Win/Loss Ratio a bit low?

Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it. (George Halas)

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2)

Do we live with regrets? Yes, sadly, many of us do live with regrets - things we wished we would have said, done, or pursued. There is no place for regrets in this walk with Jesus, though. Jesus doesn't 'set us up' for regrets - he sets us up for victory. We may fail to keep our promises to him on occasion, but that doesn't mean we have to form an 'attachment' to the failure by stashing it away as a regret. It means we have the opportunity to take it to him, lay it down at his feet, and allow him to 'remold' the regret into the next steps we should take. It is commonplace to actually 'fail' and dwell upon the failure. God asks us to not live 'commonplace' lives, but to live 'extra-ordinary' lives - IN HIM. There is absolutely no room for regrets when we walk with Jesus - only redeeming moments. 

Do we sometimes think we have given our best and still don't do as well as we had hoped? Yes, of course that happens, but it must not be our stopping place. We might 'give it our all' and still not quite make it as far as we imagined. If we stop there, we give into the idea that we are incapable of ever achieving the goal. That may very well be true! Sometimes we need our goal adjusted a bit - because WE chose the goal, not God. At other times, we gave our all, but God is showing us he wants to be there to make up for what our 'all' is not capable of producing. We might need to lean in a bit closer and hold on a bit tighter to achieve the goal. Either way, God has the power to redeem the moment - it is not all a failure!

Do we want the best, but have no idea how to achieve it? It is possible we have some idea of what the 'best' will look like, but there are times when we have no clue. We just see that big hurdle in the middle of our path and know there is absolutely no way we are going to make it around it, over it, or even under it! We imagine the worst even before we take the first step toward it. George Halas was a baseball player, football player, and eventually a football coach, and team owner, nicknamed "Papa Bear" by his friends in the sport. Do you know what his regular season win stats were? In 47 years, his wins amounted to 67.1% of the games his teams played. Did he give up after the first loss? No, he pursued the win - for 47 years. The win may evade us on occasion, but it never suggests we just stop pursuing it, my friends. Just sayin!

We or He

If we are to look at the life of King David, we will observe how he reminds us no king succeeds by his own doing. Big armies and lots of loyal servants does not make one successful - indeed, it gives an "appearance" of success, but it is nothing compared to the glory of being anointed by the Most High God. It is noteworthy to mention how many times he points out the futility of thinking a warrior's strength is his own. This is often a struggle for us because we see our "strength" as something we possess, but in truth it is something we are "granted". David lays out the silliness of thinking having more "horsepower" or "brute strength" will win battles. When we "count on" the wrong stuff, we often don't really "win" the battles - sometimes we don't even make it through them at all!

Watch this: God's eye is on those who respect him, the ones who are looking for his love. He's ready to come to their rescue in bad times; in lean times he keeps body and soul together. We're depending on God; he's everything we need. What's more, our hearts brim with joy since we've taken for our own his holy name. Love us, God, with all you've got—that's what we're depending on. (Psalm 33:18-22)

As I speak with many of my friends these days, I hear one common theme - the battle is tough! This pandemic has 'kicked us in the butt'. Not to mention that the struggles with life-debilitating disease processes almost overwhelms families in the throws of a world in chaos. The constant changing environments within work, home, and community seem to be pulling us in all different directions - oftentimes quite stretched beyond capacity. Grief doesn't seem to pass because the losses are so great; despite the passage of time, seeing loved ones go from vital and strong to being ushered into heaven's courts is just plain too much for some to bear. In short, the outlook might not seem to "clear up" for some who are battling so much - it continues to be a little more than challenging!

Watch this! This is a call to pay attention to what David is going to lay out that we all need to hear and understand fully. He has taken hold of something that has been able to take him through similar tough times and he is calling us to pay attention to what he has to share with us - things that he has learned in his times of experiencing the greatness of God in the midst of the worst the world has to offer. Wouldn't it be a shame to have the answer to our "need" right there in front of us and miss it totally? God's eye is on us! Our part is to respect him and look for his love. Now, don't get this wrong - respect is more than just holding God in "high regard". It is giving him the foremost part of our being - our attention focused on him above all else. Too many times, we think we can be "casual" with God - just holding him in "high esteem", but his instruction is clear - have no other god before him. When he has the right focus in our lives, it is natural for us to actually look for his love - with expectation and hope. We begin to "count on" his love. What excites me most about this is the "face-to-face" contact we have with the one we honor! His back is not to us - it is his face! You cannot "eyeball" someone with your back toward them! When seeking God, holding him in the center of our focus, we are completely in his! 

