Worshiping God at Little League

God has chosen to bless Tammy and me with 4 kids who possess a variety of gifts and abilities.  One ability is athletics.  As Little League begins this week an important question I have is, can we worship God in some real way as we trek multiple times a week for the next few months to the Little League Fields?

I’m aware that for many families, youth sports and worship do go together.  However, it’s a worship of sports and family.  Don’t get me wrong, sports are important and help keep my kids active instead of in front of video games.  Of course family is also a high priority for me, but neither one is to be worshiped.

The problem is that often God isn’t in the equation or he’s added in like the minimum play rule.  

"Don’t forget to get God into the game for at

least 2 innings! Oh darn and it’s such a close

game.  Do I have to?"

When it comes to worshiping God, the OT couldn’t be more clear that God doesn’t accept left-overs or even less than the best from us.  God alone reserves the right of our true worship.  So, is it possible to participate in sports at this level and beyond, and still worship the creator rather than the created?

What did you think of Richard Sherman's Interview?

I've never had such anticipation for a Sunday NFL lineup like I was looking forward to last Sunday's Championship games.  Then to my shock Richard Sherman gave what will be a life-long defining rant at the end of the second game.  What was your take?  Millions have recorded their opinions all over social media and in conversations this week.

My take was initial shock but not a lingering shock.  My initial shock was simply the result of being conditioned to always hear palatable and respectful (although not always sincere) sound bytes from players and coaches as they leave the field.  Yet, it didn't take long for me to simply brush Sherman's comments aside remembering that many NFL players representing every team have the same big-time ego with some concealing it better than others.

Here are three important truths I will share with my sons after watching this with them:

1) It's always so much nicer to be able to learn from someone else's mistakes.  I hate to put my foot in my mouth and would much rather learn from someone else doing the same.  The tirade from Richard Sherman couldn't have been better at illustrating how obviously inappropriate it is to have poor sportsmanship after a game.  Lesson #1 - Our kids need to learn in competition that win or lose we do it with humility and respect because it reflects on us, our family, our team, and our God.

2) I've been a part of leading meetings, mission trips, and big events when afterwards I was very "keyed up," "agitated," "frustrated," "tired," you pick it.  I wouldn't have wanted a microphone put in front of me at that point for fear of what I might have said that I would soon after regret.  Lesson #2 - Let's talk about not speaking when we're too emotional and also teach our kids not to be immediately critical of someone else who realizes later he crossed a line in the heat of the moment.


3) This time of year we give a lot of attention to NFL players as the Super Bowl approaches.  I'll also toss in the Grammys and the Oscars which are around the corner.  We state emphatically that "I love Richard Shermon, Frank Gore, Tom Brady Peyton Manning."  Or I "love Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams" etc.   But then they do something in real life that we don't love.

So what do we mean when we say that we love these celebrities.  Many (most?) of them don't share our faith, our family values, our convictions.  Many are truly and deeply conflicted, insecure and depressed.  In fact we'd all find many of the celebrities we "love" to be very difficult to hang out with because of how self-absorbed they are.  So why should we be shocked when Richard Sherman opens his mouth and reveals that he isn't the poster boy for Jesus' Beatitudes?

Honestly, we "love" celebrities because they impress us with their abilities and performances and our evaluation stops there.  That makes us just as shallow as we accuse them of being.   Lesson #3 - Let's help our children learn to appreciate celebrities who not only impress us physically but also have the attitudes, values, and faith that are so much more important.  I want to point out to my boys when I see: strong work ethic, praise for others, honesty, committed marriages (you can find a few of these,) integrity, generosity, and especially genuine faith in Christ.

Let's demonstrate a willingness to think about celebrities critically without being critical.

Ask your family - Is our faith in God real enough to give Him our money?

If you want to strengthen your home in 2014 be sure to manage your life according to a family budget and above all, be sure to entrust your finances to God so He can bless you!

Discussing finances

Each week I enjoy the opportunity to meet with a number of men from our church for mentoring, coaching, prayer or sometimes just to encourage them.  Recently a couple of my meetings have had discussions revolving around the topic of giving to the church.  I didn't go into the meetings with that on my agenda but it came up anyway.  

