, wear the right clothes, hang out with the right people, then I’ll be righteous.” But it doesn’t work that way… You can ready your Bible 23 times a day, give 50% of your paycheck on Sunday, keep your temper under control and lock yourself in a closet every Friday and Saturday night to keep your behavior under control and you still not be righteous. You can’t create it; you can’t earn it; you can’t get it by osmosis; neither can you borrow it like a loan from the bank. The terms would be too great. You could never pay it back. So what can we do? Do we adopt as our mantra for life the song that Mick Jagger sang, “I can’t get no satisfaction”? How do we experience the sustenance that will satisfy the spiritual hunger we long for? I'm not trying to oversimplify this but all you can do is receive it in humility. Come to Jesus. Express to Him that nothing else in life will satisfy. Tell Him that you’re tired of trying to earn His approval or anyone else’s. You’re hungry and you’re not sure what you’re hungry for… But you know it has something to do with knowing Him on a deeper level. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your stomach, your life, your whole being with His presence, His power and His provision. And make that prayer your daily request… “More of You… More of You… More of You Jesus… All I ask is more of You.” You will not find satisfaction that will take away the hunger in your soul in any other place. But that’s okay… Jesus said that all you need is a hunger for righteousness. When you discover what you’re hungry for, He will fill you. And He doesn’t limit what you can enjoy… It’s like an “all you can eat” buffet, filled with the most delicious and satisfying things you can imagine! Christ has an indefinite supply of righteousness and He offers it to all of us who hunger for it.
In my attempts to lose weight, I’m hungry because my stomach is empty most of the time. That’s a different kind of hunger than I have for Jesus and His righteousness. The hunger I have for Jesus is about never being filled… I can’t take in too much… I’ll never be full… The more I experience, the more I’m hungry for more. What about you? Are you hungry for more of Him? Is something missing in your relationship with God and you’re not sure what it is? Maybe the longing you have in your heart is for more of Jesus… Is your heart crying out for His righteousness and your flesh is trying to convince you that you need to fill that emptiness in your life with all kinds of other junk? Turn to Jesus my friend. Only He can satisfy that hunger deep within you.

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