He is ready! God doesn't delay - although we may think the answer is slow coming! Bad times and lean times come - there is never any assurance in scripture of these being totally avoided by service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Too many times I think we have a little bit of warped belief here. I think we believe God should "keep us from" these bad and lean times. I challenge this. In the lean times, I have come to appreciate how little I have and how much I need what he has! In bad times, I have drawn closer to his heart - just to hear it beat a little faster when I draw near! Going back to God's eye being on us - his hands are also ready to intervene for us. Look at the outcome - body and soul are kept together. In the bad times, doesn't it feel like we are being "ripped apart" by the struggles we are in? This is another word picture to show us how much God is the "cement" which holds us together even in the midst of forces who'd like nothing more than to see us "undone"! We can depend on him! The instruction here is not one of living "independent" of God - it is one of relinquishing our control and giving it to him. In the times of challenge - don't we always want to "fix" whatever we can first, then ask God to help us with the rest? Or is this just my struggle? I think I might be in good company here - we try the best we can to "fix" the leanness or change the outcomes of the bad stuff. When we just can't get it done - then we turn to God. Oh, what a warped sense of importance we give ourselves! We try to live independent of God while all the while he is saying he is the one we can depend upon!

I associate with David - he wanted nothing more than to serve his God well. He struggled with the "real stuff" of life and yet each time he found God utterly and totally faithful in his life. He leaves us with this thought - "God, love us with all you've got!" Now, isn't it interesting - he doesn't close with, "So, God I am going to love you with all I've got!" Instead, he brings us back to what brings us through the challenges unscathed, stronger than we went into them - God loving us with all he's got! It is good to keep the right perspective! We "make it through" or we are "brought through" each battle- which would you prefer? Quite honestly, I'd prefer the latter! Just sayin!

Fired Up

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. (Jean de La Fontaine) Imagine all the impossibilities you envision before you today and then begin to see them vanishing right before your eyes. That huge pile of laundry that awaits your attention - poof, gone. The gigantic undertaking of cleaning out all the closets and drawers where everything just seems to get jumbled - poof, done. The deadline looming for this tough project at work - poof, finished. Impossibilities - we all seem to have them and we all seem to view them just a bit differently, don't we? How we 'view' our impossibilities actually is a result of the condition of our soul - where it is we have placed our trust to overcome those staggering hurdles in front of us.

For no word from God will ever fail. (Luke 1:37)

Imagine being barren - unable to bear a child in a culture where children were the crown upon a father's head and the delight of every mother. Imagine the turmoil deep within the emotions of seeing your friends and relatives multiply their families year after year, all while you remained childless. Imagine the 'secret talk' among those same friends and family as they looked upon you, believing somehow God must have 'judged' you as unworthy of a child - knowing there was some 'flaw' in your character (better known as sin), so he placed a judgment upon you of 'barrenness'. It wasn't uncommon back in the day to believe this way. What an impossibility it may have seemed to Elizabeth to ever be a mother.

Now imagine being Mary and hearing the words, "You are with child - in fact, you are in your sixth month - and your relative, Elizabeth, is also with child." How do you think that revelation would have hit Mary - knowing the barrenness of Elizabeth's womb had been the talk of the 'secret whisperers' for years? How do you think that would have 'hit' Elizabeth to find she was with child? My mind might have gone to how I noticed my dresses weren't fitting quite as well, how the belt that drew in the waist needed to be knotted just a bit looser than normal. I attribute it to the extra calories I seem to be packing away, hungry all the time and craving things that I normally didn't desire. Then it all makes sense - or does it? 

Mary was a virgin - Elizabeth was a married woman. It made sense that Elizabeth could be with child - miracles did happen, you know. To be with child as a betrothed woman, never having 'known' a man, now that didn't make sense! In her sixth month, a 'pledged woman', not yet married, but 'promised' to a good man in the community and she was pregnant - now that's a hurdle! If you can just put yourself in the moment of hearing that news, might you imagine your heart hitting rock bottom, fear entering in with waves and waves of overwhelming unbelief? I would have - not really sure what to make of all of it, but quickly going to the place in my mind where I would imagine the 'secret-whisperers' having new fodder for their gossip!

God amazes me as he allows some impossibilities to be set out in front of all of us - not because he wants to shame us or cause us great angst - but because he wants to show us how great his power is on our behalf. With God all things are possible. With God - not on our own. All things - not just some of them, but all of them. Are - not will be or might be. Possible - it can exist, it can happen, it is going to be done. With him, all things are possible. We face impossibilities each and every day - not because God wants us to be anxious or fearful, but because he wants us to learn to trust him, even when the impossibilities seem insurmountable. Not every impossibility is from him, but trust me on this one, every impossibility is nothing compared to his method of dealing with it! When the right thing 'fires' our soul, the impossibilities vanish. Just sayin!

