Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Of GRACE and Golf

 

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved.  I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.  For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself.  Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.  For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God.  

Romans 10:1-4

Paul held the nation of Israel’s people in his heart.  He wanted more than anything to see them turn to God by faith, which is God’s way.  Indeed, Scripture informs us that there is no other way. 

God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.  Ephesians 2:8-9

Unfortunately, for Israel, and for many people today, the concept of earning God’s approval is ingrained.  So many people, especially those who’ve hardly ever, if ever, read the Bible, misunderstand the way of grace…we don’t earn our way into Heaven, or God’s favor…God brings us there by His Spirit when we trust Him.

Our Son-in-love, Ken, shared an experience with me he had this month with a fellow he met on the golf course.  When you go to the golf course alone, they will often place you with others who come by themselves.  This new acquaintence brought his own stash of refreshments; by the 5th hole, he was quite intoxicated.

Drunk and swinging a golf club rarely do well together.  Doing poorly at something and inebriation also bring out unpleasantness (to say the least).  The guy swore loudly, and usually after every shot.  By the time the round of golf was half over, the man lost it altogether, becoming emotionally undone, at one point sobbing like a wounded elephant.  As they began the second half of the round he walked up to Ken and apologized for his behavior.  Ken looked at the man and said:  “Can I pray for you right now?”  The man looked at Ken as if he’d been shot – “Aw…no, you don’t want to do that…I’m drunk”.  After a few minutes of talking to him, Ken found out the man did believe in Christ, but was embarrassed, and didn’t want to pray in this condition.  But he conceded, and Ken prayed for him.

The key connection with this condition and Paul’s reminder of losing the thought of earning your way into God’s friendship, is that the man knew he wasn’t acting right.  He imagined he had to get better, conquer his alcoholic tendencies, and get his life just right before God would love him.  The problem was he just couldn’t seem to grasp that he’d never done that before…and all attempts were futile…there was no power in his personal arsenal of controlling his life and impulses.  He remained Godless.

Ken may never see this man again, but the unexpected offer of prayer to a man who felt totally worthless will stay in his memory.  And that will bring him closer to understanding he will never earn his place with God…it will be grace or nothing.

For You Today

If you’ve labored under the mistaken idea that being a witness for Christ means memorizing 12 Scripture verses, and a 5 bullet-point presentation to bring a stranger into the Kingdom, let Ken’s simple question find its’ way into your daily life.  When encountering someone who’s suffering, being obedient to Jesus’ call to witness can be found in that simple question…Can I pray for you….right now?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts in the Rocky Road Devotions library. 

To dig deeper into today’s topic or Scripture text:  So...Which Came First? and Lost Sheep

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©   

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