June 24, 2019 - Excel

It’s the off-season for basketball players… and tonight the NBA is giving out its annual awards for accomplishments during the season. It is exciting as a player to receive accolades for excelling. It is built in all of us to  like being acknowledged… I know the typical thing here would be to jump on that and the sin of pride; and I know that pride can be a destructive force when we are driven by the desire to be seen… but stick with me, desiring to be seen is not the same as excelling and being noticed. (Even God promises reward for those that excel… and it is really cool to be noticed by God!)


Even though I am interested in who wins the awards tonight, I am more intrigued by the videos that pop up in all the social networking of the day that show off-season athletes working on getting better and stronger! (I have loved seeing some recent posts of NBA player Zach Lavine and some of his summer workouts. The guy is like a human pogo stick and after watching his work ethic I see why.)


Simple truth this week… people that excel are those that put in the time. Whatever it is you have set your heart on, if you want to be a champion, you have to put in the work. And from the perspective of being a believer I think it is important to add here that we should do worthy work… (more on that in a minute.)


The Playbook (Scriptural mandate): Proverbs 24:13-14

My son, eat honey because it is good, and the honeycomb which is sweet to your taste; so shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; if you have found it, there is a prospect, and your hope will not be cut off.


Here the son is being encouraged to go for the good stuff… and being reminded that knowledge of wisdom is the key… so what does that mean?


The words in the Hebrew have many applications… this seems like it is very straight forward in the English but in the Hebrew it really is an incredible life lesson. The word “wisdom” that is found here carries the idea of having an expertise in things… yes it involves shrewdness, prudence, and ethics… but the word also carries the idea of a skillful man (as in war.) so it is not just about pursuing mental growth but also physical excellence. The word “soul” here does refer to the inner man but also can be defined as life… mind… heart… desires… character; it covers the whole man.


These verses in the Proverbs tell us to pursue good things… to pursue excellence! And in doing so, it will give us a future and a hope; the word for hope literally means a desired outcome…


So I am asking us to follow the Scriptural advice here and pursue excellence,  but I think it also indicates pursuing excellent things. As believers we should do worthy work… work where we excel, not with the goal of being seen, (again it is ok if we are noticed), but ultimately with the goal of making God seen… where people give Him glory.


I’ve stated this in past devotions but was reminded again that we need to Do Worthy Work!

June 17, 2019 - Should Have Won Game 5...

Last week I was watching Game 5 of the NBA championship series between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors; a series that Toronto would eventually win in Game 6… but was in position to win in Game 5…


Game 5 was being played in their home arena in Toronto and in the fourth quarter the Raptors grabbed the lead behind some spectacular play by their star Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi is known for being one of the best players on the planet but is not known for being flashy… he is typically very workmanlike. Yet as Golden State seemed to be in control, Kawhi exploded for 10 straight points to put Toronto ahead. Shortly after that the coach called a timeout, (which some have questioned), and let his players (and his star) catch a breath. Explosive outbursts like Kawhi had can be very draining physically and emotionally… and honestly the Raptors looked gassed when the timeout was called.


But right after the timeout Golden State came out and took back control of the game, eventually winning Game 5 to force a Game 6. The Warriors looked really sharp those last few minutes, making many crisp passes on each possession which freed up their incredible shooters, the Splash Brothers (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson), to do what they do best… make buckets in rhythm.


The Raptors on the other hand seemed a bit lost those last few minutes. IN the euphoria of the comeback, they got away from the game plan. Kawhi had basically taken over on for his quick burst, but the team stopped working the ball. Watching the difference in the two teams was like night and day. The Raptors were left forcing shots on each possession… not making crisp passes… not getting open looks… having no rhythm.


The explosion from Kawhi was fun to see and exciting… but was not sustainable. In the end, commitment to the game plan… to teamwork… to the fundamentals is what the Warriors rode to victory. (Along with two amazing shooters that got those open looks… but that is their job… their position… their responsibility on the team.


All of that to remind us that as we look at life, the first priority is not the miraculous but maybe even the mundane, or what I would prefer to call being mindful. There is a time for the miracles… the “explosions”… but one of the fruits of the Spirit is simply faithfulness; which carries the idea of one that can be relied on to do his job. We are told to understand the will of the Lord (the game plan) and to live soberly (not too high in the euphoria of the miracles.)


Don’t get me wrong, I believe in miracles… but they are “highlights”… most of the game is simply fulfilling our team responsibility.


Ephesians 5:15-17

See then that you walk (play the game) circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

June 10, 2019 - Own The Space

Last week we talked about not being slack… that being “good” is not measured just by what you don’t do wrong… but also by what you do right… if you are making a difference in the game. As I type this I have spent the day planning and preparing, not only for our busy summer, but also for the next local ministry year we commit to (these are plans we make for period of Labor Day to Memorial Day here in our home area); future national outreach; and of course our international outreach (as I just had a Dominican pastor send me a message saying, “I want to tell you that I have started a basketball team with the boys of the church, we want to know if it would be possible for you to train them to preach the Gospel using basketball.”)

