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Never—It’s a Long Time

Those of you who know me are well aware of my passion for sports. If you follow college basketball, then you know that during late March/early April the NCAA holds its annual tournament, aptly named March Madness, to determine its champion. 16 teams are seeded in each of 4 regions by the selection committee. A team from each of the various conferences receives an automatic bid because it won its conference tournament. Due to upsets in those tournaments and also because not all conferences are created equal, there are teams that get into the tournament that most people have never even heard of.  These teams often get seeded at #16 and have to face #1 right out of the gate. This is a one and done tournament—winners advance, losers go home. On paper, these #16-seeded teams have no chance of winning their first game. In fact, up until 11 days ago, a #16 has NEVER beaten a #1 in the NCAA tournament. History was rewritten on March 16, 2018 when #16 UMBC stunned #1 Virginia in the first round of the tournament. Never is a long time, isn’t it?

This brings to mind the story of David and Goliath found in 1 Samuel 17. David was the baby and runt of his family. He was home tending sheep while his three oldest brothers were out fighting the Philistines with the rest of the Israelite army. His father sent him out to deliver food and check on his brothers one day.

As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.

1 Samuel 17:23-24

Goliath taunted the Israelite army on a daily basis. As a result, King Saul was offering a huge reward to anyone who killed this giant.

David asked the men standing near him, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’                                                                                                                     

1 Samuel 17:26

 When David’s question made its way to Saul, David was called before the king.

“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”                                                                                                      

1 Samuel 17:32-33

David persisted and laid out his qualifications, or rather God’s, before King Saul:

The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

1 Samuel 17:37

Saul provided David with armor for the battle, but it only made David uncomfortable because it didn’t fit well. So, he picked up 5 stones and put them in his bag. Armed with only his staff and sling, David headed across the valley to take on Goliath. He was greeted by more taunting from the giant.

David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord ’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

                                           1 Samuel 17:45-47

And that’s exactly what happened…

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

1 Samuel 17:48-51

The odds were stacked against both UMBC and David. On paper, neither had a chance of winning the battle before them. That didn’t deter them though. Instead, they faced the overwhelming challenge head on. UMBC may not have been the most talented team on the court that night, but whatever deficit they faced in skill, they made up for with belief and determination. They didn’t take the court that night hoping not to be blown out by Virginia. They took the court believing they could BEAT Virginia! Likewise, David was not the better equipped of the two. He didn’t even have a sword. He went to battle knowing it wasn’t his battle to win, but rather God’s. He believed with all his heart that God would rescue him from the Philistine.

These stories inspire me. And they convict me. Is there some part of your life where the odds are stacked against you? What is your response? Admittedly, I often keep my expectations low so as not to be disappointed. It’s like a defense mechanism of sorts. I don’t have any trouble cheering on others in their battles though. My walk doesn’t always align with my talk. I believe His promises are true for everyone else, but struggle to believe they are true for me too. Maybe you have similar struggles. I pray these stories renew your faith in the One who makes the impossible possible.

In Mark 9:23, after being questioned by the father of a demon-possessed boy as to whether he could do anything for the boy, Jesus says, “Everything is possible for the one who believes.”

May we all have the same mindset as the team from University of Maryland – Baltimore County and the faith of David.

In this final weekend of March Madness, we have #11 Loyola-Chicago taking on Michigan in one of the semifinal games for the right to advance to the championship game on Monday night. An eleven seed has NEVER made it to the final game. But, we already learned that NEVER is a long time, didn’t we?

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Lost…and Found

In the 15th chapter of Luke, you’ll find Jesus’ “lost” parables. In each of the three, there was great cause for celebration when the lost was found. If you’ve ever found something that you thought was lost, I’m sure you can relate to this parable of the Lost Coin:

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”                                  

Luke 15:8-10 NLT

At my last high school class reunion in 2013 I volunteered to help another classmate in the planning of our next reunion. Well, I blinked, 5 years passed, and it’s time to get to work. My classmate was mostly looking for help with the communication part of it as technology is not her thing and I thought I could help. We had a planning lunch last month and I was tasked with hunting down the Shanksville-Stonycreek High School Class of ‘83. There are only 29 graduates from my class, including me, so no need to feel sorry for me! I had saved the contact information that we had from previous reunions so I wasn’t exactly starting from scratch; however, there were several classmates that we had little to no information on and I haven’t seen or heard anything out of them since the night we walked across the stage to collect our diplomas.

