Larry absolutely schooled me

When I was in high school, the place to hang out in our small desert town was simply known as “the Sports Complex”.  I honestly don’t remember if that was what its name really was…it’s just what we all called it.  The Sports Complex was way out on the north edge of town, but it was worth the drive to get there.  It had bowling, pool tables, a basketball court, and a tennis court.  We spent most of our time either shooting pool or playing pickup games of basketball.  Not that we were any good at either of them, mind you, but we had fun competing.

One day, there was only three of us to play basketball, so we could only shoot around.  Then an older guy we didn’t know asked if he could join in.  When I say “older”, I’m guessing he was in his mid-to-late 50s…and to us teenagers, he was definitely older.  He looked the part, too, with a head full of shaggy grey and white hair, about 5’7” with a thin frame.  His addition meant that we could play some 2-on-2, so we agreed.  My best friend and I paired up, while the older guy paired up with our other friend.

Now, keep in mind, that both my friends were taller and more physical than me, so it made sense that they would play the post, while Larry and I would play guard.  I settled in to play some defense and was immediately shocked at how quick Larry was.  His dribbling skills were much more sound than the level of competition our friend group had, and while he couldn’t outrun me, he kept me off balance and made great passes to set up his teammate.  He hustled on every play, with me chasing him around the court.  When I had the ball, his defense was tight, but me being the younger guy, I had a slight edge when it came to strength and speed…but my lack of ball skills kept me from making the best passes or consistently hitting shots when I had the open opportunity.  I did ok on offense, but Larry shredded my defensive attempts every time.  My best friend was visibly upset at how often I was getting beat, but there was nothing more I could have done to stop him.

After a few games, I went out to the food counter where the Sports Complex owner worked.  I was soaked in sweat and out of breath…I told him I needed to sit down for a minute and have a Gatorade.  He asked if I was alright, and I told him how I was getting absolutely smoked by Larry.  He chuckled and said, “Yeah, he does that to a lot of the young guys out here.”

I’ve come to realize that my encounter with Larry was a perfect illustration of a principle Solomon tried to teach his sons:

Proverbs 24:5
A wise warrior is better than a strong one,
and a man of knowledge than one of strength

Even though I had an advantage when it came to strength and speed, Larry’s wise use of his knowledge and skills easily defeated me.  But we can see that Solomon’s principle is applicable to more than just basketball, because he continues:

Proverbs 24:6
for you should wage war with sound guidance –
victory comes with many counselors.

Relying solely on our own skills actually hinders us, because it keeps our options and ideas limited to what we can come up with…instead, Solomon directs us to seek out many counselors and their sound guidance.  If we’re going to set out to “win” at anything…going at it alone is not recommended.  Doing so will guarantee that when you run into a “Larry” you will have no more answers than I did to his challenge.

If I had asked Larry for advice on how to guard him better, I’m certain that his response would have been “practice more, and then we’ll talk”.  But I also learned a valuable lesson that day – never judge an old guy’s skills just because he looks “old”.  Since then, I’ve encountered many wise warriors who may not have looked the part, but they were people with incredible strengths.  I was fortunate to have many of them speak sound guidance into my life.

Joe used to always tell me, “I’ve already made all the mistakes.  If you listen to me, you won’t have to make them, too.”  He was absolutely right.  He helped me avoid many pitfalls that a young married father could have succumbed to.  Now that I’m a little older, I’m starting to say the same thing to younger folks, hoping to spare them, as well.

So, tell me, do you have wise counselors in your life?
Or, better yet, are you a wise counselor for others?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

It's ok to write on the walls

It’s around preschool age when a child starts to develop the finger dexterity to hold a pencil steady and is able to make the lines and curves that represent our spoken words.  Moving from individual letters and sounds, at some point it mentally clicks for them – there is a particular combination of these letters that make up “my name”, and my brother’s “name”, and the dog’s “name”, etc. 

Shortly after learning these combinations, our oldest began to fill pages with letters and drawings.  However, he wasn’t always good at keeping his practice space to just a piece of paper.  One day I went upstairs to the boys’ room, and on the wall next to the doorframe was our youngest son’s name, written in blue crayon.  Curious, I asked our oldest if this was his handiwork…because he knew that he was not allowed to write on the walls.  He insisted that the perpetrator was his younger brother – obviously, because that’s whose name was on the wall.  The problem with his sound 5 year old logic was that his younger brother was still toddling around at point, and he was far from ready to write out anything, let alone his own name.

What’s crazy to think is that God once specifically told the Israelites to write on their walls.  However, what they were to write was more important than simply their brother’s name:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

Thinking about God’s words, talking about them with others, and having them visually available would help keep their relationship with God in the forefront of their minds.  It’s hard to love God if you’re not thinking about Him.  You can’t have a relationship with Him if He’s not a part of your day.