I love to help young believers wrestle with this issue because it's directly tied to our discipleship.  Our willingness to worship God/trust God by giving sacrificially is an important step of spiritual growth.  Tied to this is the character formation that God is wanting to do in us that results in becoming people who are truly generous.  I see this as a topic I need to continuously revisit in my own life and also teach to my boys.

Family Bible Study

Would you say that in 2013 your family demonstrated true faith and worship through financial giving to your church?   What about to other mission causes?  

Looking at who you are today vs a year ago would you say you're more generous than you were...that you're growing in this area of your life?  If because of your financial situation or because you're new to your faith, you find that it is difficult to give more (or at least something) to God, that's good!   It's good because God is pleased by offerings that require sacrifice and faith.

This begs another question...because sacrifice and faith are what God wants to see in us, if you faithfully tithed 10% of your income in 2013, was it a sacrifice or simply your "duty?"  10% was the OT instruction to the Jews but with the coming of the Holy Spirit there is no limit to the amount of sacrifice God may instruct us to give.  If you have been giving 10% or 5% or 1% or 20% the issue is still, what does God ask of me?

As a family read 2 Sam 24:18-24.  Why wouldn't David offer something to God that didn't cost him anything?  What have you given to God recently that cost you something?  What amount or percentage of income will you give as an offering to God in 2014 that will require faith and sacrifice?  Do you believe God will bless you for your faith?

There's no perfect church

There is a church on the opposite end of town from my church that has impressed me.  Of what I know of their history and their ministries and their vision, this church has been doing what churches should be doing.

Yesterday, it came out that the pastor was asked to resign because of extra-marital affairs.  We can all imagine what this means for the families involved and the church as a whole.  However, as I've read and watched the way the staff and board have initially responded to this crisis I'm impressed.  None of us can control the decisions of others, but we can control our own decisions and reactions.

I've seen plenty of cases where churches over-reacted and many churches in a similar situation that under-reacted by minimizing the sin.  If you're interested in learning from some brothers and sisters who are in the middle of a spiritual challenge you'll appreciate the sermon given by one of Mission Church's associate pastors.

http://www.mission68.org/mission-blog/statement-regarding-the-lead-pastor-resignation/

Say Hi to 2014 & Legalized Pot

Welcome to 2014!  This year I will be focusing a lot of study and writing on the topic of strengthening the home.  It's apparent that the currents in our country continue to shift, now more than ever, moving forcefully against parents and churches trying to raise healthy and Godly children.  To that point, what a wonderful thing to see one of the New Year's big news headlines being that Colorado has legalized pot.  Here's some excerpts from an article from the Journal of the American Medical Assoc. about the dangers of pot ingestion by children.

Dr. Levy reports that nationwide rates of adolescent marijuana use are climbing rapidly.  “The skyrocketing rates of adolescent marijuana use indicate that we are losing an important public health battle and we have a lot of work to do if we want to reverse these trends. 

“The legalization of recreational marijuana, especially the solid and liquid-infused forms permitted in Washington, will provide children greater access to cookies, candies, brownies, and beverages that contain marijuana,” write William Hurley, M.D., from the University of Washington and Washington Poison Center and Suzan Mazor, M.D., from Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“Ingestion of marijuana results in the absorption of delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) and stimulation of cannabinoid receptors in the central nervous system.  This produces stimulation with hallucinations and illusions followed by sedation,” the authors state.    The authors recommend additional training for emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine and primary care pediatric physicians to recognize and manage these toxic reactions.

http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/increase-in-unintentional-marijuana-ingestion-among-young-children-following-new-drug-laws-in-colorado/

Mission from Worship

I love the story of the Magi... sincere worshipers who didn't fit the profile of the typical worshiper of Yahweh.  Their mission to find the prophesied Jewish Messiah was triggered by an unusual star but it was motivated by worship of the true God.

