Always

Can anything always work?  How dependable are the things we place our faith in?

Over the past few weeks, I admit to watching more sports than normal.  NFL Playoffs ... SEC Basketball ... Golf ... and we are just days away from the Winter Olympics.  Tom Brady's retirement is the buzz of the sports world, and (thanks Nicey) a little look into the fan's view of a Troy basketball game.

This week I would like to make a little sports analogy and a longer reference to a foundational Bible verse.  THAT is something that always works and we can (for sure) depend upon.  First, that sports thing.

The quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is a likable guy named Pat Mahomes.  He is super talented and, if you listen to sports talk shows, he might even be able to walk on water.  While he is very good, I have watched him make off-balance throws, passes while he is backing up and no-look passes.  While these things express his vast talent, they are done in spite of the correct fundamentals.  This Sunday the lack of fundamentals caught up with him, and he was largely responsible for his team's loss in the divisional championship game.  When the pressure is on, fundamentals can either save you or (if you ignore them) fail you.  And while I don't really care about the football games being played, this analogy can be expanded to our connection to God's Word.

Where do we go for God's wise counsel?  One place is the wisdom literature in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs.  These books are fundamental and foundational words of wisdom that will carry us in the good times and in the difficult times.  Two passages are offered today, hopefully to make this day and every day better.

First, Proverbs 1:7 says, "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."  Want fundamental wisdom?  Go to God!  Respect the Lord.  Find a strong and solid place to stand, so that when the winds blow and the storms come, you will have the "fundamentals" (discipline) to hold you steady.  God's fundamentals will not fail us, even when it looks like things are off-the-rail.

The second passage (Proverbs 2:6) says, "For the Lord grants wisdom!  From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding!"  Here is where I find many to lose their fundamentals.  Our world today (and this is the most worldly behavior I see every day) believes feelings are somehow ratified by what they call the 'spirit's' leading.  Then they make choices that are unlike the fundamental nature of God and God's Spirit.  Let's unpack this verse.

Wisdom comes from God and our ever-available connection to God is Scripture.  John Wesley said while God connects to us via experiences, the story of the Church and our ability to reason, these are all 'handmaidens' to Scripture.  God's Word is our go-to foundation, especially in hard times.  It gives us the knowledge and understanding we need when solid footing is required.  And what Scripture leads us to do will not be like the disunity, rebelliousness, arrogance, self-important proclamations and reactions of the world around us.  Through Solomon (primary author/compiler of Proverbs) we hear the advice ... "do it God's way and you will not fall or fail."

Football is not the most important thing happening on Sunday (or Saturday when college football is in season).  Sunday is where and when we can come, learn and get wisdom from God who says (in Proverbs 2:7) He will grant "the treasure of common sense to the honest."  God to God's fundamentals.  Be honest about your attitudes and your choices.  See if your decisions, attitudes and interactions are consistent with God's Word, the "foundation of true knowledge."  

On NFL football, Sunday is a time when the fundamentals can uphold you and give you solid footing when things are tense and unpredictable.  How much more do you think God's fundamentals might help His people navigate this world?  Martin Luther writes, In A Mighty Fortress is Our God, "And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God hath willed, His truth to triumph through us.  The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him, his rage we can endure, for lo his doom is sure, one little word will fell him."  We DO have fundamentals.  If we embrace them they can uphold and equip us.  If we ignore them, we will stumble and fall.  Let's 'not lean on our own understanding' but "trust in the Lord with all our heart (Proverbs 3:5)."  It always works!  Randy