The Short Game
January 24, 2024
Your Treasures: An Audience of One?
February 7, 2024
The changes we make now, in the “Short Game” of our lives, i.e. the little things we change now, will bump our trajectory, and not just change us, but transform us into true followers and true disciples of Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1 is our guiding principle:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Bold added)
What is hindering you from going deeper? And what sins are entangling you and preventing you from a positive, freeing relationship with Jesus?
“Everything that hinders” may not be wrong things, just okay things, that are nowhere near the best things. The good is often the enemy of the best. Yes, we want to rid ourselves of the sins in our lives – the wrong things that we keep doing, often on purpose. And yet, have you ever heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “That … good thing … that okay thing, is getting in the way and it needs to go?”
“If I am only willing to give up wrong things for Jesus, let me never talk about being a disciple of Jesus.” (Oswald Chambers – Sermon on the Mount)
Let that sink in for a moment.
So, what will you eliminate that is hindering you in your short game, and what will you then add, so you can grow and go deeper? Let’s focus on our Body, Mind, and Spirit because all three must be in balance and harmony for us to thrive.
Here are just a few ideas:
Body:
Eliminate or mitigate: Your eating and drinking habits. Perhaps that extra glass of whatever? Too much sugar – processed foods – junk foods?
Add: Better eating. More protein. Exercise – Get moving (The miracle cure). Intermittent Fasting. Stretching. More sleep. (Another miracle cure)
Mind:
Eliminate or mitigate: Social Media. Constant cell phone* – yes, you are addicted to it, as am I. Mindless TV. News, weather and sports. Newspapers. CNN or Fox News.
Add: More sleep. More reading – of substance. Silence and solitude.
Spirit:
Eliminate: CNN or Fox News. Not forgiving. Judgment. The need to be right – to control – to win. Busyness!!
Add: Silence and solitude. A Quiet Time first thing in the morning. Reading the Bible – and slower. A conversational walk with Jesus on and off throughout the day.1 Setting the Sabbath apart as a day of rest and recovery.2
You will notice I repeated three things for emphasis:
More sleep
Silence and Solitude
No more Fox News/CNN
A note of caution: This is not a self-help program. You can make some changes in your own power, but true transformation is going to take learning to lean into and lean onto the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit power! Ask for his help, taking Jesus’ counsel,
“Ask and the Holy Spirit will be given …”—Luke 11:13
- Cell Phones: If you want a little more: I do not look at my phone for at least the first thirty minutes after I wake up. And, I … try … to only look at it on the hour and the half hour.
- Dallas Willard
- Lighten Up but Tighten Up: A Fresh Sabbath Journey Quest by Sam Hunter