Huh....as simple as being prepared

If you have had the impression that the battle you see raging around you is bigger than anyone really knows, you are probably closer to the truth than you might think! The battle we 'see' with the naked eye is one thing. The one being fought in the minds and hearts of men is another. The one being fought in the heavenlies is yet another! The battle rages - the surface has likely only been scratched, and there you stand in the midst of it trying to make sense out of what you can see and feel. What we can see and feel are only part of the issues at hand - there is a much deeper 'point' of warfare that we just won't be able to see or feel, but it exists and is at work all around us right now.

Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly places. That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. Ephesians 6:12-13 ERV

We need to be prepared for what it is we cannot see or feel. These are the things we likely cannot fully understand with our finite minds, but it doesn't make them any less real. I don't have to understand how the worst virus replicates in a human body to know it is dangerous! I just need to see it at work one time and I am convinced it is a nasty bugger to deal with and I don't want it in me! I need to know how to keep it out of me and to not be affected by the presence of such an evil little bugger! The same principle holds true in terms of our spiritual warfare - we don't need to see evil at work to know it still exists! We just need to fight the good fight with all the weaponry we are afforded.

As a nurse, I will tell you the most important thing we can all do to stop the spread of disease is quite simple - wash your hands! Yup, you got it right - something as simple as washing one's hands can reduce the biological 'load' of microorganisms one can potentially 'spread' to others. Mom always used to say cover your mouth with your hand - now we tell you to sneeze or cough into your shirt sleeve. Why? Germs have a harder time 'living' on that surface and are less likely to be spread by casual contact. Again...not rocket science, but practical advice to help reduce the spread of disease.

The warfare we fight is not likely 'rocket science' either. In fact, if we are trusting in God's grace, holding fast to his truths, and doing what he asks us to do, we are likely going to do well in the fight. Why? We have the resources at our disposal - even when we lack the full knowledge of how they work! When we are told to put on our armor, it isn't a suggestion. We will never be fully able to withstand temptation without it. We shouldn't bemoan our failures when we haven't prepared to win the battle in the first place! Just sayin!

Go for the win!

Eva Gabor said, "Love is a game two can play and both can win." Yes, love is something both can "win" at, but it takes some losing on your part to realize every one of your "wins" , doesn't it? It is a little give and take - you are not always on the "longest end of the stick" in relationship.  Sometimes you draw the short straw!  I think the game of life might just be summed up with the words of a popular Christian contemporary song, "Grace wins every time!"  Matthew West's song, "Grace Wins", although much longer than these words, resonates in my heart this morning.  The words which come so clearly into my mind are these:  "There's a war between guilt and grace and they're fighting for a sacred space; but I'm living proof grace wins every time."  If you have put your faith and trust in the work of Christ in your life, you may also echo these words today!

Put Your marvelous love on display for all to see. Liberator of those who long for shelter beside You, set them safely away from their enemies, ever welcomed by grace.  (Psalm 17:7 VOICE)

Ever welcomed by grace, we start each new day in the shelter of the one who walks us into the safety and security of the shelter of his wings.  The place of grace is a place where we are set.  It is not a place we "happen upon" by accident, making some discovery as though it were some hidden away thing to be discovered by our effort.  It is not a place we "attain to" as though it were something we earn.  It is a place where we are "set" and not just "set", but set away in safety from the things which have declared themselves to be the enemies of our soul.  Ever welcomed by grace - no other thing makes us welcomed - no other thing will make us feel more welcomed, either!

I like to play games.  Truthfully, the premise of every game is that someone wins, is it not?  Now, I don't consider T-Ball and similarly declared "games" as true "games" - because somehow they have developed a system of playing without anyone winning.  They are really forms of physical activity which engage our children in some outside exercise.  I am not sure why we want to eliminate the competition of the game - but somehow maybe it helps some feel like their child's psyche will not be damaged or something.  As we get out the Monopoly board, do we say we hope everyone builds their banks and grabs up equal amounts of mortgages? Nope!  We set out to establish a "monopoly" or two on the board, hopefully buying lots and lots of houses, until we amass the most significant ones which will require everyone to pay a huge amount of rent when they stop on them at the roll of just the right number on the dice!  In most games, someone wins!

Life isn't really much of a "game", but we play to win, don't we? I would like us to begin to see that in life there are "winning moments", such as when we finally realize "grace wins every time"!  It doesn't matter how well we think we manage against the enemies of our soul, grace wins every time.  If we are absolutely truthful here - we actually WANT grace to win every time!  Why?  Winning without grace at the center of that win is kind of "hollow"!  In life, the "sacred space" is up for grabs in our life and we definitely want grace to fill that space - absolutely nothing else will every be more than something which "fills space"!  Grace needs to win - because no other "win" is really a win!  Just sayin!