Last Sunday was the last golf major of the year, the PGA Championship. For those of you who are not golf fans you need to understand how big this tournament is. There are only four major tournaments of the year, and they bring out the best of the best. Great players are often defined by how many majors they win. Johnson is a young player who had a chance to win coming up on the 18th hole. He had a one shot lead and then drove the ball wildly into the thousands of spectators lining that final hole. They say that kind of pressure can do that to you, but I don’t know what they are talking about because I hit the ball like that all the time. The ball came to rest in a trampled down area, full of sand and grass, far away from the fairway. They finally got the crowd moved back and Johnson hit out and had a putt to win, but missed it by an inch. Everyone watching, including me, thought he had made it into a three way tie and was headed to the playoff, that is until a rules official came out and started talking to him. It turns out that the rule sheet for the tournament said that all areas with sand designed as bunkers or sand traps, both inside and outside the ropes, were to be played as bunkers; and you cannot ground your club (let it touch the sand) in a bunker. Johnson was given two penalty strokes and lost the tournament and several hundred thousand dollars. When you ignore or don’t take the time to know the rules there are great penalties in life as well. We all know ignorance of the law is no excuse. Just try telling that nice officer with the pretty blue lights flashing behind you that you did not know the speed limit was only 45 and that was why you think it is ok to be doing 60. God has set up some unchanging truths, and the penalties for not knowing them can cost far more than a tournament title or lots of money. Dustin Johnson was not used to a bunker looking so ragged, and he did not realize he was in a bunker. The problem is that the tournament made it very clear in meetings before the tournament and in black and white sheets posted in the players’ locker room that “all areas of the course that were designed and built as sand bunkers will be played as bunkers.” Johnson admitted, however, he never read the rule sheet. What is even sadder is that there was a rules official right there with Johnson the entire time, but Johnson never asked the official for help or guidance. The Bible says there will be many people on the day of judgment who will be shocked to find out they are not going to heaven, even though they went to church and did all sorts of religious activities. After hearing their excuses Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws” (Matthew 7:23). God has said there is only one way to be with him in eternity, and that is by accepting Jesus Christ by faith as your Lord and Savior. “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Now you know the truth, and it will not change. God has given you an incredible opportunity to be with him for all eternity - don’t miss it.
I could not believe what I was reading, but what Americans really believe shocked me again. According to recent surveys by pollster George Barna, almost two thirds of Christians said they believed “that the Holy Spirit is a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.” What this survey may actually show is that a lot of people who claim to be Christians, or think they are Christians, don’t know what a real Christian is. They do not grasp some of the basic concepts of Christianity. Ideas have consequences, and it is important to know what you believe. If you call yourself a Christian it is essential that you read and study the Bible for yourself, and that you consistently attend a church that teaches biblical truth. Unfortunately many churches today have strayed from the historic Christian faith and have moved to one extreme or the other. Some churches have moved into a harsh, negative legalism that makes a relationship with God mainly about saying a prayer and following a bunch of man made rules. The other extreme are churches that feel they have “matured” beyond historic, orthodox Christian teaching and are now so liberal and open minded they no longer teach biblical truth. If someone chooses to reject Christianity and makes up his or her own spirituality, that is certainly their choice, but at least be honest about it. If you are a true Christian, it is essential you know who the Holy Spirit is, and what he does in your life. The Holy Spirit is not a force or a symbol, he is a living entity; a person with a mind, will, and emotions. Just because he does not have a body does not make him a non-person. He is the third person of the trinity and is fully divine, along with the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. I think some of the problems people have in understanding the Holy Spirit is because the old term “Holy Ghost.” This was the old English term that was used for centuries and the wording used in the King James Bible. Unfortunately the word ghost has a new popular meaning in our day to mean a weird spirit creature that flies around like Casper the friendly ghost, or the disembodied souls of those who have died. The Holy Spirit is nothing like that. As God, the Holy Spirit is all powerful, all knowing, and is everywhere at once. He was there at the beginning of creation and has been personally involved in human affairs throughout all of history. The Holy Spirit was the one who inspired godly men to write the Bible. As a Christian the Holy Spirit has a vital role in our daily life and our relationship with God. He comes alongside us to explain and make clear what the Scriptures mean and to help us understand truth. The Holy Spirit also always lifts up and exalts Christ. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit baptizes us, comes to live inside of us, and we become part of the body of Christ. When we sin, that grieves him. He feels pain. He is the one who convicts us of sin and calls us to repentance. He also strengthens and comforts us in difficult times. He gives us spiritual gifts we use to serve God and others. In fact it is by his power that we live, worship, serve, and love. Get to know the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and you will find your spiritual life radically changed.
