I will admit it. I have never been a Tiger Woods fan. I have cheered against every shot, putt and signature fist pump. It’s just not fun to watch the same person win every week and so I choose to cheer for him to lose. I realize that until a few months ago, I was in the minority there. A few months ago, it became normal to not be a Tiger Woods fan.

When I first heard the news of Tiger’s infidelity, I immediately said, “I knew I didn’t like him for a good reason!” Then a friend of mine said something that has stuck with me and taught me a very important lesson. He said, “Be careful Wes, would you have said the same thing about me?”

He had cheated on his wife in the past.

I wouldn’t have said the same thing about him. I would have prayed in earnest for him and his marriage. I would have hoped that his wife forgave him and that God would restore his marriage. I didn’t hope the same thing for Tiger. I didn’t pray for him or his marriage. There was no grace extended.

This year at the Masters there is going to be intense focus on Tiger as he plays in his first tournament this year. All eyes are going to be on him, not only to see every swing of the club but to see how he reacts to the pressure of everything being out on the table for all to see and know.

What if he wins? What if he sinks the putt on the 18th to win and walks off the green and the person he hurt the most is standing there with arms open wide ready for the “moment”. What an amazing picture of grace that would be.

It makes me wonder how many times God has done the same for me. Opened up his arms to accept me after I cheated him.

The only limit on grace is how much you withhold.

Go Tiger.

This place has changed my life.

It’s a family homeless shelter that gives families a starting over point.

It gives parents a chance to relearn skills needed to get back on their feet.

But the kids…

They are the ones who have changed me. Every smile. Every hug.

They are always looking for volunteers. If you have been looking for a way to be the hands and feet of Christ, step out in faith and volunteer at Safe Haven. I promise you that it will change you.

During the segment to pimp out Compassion International they had a gentleman on stage that told his story of being a Compassion kid. He had the first letter that his sponsor ever sent to him and he read it aloud. The letter talked about God’s love and how excited the sponsor was to sponsor him. There wasn’t anything special or remarkable about the letter, yet it changed this mans life. He was now in Bible college and couldn’t wait to go back to home to teach others about Christ.

Then he was asked if in all those years of writing back and forth with his sponsor if he had ever met him. He said no, he hadn’t. They told him to turn around. His sponsor was behind him and the man completely lost it. Overcome and overjoyed, tears flooded down his face as he slumped to the stage. No words. Just hugging the man who simply cared enough to write. Letters shaped his life. God can use anything.

I immediately put on my calendar, “Write Lucky a letter.” Lucky is my Compassion kid. He gets his money every month, but does he get the love that this man obviously felt? I don’t know, I just know that I need to keep loving and writing and let God take care of the rest.

It’s the best $32 a month you can spend.

When’s the last time you were humbled by someone’s story?

Those are the only 3 pics I could manage to get, but trust me it’s a daily occurrence. There’s no shortage of gum here at Cross Point either. I guess it’s the little things that make us all weird. Now excuse me while I go put ketchup on my potato chips and drink milk with pizza.

What’s something weird that you do?

One early morning, after a fierce storm had hit the coast, I strolled to the beach for my morning walk. Horrified, I saw that tens of thousands of starfish had been washed up on the beach by the winds and waves. I was saddened by the realization that all of them would die, stranded on the shore, away from the life-giving water. Despairing that there was nothing I could do, I sat down on the sand and put my head in my hands.

But then I heard a sound, and I lifted my eyes. There, in the distance, I saw a man bending down and then standing up, bending down and standing up. Curious, I rose and walked toward him. I saw that he was picking up the starfish, one at a time, and throwing them back in the sea.

“What are you doing?” I yelled.
“Saving the starfish,” he replied.
“But don’t you see, man, that there are tens of thousands of them?” I asked, incredulous. “Nothing you can do will make a difference.”

He did not answer me but instead bent down, picked up another starfish, and cast it back in the water. Then he smiled, looked me in the eye, and said, “It made a difference to that one.”

When I read that parable in the book “The Hole In Our Gospel” the idea of making it personal became clear.

Then I started to think about Jesus and the example he set. I used to look at Jesus’ miracles as Jesus displaying his power to people. Oh wow, Jesus did it again! Great job on healing that leper!

Then it hit me. Jesus made it personal. The stories that were recorded about the miracles he performed are personal stories. Jesus heals a man with leprosy, Jesus heals a blind man, Jesus and the rich young ruler, the faith of the Roman Officer, Jesus raises a widow’s son, etc. Even when he fed the 5,000, the lesson became personal for his disciples.

Jesus was relational. He healed on a personal level. We should do the same. Love and serve others on a personal level and build relationships that last longer than a few moments. One person at a time.

“Don’t fail to do something, because you can’t do everything.” – Bob Pierce

“The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” – John 9:11

He told that to his family, his friends and then told the Pharisees. He was telling everyone what happened to him. The change that had taken place. He didn’t fully understand everything, but he was eager to tell. I am not even sure if the beggar had even seen Jesus yet, but he sure did experience him.

Then he was brought in a second time by the Pharisees for more questioning and something amazing happened. A picture of a “marked change.” The Pharisees told him that “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” His response is beautiful:

I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

He didn’t have all the answers! He didn’t have all the knowledge. But what he was sure of was that he had been changed. That he had a divine appointment and his life has been forever changed.