My search began shortly after that planning lunch. I sent texts, emails and Facebook messages and made note of any responses. For those who didn’t respond, it became necessary to dig a little deeper. There was one classmate in particular that I really had no idea how to track down. No one seemed to know what became of him after high school. The only info I had was his name. So, I googled it! Of course, the search led me to multiple people by that name. Somehow, I found an email address for one person by that name that lived in PA, so I thought I’d start there. That was a fun email to compose—-“So, are you by any chance the _____ _______ that graduated from Shanksville in 1983?” Imagine my surprise when I got a response saying, “Yes, I am.” I felt like I had just won the lottery! I told some friends and family so they could rejoice with me, just as the woman did when she found her lost coin.

Another of the “Lost” parables dealt with sheep:

“So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”

Luke 15:3-7 NLT

I guess because I’m a math teacher, the numbers always strike me from this parable. He had 99 out of 100 of his sheep accounted for, yet it was the one who was lost that garnered his attention. My students would be thrilled with a 99%. I doubt any would dwell on the 1% they missed. Yet when I was searching for classmates, I found myself responding just as this man with the lost sheep. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for each and every response that I got. But some classmates were easier to locate than others. It was the ones who required the most effort to find, that brought me the greatest joy. Just as this man in the parable of the lost sheep, my focus was on the small percentage that was lost.

Jesus used these parables to make His point in a way that we could easily understand. These two parables, along with the third about the Lost (Prodigal) Son, weren’t really about the lost coin, sheep and son. They were about searching for and reaching out with the Good News to those who don’t yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Their eternity hinges on being found.

He wants EVERY soul saved. 99% isn’t good enough. Are you looking for what (who) is lost? If you’re like me, the task seems daunting and you feel completely unqualified for such an assignment. No worries—-the Director of this Search and Rescue Operation is none other than Jesus Christ. He will equip us for whatever tasks He assigns. The key is to stay in close connection with Him so He can direct our steps. Then, of course, we must respond in obedience to that direction.

Of this we can be sure—-there is rejoicing in Heaven when the lost are found!

(And when I had obtained contact information for ALL 29 members of the SSHS Class of ‘83, there was rejoicing at my house too!)

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Messy Roads

Winter can be messy, not to mention cold. I was heading up the mountain to Somerset a few weeks ago and got behind a coal truck. The road was dirty and slightly wet from the salt and melting snow. The combination made the car’s windshield wiper fluid my MVF—-Most Valuable Friend. There was just enough mess on my windshield that I needed to use the wipers occasionally. Unfortunately, the wipers made the mess even worse. Have you been there? Since being able to see the road comes in handy while driving, I needed that wiper fluid desperately.

Life gets messy too, doesn’t it? As Pastor Chris frequently reminds us at Charter Oak Church, “everybody’s dealing with something.” In the middle of our mess we sometimes take charge, turn on the windshield wipers, and make an even bigger mess. As I was driving up the mountain that day, it occurred to me that the wiper fluid is symbolic of Jesus in the lives of His children. He’s our MVF and more! When we confess Him as Lord and Savior of our lives, He cleans us up.

“he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”                                     Titus 3:5 NLT

But He doesn’t stop there.

Without the wiper fluid that day, I would have been hard-pressed to stay on the road. At times I could barely see through the mess on my windshield. When the “somethings” in our lives cloud the path, Jesus stands ready, willing, and able to show us the way.

“The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.”                                       Psalms 32:8 NLT

There’s a little more to the story.

I had windshield wiper fluid that day, but without my pressing the button to activate the pump and wipers, it would have done me no good. Similarly, we play a role in activating Jesus in our lives. We must seek Him and His guidance. Care to join me?

“Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.”                                                                                                    Psalms 25:4 NLT