According to a recent Business Week study North Carolina ranked as the forth-laziest state in the entire USA. Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas are the only states lazier than we are. We were also the 10th most obese state with a whopping 29.4% of us being obese. The report used data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey from 2004 to 2008 and other surveys. While we need to take some of these numbers with a grain of salt, it did make me ask the question, am I living in balance, or is laziness creeping into my life? While I have some questions about this report I have found that laziness is a subject most churches no longer want to talk about. And we certainly don’t want to talk about obesity, or that old-fashioned word gluttony, because we will offend people, usually starting with the pastoral staff. It is always easier and more comfortable to talk about other people’s problems and sins than our own. So lets jump on those who struggle with adultery, homosexuality, or alcoholism, and avoid the sins that are more accepted in our churches. The good news is that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). But Christ loves us enough not to leave us in our sin, but to set us free. When it comes to time most of us fight one extreme or the other; we are either workaholics and are running franticly from one thing to the other, or we fight being a lazy, overweight, TV watching sloth. Finding God’s wonderful balance has been a life long quest for me, and one I’m still working on. According to the report the survey analyzed two primary factors, how much inactive leisure time we spent verses active time, like exercising and working. What is interesting is that it considered sleeping, thinking, and socializing as inactive leisure time, which was construed as being lazy. Actually most people I know need to spend more time thinking, not less. And spending time socializing with friends and family is one of the great joys of life many of us miss out on because we are too busy running to the next event. While I question some of this report’s categories it does not negate some of the concerns it raises. Far too many of us battle obesity, and this is having devastating health consequences. As one who loves food, including super sized meals and mountains of desserts, I feel the struggle of those who enjoy food too much. When over 25% of us admit we have not exercised in over a month, and another 50% are probably lying about it, we are in trouble. For those who are followers of Christ we have the Holy Spirit inside us to empower us to live godly, balanced, and healthy lives. Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and most of us need to not cut that verse out of the Bible. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we must honor God with our bodies by taking care of them. The Apostle Paul warns us, “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves.” (Romans 12:3) There is no excuse for spending 3 hours a day watching TV and 3 minutes exercising. That is not just lazy, it’s foolish. In Christ, we are not condemned, but we can do better. I hope to see you at the YMCA on Monday.
Today I spent the morning at Duke medical center getting a chest x-ray and meeting with my surgeon Dr Tong. She said my x-ray looked excellent. I go back for my next check up and CT scan in October. Deb and I are so grateful for the Lord’s continued grace and favor to us, and for all of you and your prayers. We leave tomorrow morning to go visit our son Steve, his wife Elizabeth, and our granddaughter. We will be in hot Corpus Christi. You would think we could figure a better time to visit than the hottest month of the year, but this is the opportunity we have, so off we go. Thanks again for your friendship. Life is precious; so live every day, and every moment celebrating what the Lord has given you. Rejoicing in Christ – Bob
June has arrived, and I love the long days and lots of sun, but especially this year. By God’s wonderful grace I’m feeling well, however, I’m still recovering from all the surgeries and mess I experienced earlier this year. I go back to Duke Hospital for my next scan of my lungs on June 23, 2010. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for you souls (Matthew 11:29). I’m seeking rest for my soul, body, and emotions this month as I take some time to rest, see family, and seek the Lord’s face. This June I’m taking a four-week study break, with some vacation thrown in as well. Deb and I will get to visit with Dave and his wife Jess, and John, who all still live in North Carolina, over a weekend. Then we will fly to Texas to see our son Steve, his wife Elizabeth, and our granddaughter Claire near the end of June. In between I’ll be taking time to study and pray about the upcoming message series here at Brookwood. I’m excited about having my good friend Jonathan Harrison filling the pulpit this month. I’m so grateful for a church family that understands and allows me the opportunity to rest, renew, and get time alone with God. I’ll keep you up on any news about my health, but at the moment, no news is good news. Thanks for your prayers! See you at Brookwood on Sunday!