Whether it be the term missions, great commission, labor, good works, or whatever… we tend to think very heavily about planning; and I don’t think it is wrong to plan… the Lord planned… He planned good works that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10.) We tend to talk about God’s will for our lives as it pertains to specific times and places we are “called to.” And again, I don’t have a problem with that; at times the Lord does give a specific call to a place and time.

Yet I think we need to be careful with this mentality… the Scripture gives such a warning: James 4:13-16 tells of the danger of dogmatically making plans since we don’t know what tomorrow holds. It doesn’t forbid making plans… just reminds us that the Lord has some things to say in all of it.

What the Scriptures do dogmatically give us is God’s will for any given moment on what attitudes we should have… what lifestyles we should be living… what focus we should have. In other words, it is not just about the scheduled games.

I have spent a lot of my life with scheduling, even serving some years as an athletic director. I have been to a lot of games, a lot of practices, a lot of camps/clinics, etc. But growing up that failed in comparison to how often I simply went out back to my goal… or even up to the outdoor courts at Washington School in the middle of the night… illuminated by the one flood light on the corner of the kitchen. I loved to simply call up my friend Chris and say let’s play hoops. Or maybe it was an impromptu game of Nerf hoops with one of my brothers. Basketball was not just the scheduled part of my life… but truly defined my life… I was always looking for opportunities to play.

So even though I plan mission trips, I remind folks all the time that every believer is on a mission trip that began at the point of salvation! We should be looking for every opportunity we can to “play the game.” I read a really cool thought in a blog from one of the young ladies I used to train (hoops) / teach (Bible)… she is now in college, playing division 1 hoops at Liberty U. Yet she still took time this summer to head overseas to serve in missions. As she was sharing her thoughts, she made this realization:

“We are all running around trying to find our purpose. We worry about it, we overthink it, and we use the strategies of the world to tell us what job or path we’re compatible with.
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
The future is not something for us to fear and it isn’t our job to figure out the next step. Be wise, be prepared. But our job is to fear the Lord in all his might, to find peace in the assurance that his purpose prevails, to find joy in His will to “work in us what is pleasing to him.”
My purpose may not be glamorous, and it may not always leave me with a light heart, but it is crazy beautiful! LIGHT up the path God has you on today. It may not be where you want to be and you may be on your way to something else but ask Jesus for the wisdom to be content, to focus whole-heartedly on the path he’s placed you on because the 2 feet of space that you take up is your mission field.” (Jordan “JP” Peters)

I often tell players to “own their space.” I explain that the game is about “owning real estate”; beating the opponent to the spot he wants when playing “D”… or getting to the spot you want when on offense. JP is reminding us that wherever we happen to be… Own the space!

Yes, plans are good… but ultimately your mission field is always the “2 feet of space you take up” in any given moment, not just the scheduled ones!

June 3, 2019 - I Don't Think You Are That Good!

Many years ago, I was playing in a church men’s league basketball game… I had asked one of my dear friends to come along to play and he was excited about getting out on the court. I don’t remember much of anything about the game or the night at all; just going on what my friend would tell me many years later.


Now to share his recollection… (which I will make me sound like a big jerk… like the Simon Cowell of church league basketball.) Apparently, following our win, we were talking in the parking lot when my friend made this remark, “I normally don’t play that good.” In his mind he did some positive things and/or he didn’t do a lot of negative things; to which I supposedly responded, “I didn’t think you were that good.”


Again, I don’t remember this taking place, and if it did, I’m sure my response was made in jest to tease him a bit, (at least I hope so.) The point is a simple one that we sometimes may have a distorted view of our contribution to the team…


I was reminded of that story when my wife shared about a devotion she had just read. In the devo, there was a story of a guy that had retired from a job he had worked for over 20 years… one of the bosses from his former work place saw him and the guy asked the boss, “how did you fill the void when I left?” To which the boss replied, “There wasn’t a void to fill…”


I’ve heard pastors ask the question of their congregations, “If we shut our doors tomorrow, would the community miss us?” I wasn’t to make it more personal. If you, as an individual part of your church be missed if you left?


My fear is that we far too often view being a good teammate in the church as simply filling a seat and/or not doing negative things. There is a mentality of being a good Christian because one goes to church… or being good Christian just because of what one avoids.


With the chance I sound like a jerk, if that is all you think makes you a good Christian, I don’t think you’re that good! I’m not impressed with just not making mistakes… make a difference “on the court!” Make enough “noise” that you will be missed when you are gone… that it will be hard to fill the void!


Hebrews 13:6 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. (NKJV)


Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship – a different kind of “sacrifice” – that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. (The Message)