Sometimes in life we attribute spiritual maturity to head knowledge. How smart the person is. Dare we say, “I don’t have all the answers…but I know this. I had an encounter with the living God that has changed me forever. I want to tell others about it and I will not be scared because I don’t have all the answers. I was blind, but now I can see.”

An encounter with the living God through spit and mud. There is nothing God cannot do.

“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his desciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parent’s sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” – John 9:1-3

The power of God can be found in everything. I’m not sure how old this blind man was, but can you imagine being blind for so many years? Going through life not seeing. Suffering and hardships were not new to this man. He had spent years dealing with them.  Do you think he lost hope?  I hate to admit it, but I would have.  It’s tough to see hope in suffering.

Then one day Jesus came walking by.

And the man became lesson #65,948 to the disciples.  Using spit and mud (Jesus spit, so I am NOT stopping anytime soon), he rubbed it on his eyes and told him to go wash his face in the pool of Siloam.  Now, I am not a bible scholar by any means, but I took it that Jesus went on his way after that.  He didn’t stick around to see the end result.  I imagine the disciples taking furious notes on their lesson.  Probably turned the page on that lesson and was ready for the next one, but the lesson wasn’t over.

God’s power being shown through the blind beggar was just getting started…

“Sometimes God has us on a long journey, trudging uphill. We can only see the dirt path with no way to see over the hill to the destination. Perhaps if we saw where we were going, we would be planning what we would do when we got there: where we would visit, sites to see, places to eat. We would completely overlook the journey. We would miss the sites along the way, the sunsets and sunrises, because we would be so consumed with the final arrival.

I challenge you to enjoy the walk you’re on, saturate yourself in the experience, remember where you are walking through and encourage other stragglers on the way. Because over that hill is something far more wonderful than you can imagine. This is your journey, your walk, your story, only you can choose how you handle the “lay-overs.” God has never let you down and he’s not going to start today.”

That message was written on the inside of a card and left on my car for me to find. On a day where my most earnest prayers were lifted up and trust was getting tougher and tougher, I received this. On a day where I prayed “If success to you God means you want me to be homeless and glorify you that way, I will be homeless. I only want what you want,” and I actually meant it… this shows up.

Thank you so much to whoever it was that wrote that on a card and placed it on my car. Thank you for that blessing and encouragement. I can never thank you enough.

Dear Reader,

I hope those words will also speak to your heart and you will click off my blog knowing that God has never let you down and he’s NOT going to start today. Make it a priority to remind someone of that today.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

“I’ve got to tell you about this thing that has completely changed my life,” he said quite loudly. “This has been such a blessing to me and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. It makes me feel so good that I can help people completely change their life.” At this point, he had my interest. Was I about to hear someone’s testimony right there in Whole Foods?

He went on to explain how amazing this life change has been and that if they are ready he will reveal to them what the secret is. Apparently the person on the other end of the phone wasn’t quite ready so instead he made a lunch appointment with the person for later in the week.

I noticed that he had a jug full of water with him. The only other person I have seen carrying a milk jug full of water was body builders. “Mark, hey it’s Brian. It’s been a long time! How ya been?” He started his next conversation. This went on for quite sometime until he found someone who wanted to know the secret right then and there over the phone.

“If you are really ready to hear it, I will tell you the secret. You just stop me when you have to go, cause I can talk about this all day long. Are you ready? You sure? Ok… it’s…. water. Yep. Water.” He went on to explain that drinking this water has healed him and has given him this unexplainable joy. There’s this machine that he bought that converts regular water into this new water that heals all kinds of disabilities. He says it’s on the cutting edge and that soon it will spread like wildfire.

At this point I realized that this is probably a pyramid scheme and laughed to myself. I was pretty sure that once you tried out the miracle water and felt better that the next step was to purchase the expensive machine and then go and try to sell others the machine and the person who sold to you gets a percentage of all the machines you sell, etc.

Then it hit me. This person believed in his product. He couldn’t wait to tell people. He took the product with him wherever he went. I’m sure he faced some apprehension about telling someone that “water” will heal their pain and give them joy, but he did it anyway. He called his product his “blessing.”

Now, I am not advocating we treat the saving grace of Jesus as a product. I realize that money probably fueled this man’s passion about water, but the way he spoke about it broke my heart.

I know unspeakable joy. I know true healing power. I know a love that can’t be put into words. And there I sit. Quietly and to myself. Not sharing the blessing that changed my life with anyone.

My “jug of water” goes with me everywhere also. It’s up to me if I decide to share it.

“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
Romans 12:12

“This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us
through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.”
Hebrews 6:19

What would happen if we lost hope? The “golden cord” connecting you to heaven becomes loose as you let go of your end. Your head lowers and the feet that once marched bravely ahead begin to barely move. Progress is at a standstill. The road you are on is rocky and uneven. If you were able to lift your sunken head to look around you would see a path that is full of detours, mountains, valleys and roadblocks.

If you have ever felt that way remember that cord of hope. It’s still in your hands. Grip it. Pull it towards you. Stretch the cord tight. The road around you will remain rocky and uneven. There will still be detours, mountains, valleys and roadblocks, but you will have hope. Hope in the creator of the world. The one who loved you so much he allowed his only Son to die for you. Enough said.