The NFL Draft and Being Wanted

The NFL draft is one of my favorite things to watch. Being from Cleveland, it is always our Super Bowl and one we routinely screw up. But then there is always next year. There is much to intrigue me about the draft:

• There is strategy to figuring out when someone is available or who might take someone
• There is drama as the names are read out
• There is disappointment as some are chosen and some are not
• There is elation as dreams are made true
• There is data and analytics to support the draft approach and strategies

As part of this, there are always a few people that inevitably slide. This year it was Laremy Tunsil and Connor Cook. It is very painful to watch as these guys are scrutinized as to why their draft stock keeps plummeting. Some for known reasons (Tunsil and the hacked social media which is a whole other story) and some for unknown reasons (Cook and his questionable leadership attributes).

The draft comes down to individual guys being wanted. We all want to be wanted. When I was in 7th grade, we had just moved to New Jersey and I went out for football. Hard to believe, but I was actually small for my age and when they held the draft for football, I was way down at the bottom. I played sparingly and this carried on to high school. Even after a growth spurt in 9th grade, I never went out for football.

Most in the NFL draft have relative value. In other words, the player is only wanted if another player of equal or greater value is not available. The only exception is Jared Goff, the number one player selected. Every other player's value is graded relative to others. Do you really think that if Philadelphia had passed on Carson Wentz that San Diego would not have taken him instead of Joey Bosa. And so on and so forth.

I am really glad that God does not look on us as those that are worthy only on the relative scale. God says that "He predestined us as adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to God according to the kind intention of His will" (Ephesians 1:5). These words are everything. Our drafting was not free. The draft picks were very costly. They cost God everything - thus the words "through Jesus Christ". God made what would be viewed in the football world as a stupid trade. He sacrificed the perfection of His Son to move up in the draft to take you and I in the top spot. Amazing. Further, our career merited nothing of this move up the draft order. We had no performance to merit it and in fact had Tunsil and Cook type question marks all over the place.

But God also sees our potential. Once on the team, there are expectations. The Browns drafted "character guys" that had the potential of being high performers. As the players were announced, it was amazing how they immediately identified with their new team. So also in Christ, my identity is reformulated around my team and my mission (2 Cor. 5:17).  In fact the word Christian means "little Christs". God pulled the mega-deal to get us, but now there is a team and a mission.

Muscle Memory

Been a few weeks since I posted. Sometimes we get caught up in life and we don't take the time to sit down and compose our thoughts. I normally have no shortage of things swirling in my head to blog about but sometimes sitting down and composing them is more difficult. So back in the swing this week.

The NBA playoffs are upon us and before that March madness. I am enthralled by the emergence of the sharpshooters. I am particularly amazed by Stephen Curry who hits from way beyond the three point arc at a rate that is fascinating. From that distance there are so many things that can go wrong to cause the ball to not go through those net laces. Any slight variation from the trajectory would cause the ball to go off. This is what I believe is what people refer to as "muscle memory". It is a practice of precision gained from repetition. Stephen Curry practices these same shots with the same movement over and over again until it is almost automatic. He does not vary at all especially in the game when a man is upon him. In practice, he actually made 77 in a row. Now with the physical pressure of a game, maybe that drops to 40+%.

God wants the believer to be fueled by a kind of muscle memory. By that, the scriptures and the presence of the Holy Spirit are so ingrained so in our lives that to live by them is normal and to go against them is abnormal. Paul says to "let the word of Christ richly dwell within you" (Col 3:16). This takes intense practice. Yet so many of us just slough off the practice of knowing God that holy muscle memory doesn't have a chance. I find the disciplines of godly living require, well discipline. Many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have holy habits of study, memory, and prayer, but others treat these disciplines like they are going through a fast food window.

I play left field in baseball. From left field my accuracy is very good. I can throw a ball 150 feet with very good precision. Yet when I pitch it is almost comical how much I struggle to get the ball over the plate. I switch up arm angles and alligator arm the ball up there. The difference is 100% muscle memory. To the Christian, that type of mid-stream adjustment leads us to be like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6). What I have found fascinating is a complete lack of confidence fueled by lack of discipline when I stand on the mound. And unless I cultivate the habits of holy living, I will similarly alligator-arm and arm-slot my way through life. Muscle memory is essential to the man bent of Stephen Curry like precision.

Clothing and Identity

I was in Florida the past few days visiting my mother and stepfather. That meant spending time in airports as people are going or coming from spring break. People proudly wore hats or shirts with their favorite school or sports team on it. I proudly wore my Valpo gold shirt as the Valparaiso Crusaders made it to the NIT finals. I have a friend who I think has an entire wardrobe dedicated to Ohio State. A friend of mine said on Facebook "why do I feel so bad when my school loses and I haven't been there in 35 years".

We proudly identify ourselves with these schools or teams by wearing the apparel. It makes a statement to the rest of the world that we are proud to be associated with this or that school or team. This of course also has to do with the presumption that the team is a winner. Don't see a whole lot of Browns paraphernalia these days.

This picture is somewhat Paul had in mind when he says "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal. 3:27). The clothing is a symbol of our identification with Christ through salvation. I can wear the shirt of my favorite team and have a loose connection. That is a fan. But to be clothed here means I have to have a true union with Christ and that can only come from salvation and faith in what Christ did for me.

The context of the verse is also one of unity. When I proudly wear my Valpo shirt, I can immediately join in unity with those who are Valpo grads. My college buddies and I connected with Valpo's NIT run. How much more when Christians relate? It does not matter where they are from or what they do, there is a unity. I can go halfway around the world in places like Africa and have an instant connection with other believers in Christ.