I love how practical these directions are.  To be honest, Moses could have stopped much earlier and simply said: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  That direction is potent, and we could talk for hours about how to make sure this is the focus of our lives.  However, Moses emphasizes how important these directions are by giving a detailed list of examples for the Israelites.

God’s words are to be passed down to your children.  Talk about God’s words when you’re at home and when your out and about.  They should be visible in your actions and potent in your thoughts.

The most interesting part of the section is the last verse: Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates.

One of my favorite ministries, Chestnut Mountain Ranch in Morgantown, WV, has a tradition when constructing a new building.  The workers and volunteers who help with construction write Bible verses and prayers on the wooden frame of each building.  This is a way for them to acknowledge the work God is going to do in the boys’ home they are constructing.  They pray for everyone who will use that space to make a generational impact.  You can see an example of this in the pictures at the bottom of this page.

One last observation: the doorposts and the city gates are rather specific locations for Moses to call out.  It doesn’t prevent them from putting up God’s words on other parts of their homes or in their community, but why these two places?  I think these are the best place to have God’s words visible to His people – because the doorposts and city gates are their transition points during each day.  When you leave your home and when you return back to your family, there are God’s words waiting for you.  When you leave your community to head out in to the world and upon your return – God’s words are there to ground you and remind you whose you are.

Transition points in our day are ripe with opportunity to reset our minds on what is most important.  Rather than move from Point A to Point B or from Task 4 to Task 5, here are some practical ways we can remember God’s words and reset our minds during the day:

·       I recently heard someone say that when they would drive to various meetings with clients, they would spend their drive time talking to God about the next meeting. 
·       To choose a strong password for your accounts, select a Bible verse (e.g. – Philippians2:14) and say it out loud when you log in.  If your work requires that you update your password every 90 days, then next time change it to Philippians2:15 and say both verses together.  And yes, it’s ok to look at the verse to help you memorize it…but after saying the verse for 90 days, trust me, you won’t need any help – you’ll have God’s word in your heart.  I have memorized chunks of Scripture using this method.
·       We use elevators to take us to specific places and people.  So when you ride one, tell God thank you for all the places He’s taken you in life and for the people He has introduced you to.  Name the places and the people you are thankful for.
·       Hang a Bible verse near your door, or even take my son’s approach and write it on the wall.  Find a verse that reminds you of who you are in Jesus and how much He loves you.

Search your day for transition points.  Change one of them.  This reminder will strengthen your relationship with God and help you love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Does the past predict the future?

Past performance is not indicative of future results. 

We see that phrase all over the place, especially when investing money is involved.  It’s the author’s attempt at a legal disclaimer: “Don’t blame me if you lose all your money by trusting this investment I’m recommending.”  And yet, more often than not, the author is basing his or her assessment of “investment worthiness” on the stock’s historical performance.  Strange contradiction, right?

Isn’t that how we treat God sometimes?  We look back at everything He’s done for us, all the times He’s rescued us…and while we confidently say the right things “I trust God with my future.”, we end up worrying about how events will unfold.  Like the unsteady investor, we’re contradicting ourselves as we attempt to point others toward Jesus.

David begins Psalm 27 with his current outlook, looks back at his past, then extrapolates these out to his future.  Do you find any unsteadiness?

Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation –
whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life –
of whom should I be afraid?
When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh,
my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell.
Though an army deploy against me,
my heart is not afraid;
though war break out against me,
still I am confident.

David could look back and see that when someone was gunning for his life, God stepped in and took care of it.  We shouldn’t blow this off with the thought of “well, no one’s trying to kill me, so I can’t relate”.  There are many, many ways others will try to take a pound of flesh from us.  Ruined reputations, finances, careers, marriages, community involvement, even volunteer positions could all be targets of those who want to take us down.

Notice, too, that David doesn’t say God prevented all hardship; rather, with the benefit of hindsight, David could see how his foes and enemies stumbled and fell.  Best of all, David recognized that God was the one who handled his foes.  Instead of proclaiming that he survived the ordeal, David gives God the proper credit for his protection.

David’s current confidence and faith in God was rooted in God’s previous workings in David’s life.  So much so that David says he will still trust God even if the future trials are significantly worse.  Previously, individual evildoers threatened him.  Now, David says that even if multitudes come against him – armies or full-scale war – he will remain confident in God’s ability to handle the future.

David is not worried about the future.  He knows that he can find light and rescue and strength in the Lord.  He’s not adding any disclaimers or hedging his bets anywhere else.  Given everything God has done for us in the past, we should also be giving Him our full trust with our futures.

Keep Pressing,
Ken