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. (NLT) Discernment and common sense are needed for parents in our upside down world. Once again people go from one extreme to the other. On one hand we have what some call “helicopter parents” who hover over their children every moment. Their precious baby might get damaged crawling across the floor so they put baby kneepads on them. (I’m not kidding - http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=488756 These are the parents who demand those “dangerous” jungle gyms be removed from playgrounds because little Johnny my fall and hurt himself. These parents want to accompany their child to their college interviews to make sure they handle it the right way. I just hope that 18 year old is still not wearing her toddler leash. What Mom needs to do is let precious Johnny start to grow up some on his own, play in the treacherous backyard and eat some dirt. His immune system and his sense of adventure might both develop some. I’ve never known a child who died of a skinned knee. On the other hand are the parents who paid big money and drove their 7-year-old daughters to years of dance lessons to have them learn how to dance in very suggestive ways to tunes like “Single Ladies.” Caution – this CNN video will, or should, make you sick - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjZZeoDnBao The last thing we need to do is to sexualize young girls in this way. It teaches them what is cool and fun is to be viewed sexually. It can convey to them that their primary value and identity as a girl is as a sexual object rather than a human being created in the image of God. Those suggestive outfits and grinding hip moves are inappropriate for teens, much less children. Sex is a wonderful gift from God for husbands and wives, not children. Today’s parents need to be discerning, and wisely determine what the real dangers in this world are, and it’s not skinned knees or eating some dirt in the backyard.
The good news is that I have little to report, at least on the health side. I still have a post surgical cough, but even that is getting better. My next chest X-ray is June 23 at Duke, and I’m rejoicing every day between now and then. The Lord does continue, however, to draw me to himself in these days and teach me more how to rest in him. I’m loving this second chance at life, and learning to love normal again. I’m in no pain for the first time in months, and I’m so grateful. And it reminds me to pray for my many friends who struggle with pain every day; it really does wear on you. My challenge is to continue to work on the little things, without complaining about them. I don’t hurt, but I still don’t have the lung capacity I once did. I still run out of gas at night, long before bedtime. I have a hard time with mental focus when I’m tired. This recovery is going well; in fact ahead of schedule according to my doctors. But I get frustrated when I can’t do what I used to be able to do. Lord keep me humbly seeking your face, full of gratitude, loving my almost normal life again, all while I seek to get back to full strength. I’m reminded again my one of my favorite prayers; Lord give me patience, and give it to me now.
Thank you all for keeping up with me. I look forward to making this weekly blog more about life and spiritual lessons, and less about my health as God continues to bless me physically. This Thursday my new pulmonologist (lung doctor) looked over my chart and said, “this has been some journey.” I just smiled and agreed that it had indeed been quite at journey. I’m so grateful the many nodules in my lungs and lymph system that looked like cancer in my CT and PET scans are not cancer, but here I was before another doctor discussing the implications of what all that turned out to be, sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is an inflammation disease where the immune system cells cluster to form lumps called granulomas (small nodules) in various organs in your body. The doctor said we will just have to wait and see what happens, because sarcoidosis can attack not only the lungs and lymph system, but also any organ in the body, including the eyes, liver, heart, and brain. Right now I’m not having symptoms that are causing me any problems, so I need no treatment. That is the good news. The bad news? My doctor said, “you will have to get accustomed to living with uncertainty.” Since being diagnosed with lung cancer in January that feels like a daily experience. As I look around me I see people dealing with uncertainty in two extremes. On one hand some live in fear and dread of the next bad thing that is bound to come their way. Others seem to move forward with great peace and joy, knowing this world is not their home. There is no doubt how Scripture says we can live; now daily experiencing intense joy in the midst of uncertainty is my challenge. Over and over the Scriptures tell us uncertainty in this life is our reality. How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. (James 4:14 - NLT) And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:17 (NLT) Lord, let me live in your joy and freedom, knowing my time here on earth is uncertain and will soon come to an end. I choose not to focus on fulfilling the cravings of my current body, but in all that pleases you.
It has been just over 2 weeks since my last surgery, and while I’m still very sore, and fighting a cough, things seem to be getting better day-by-day. I’m so grateful for the positive results, however, I’m now ready to get back to normal life, but my body is taking its time. With all the great news, how in the world can I be frustrated with all the little things? Things like not sleeping well, hurting every time I move my arm (or breath), or getting winded walking up a flight of stairs and being exhausted by the early afternoon? My prayer is that this week before Easter I’ll focus more on God’s passion for those in spiritual darkness, and less on me. Lord, not my passions, but your passion for the lost.