Sadly how much more do I pronounce my loyalty to my team or my school and yet be ashamed to pronounce my identity in Christ. There is no greater identity I can have than who I am in Jesus. That goes beyond physical clothing to the very core of my being.

Two Books

The hottest world record seems to be the knuckle pushup record. Lately there has been a string of videos documenting the competition of achieving this record, the latest being just this week as Al Waselenchuk attempts to break the record by performing 91 in a minute.

Not all kinds of record books are about achieving a feat or breaking a record. Record books can record any listing of acts or deeds. As I think about this Easter, I am reminded that there are two record books mentioned in the Bible. The first is not a pleasant one. It records every sin and every offense against God. It is a very thick book. Psalm 130:3-4 says that if God should mark every iniquity, who could stand? This is the book I am held to account for when I stand before God in judgment. This book is a ledger book.

The second book is the Book of Life. This book contains not a record of my action, but a record of those who are redeemed by God. It is almost like a receipt or an admission ticket. When I go sign in to trade shows, I want my name to be on the registered list because it means that I am able to attend. Someone had to pay the price for my name to be on the list. There is only one relevant action to be in that book and that is the complete payment of sins by Jesus Christ. We want our name in that book and not in the ledger book.

In Ezekiel and Revelation, the ledger book is described as sweet to the taste and bitter to the stomach. God's wrath should be bitter - it carries a high cost in judgment, one way or the other. On Good Friday, the realization that Christ was bearing the complete wrath of God in full payment should be nauseatingly bitter. It also should be bitter to the realization that those who are relying on their own ledger book will receive the full weight of the judgment of God. On Easter Sunday, it is sweet to the soul as we are in complete relationship with God. Psalm 130:4 describes the transition from the ledger book to the book of life this way - "As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why You are worshiped." (MSG)

The Impact of Black Mass

I watched the movie Black Mass on Friday night. I knew what I was getting myself into. I read IMDB's "Parent Reviews" not for my children (they are grown), but for myself. I am careful of what comes through my eye gate. IMDB documented 254 uses of the "f-bomb" (I wonder who gets that job counting these words). I also knew there was extreme violence. More than violence - it was personal violence. War violence doesn't shake me as much maybe because it is not personal. I don't knock Hollywood for making Jim, "Whitey" Bulger who he was. He was a really bad dude and from what I can tell, Johnny Depp did an incredible job playing him. It would be really tough to soften such a character. However, about three quarters of the way through the movie, I looked at my hand and it was shaking.

There is a physical and emotional toll associated with ingesting this into the mind. And it gets worse. What used to be an "X" rated movie is now comfortably an "R" rated movie and what used to be an "R" rated movie now goes into the "PG-13" category. A movie like "Fifty Shades of Grey" will never be on my watchlist. Why? Not because I feel obligated, but because I know that something that comes into my mind leaves an imprint and certain imprints I don't want to have.

I think it is really hard for a young person growing up today. Internet pornography is prevalent. A friend of mine who is a youth pastor told me that 90+% of male students in middle and high school cite a pornography problem. It is almost impossible to will yourself away from this. What is necessary is the principle of replacement. Paul says to fill your mind with the word of Christ, and with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col 1:16). He says in Romans to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (12:2). I can't have a relationship with the creator God if what I am ingesting is drawing me away from Him. On the contrary, what I fill my mind with can draw me closer to Him and it also strengthens me to resist what I might otherwise fill my mind with.

I wanted to watch the movie because it was a biography and I was interested in the character. However, I don't think I can do it very often or I might risk becoming desensitized to it.

Falsely Accused

I have received now several of these voice mail messages on my phone.


U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Magistrate, Grand Jury oh my!  Sure sounds scary even if it is being left by Steve Martin (isn't he a comedian?). When you get messages like this, it sure makes your heart skip a beat. It is almost as if you have to remind yourself that this accusation is not legitimate. This scam is intended to scare you into calling the number and coughing up dollars to settle some claim.

I am reminded that Satan is the ultimate false accuser. Satan rips at the heart of your worries and fears. He wants to tear you down and render you completely useless. But God says the complete opposite; you are valuable and you are loved. Your reaction should be the same as with this voice mail message and to call it for what it is. James says to "Submit yourselves to God; resist the devil and he will flee from you." (4:7). The trick is to nip the false accusation in the bud as soon as it comes in. Don't let it sink in and fester.

Doing Life Together

Just finished a refreshing weekend with close friends of over 20 years. I describe these friends as those who we have done "life with". We started out as a community group through Parkside Church. Our kids were about the same age and we spent the formative family years together. A number of us now are part of Christ Community Chapel and two have even moved away. But even though our kids have grown, we drew back together. Life now involves parents passing into eternity, illnesses such as cancer, job changes, financial insecurities, and more.

So here we were, 18 of us gathering at Maumee Park Resort eating (and more eating), playing walleyball, pictionary, and some dice game I think called "left, right, center" (I never heard of it). The picture above is at this pizza joint called Blackberry's Cafe. I am so grateful for this group. My tendency like a lot of men is to fight the battle of life alone. But that is not God's plan. We were not meant to go through life alone. We need each other, warts and all. In our closing worship this morning, we were reminded of Paul's words in Colossians 3:12-17.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. 

As we reflected, it is amazing to see God's providence in bringing our group together. The only common trait we all have is a love of Jesus Christ and faith in Him. We all need to be part of an extended family. God never intends to go through the trials of life alone.