Without worship the sighting would have simply become fodder for interesting debates and discussions among the Magi about the Jewish God and the Jewish people along with conjecture as to what might become of this new Jewish King.  However, for these men included in Matthew's telling of Jesus' birth narrative, their worship became the fuel not for conversations but for action...for mission.  There is not a single ministry or act of service we should do out of duty.  God doesn't need our duty and serving Him to impress others will quickly lose its appeal.  Every important endeavor we undertake must start from a heart of worship.  Every worship service we attend, every service project we sign up for, every ministry we agree to help must begin with our love for God and our desire to glorify Him.

Of course the Magi's trip itself from Persia or Arabia or maybe even Africa was a long, dangerous, and expensive journey away from the comforts of home.  I'm sure the question arose at least a couple times, "Now why are we doing this?"  I've found myself in the middle of ministries and missions that God has called me to that caused me to question whether I wanted to continue.  During those times we remember that worship doesn't just fuel mission it also sustains it...otherwise it's just not worth doing.  Whether it's faithfully serving your church without recognition, or being a testimony to an unbelieving spouse, or unconditionally caring for a special needs family member, or being a foster parent, or starting a ministry for single moms...the sustaining power to endure the challenges of mission comes from a focus on doing it for God's glory.

When the Magi reached the logical destination to meet the new Jewish King, Jerusalem, I'm not sure if these far-easterners were more surprised by his not being there or that no celebration was taking place.  Regardless, they were undeterred.  They had come a long way and knew they were close and knew that God had set them on this mission, so they persisted in spite of what was undoubtedly an awkward interaction with Herod.  They found Jesus (a toddler less than 2 years old) by following a supernatural light (an angel?) from Jerusalem to Mary & Joseph's house in Bethlehem.  There they worshiped God some more by giving the valuable gifts they had brought (perhaps in the moment they wished they had even more to offer.)  The glad sacrifice of treasures preceded by the sacrifices of a long journey preceded by the decision to leave the comforts of home were each done not out of duty, but for worship of God.

Worship started their mission.  Worship sustained the mission. Worship was the climax of the Magi's mission.  Remember this Christmas that God is real and as you reflect on His character and power expect to feel compelled to do something sacrificial for Him.  The story of Jesus' birth is a story of how God's self-worship led him to do something sacrificial for us.  He left the comforts of home; journeyed a lifetime on earth, and the climax to the story was that He gave His greatest treasure.  He gave His life not out of duty but out of love so that in the end He would be glorified and worshiped.

The Gift of Perspective

Sometimes the greatest gift we could receive is “perspective.” 

Six and half years ago my wife Tammy, and I were in Phoenix Children’s Hospital with our newborn, Zachary, who was battling for his life.  During our daily visits to the hospital we discovered families who were facing problems worse than ours, which gave us perspective. During the recent economic downturn I have seen many people, businesses and churches that suffered more than me or my church.  That was a gift I needed to keep from self-pity.  I also saw that as a church we didn’t need the budget and programs that I thought we needed for God to use us…another gift from God.  

Of course perspective in times of blessing is also a gift from God.  What else keeps me grounded and humble when everything is going my way and my plans are unfolding just as I had imagined?  The truth is that success is often a greater test of character than the trials of life.  So, perspective becomes a vital ally in keeping us from walking down the path of self-sufficiency.  It’s perspective that reminds us that it’s all from God and it all belongs to God.  It’s perspective that teaches us to see that the outward trappings of “success” are only an illusion that could easily distract us from what God’s standard of success really is…faithfulness.

As they prepared for their trip to Bethlehem, I’m sure Mary and Joseph didn’t feel like their lives to that point had amounted to much.   I’m also quite confident that Mary wasn’t looking forward to an 80 mile donkey ride to Bethlehem.   Yet, throughout the first advent, God encouraged Mary and Joseph with visions and visitors.  These gifts from God gave them the heavenly perspective of what He was up to, which caused “Mary to treasure up all these things and ponder them in her heart (Lk 2”.) 

What is God up to in your life and in your church?  You can bet He’s up to something, but if you’re distracted by struggles or blessings you’ll miss it.  As was the case with the birth of Jesus, what God may be up to in your life could be simultaneously understated and profound.  So pray for the perspective to see it!