What would you say to Tiger?

2 Corinthians 7:10 For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.

I just finished listening to Tiger Woods statement regarding his "moral failures". It made me think of the Apostle Paul's statement in the book of Romans:

"I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my bad conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things. I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it. It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong." (Romans 7:15-21 NLT)

Tiger Woods, like all of us, has to come to grips with this internal struggle. I can relate. I have found myself saying over and over: "I can't believe I did this again." I want to do what is right, but I also find myself pulled to do what is wrong! Like the Apostle Paul I want to scream:

"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin?" (Romans 7:24 NLT)

Tiger said that one thing he was going to do to try and overcome his struggles and behavior was to return to his Buddhist faith.

The Buddhist teach that a person overcomes their struggles by "The Four Noble Truths":
1. Life is suffering 2. We suffer because we desire the impermanent 3. The way to liberation from desire is to eliminate desire 4. Eliminate desire by following the eight fold path:(Have a right understanding of the four noble truths, Have right thought, Have right speech, Have right action, Have the right occupation, Have the right effort, Have mental self-control, Have right concentration)

I believe Buddhism has it partly right. Life is filled with suffering. Regardless of one's beliefs, all people agree that life is painful. And I would agree that most suffering does come from a desire of things that are impermanent, things that cannot ultimately satisfy the longings of the human heart.

However, the remedy is not found in self-effort or religion. Humanity has always had two ways of trying to achieve happiness & peace: Self-righteous religion (if I follow the rules, if I try harder, if I shape up I will be ok), or Self-centered rebellion (I am going to live it up, I am going to get mine, I will do what ever brings me pleasure). I believe both are an attempt to remedy the inner struggle common to all. I believe neither work.

I am a follower of Jesus because only He makes sense of the struggle and only He can set me free from my selfishness. Scripture teaches that only Jesus can set us free from self, sin, and death. Scripture teaches that the harder I try to keep the rules the more aroused my sinful self gets (Romans 7:5). Jesus taught that selfish sinful behavior comes from what is inside of our hearts (Matthew 15:19). We always try to change the outside first. But that never works. Religion is about humanity conforming outwardly to a set of ideals. True Christianity is about God changing us first on the inside, inside our hearts and the outside then follows. To me, this separates Christianity from all other faiths. Religion is man trying to gain God's favor and forgiveness by climbing the ladder of do's & dont's, and rules & regulations. Christianity is God coming to man. It is Him extending favor and forgiveness not based on works & effort but on faith in Jesus. Therefore, I agree wholeheartedly with the Apostle Paul once again:

"Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 7:24-25 NLT)

Jesus died to free us from the penalty of sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23), He gives us the Holy Spirit when we believe to free us from the power of sin (John 8:34-36, Romans 8:9-11), and He will ultimately free us from the presence of sin in eternity with Him (Revelation 21:4).

Hopefully Tiger Woods will be back playing golf soon. I pray nothing but the best for Tiger Woods. I certainly am no one to judge him. Jesus paid the price for his sins and mine. I think it would be a great story for him to make a full recovery and find himself back doing what he loves soon. My prayer is he would put his faith and hope in the one person who always delivers on His promises, and that is Jesus Christ.

Viva Las Vegas

I had the privilege last week of being the guest speaker for the DTS (discipleship training school) at the Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Las Vegas base. I had the responsibility of teaching 12 lectures Monday through Thursday on the "Noblesse Oblige". It was a lot of work but very worth it.

Las Vegas: aka "Sin City" or "Lost Wages", as some like to call it is an interesting place. It is a crazy place somewhat like the New Testament city of Corinth where the apostle Paul encountered all sorts of debauchery and hedonism. There really is nothing new under the sun. Mankind has always had two paths to fulfillment: Self-Centered rebellion or Self-Righteous religion. Las Vegas just prides its self on its openness to feeding the Self-Centered hedonistic ways of humanity. Las Vegas is a place that is the antithesis of 1 John 2:15-17:

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." NIV

On the other hand is there not a more strategic place for a Christ-follower to be than in the middle of a place where broken people are looking for God in all the wrong places? If Jesus would have lived in our day I'm sure he would have found his way to Vegas to talk to the outcast, the broken, the rich, the stripper, the gambler, and the drunk (Matthew 9:10-13, Matthew 11:19). Jesus was always found with the broken and the broken were always attracted to Jesus.

As my wife and I drove the first day we got to Vegas we were shocked at 50 or so homeless people living under the under pass a block or so from the base. People were sleeping on the sidewalk. What an eye-opener. The base is located in a rough part of town.

The students have signed up for 12 weeks of daily discipleship that consists of communal living, Bible lectures, outreach to locals, much prayer, and servant hood. At the end of the 12 weeks the students will have formed a team that will go and share the love of Jesus to people who are less fortunate and spiritually lost without Christ. But even more than that, they will be marked for life by the bonds of unity Christ will form in each of them by them pursuing and living out their "Noblesse Oblige" (French for Noble obligation).

I am proud to know each one of them. They picked a difficult place to do their training. I am even more proud of their leaders who serve them and serve with them everyday. My prayer for all of them is found in Romans 15:5-6:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. "NIV

Thank you YWAM Las Vegas. You taught me more than I taught you. You reminded me what its all about.