Are You Willing to be Second?

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:5

Brad Park is widely considered to be one of the best defensemen in NHL history. He is considered by many (myself included) to be the best player in the history of the New York Rangers. With a reputation such as that, many would probably find it surprising that he never won a Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman.

Park's reputation is deserved. He was a five-time first team all-star, and a six-time runner-up in Norris Trophy balloting. Why then, was he never acknowledged as the best at his position? One name answers that question: Bobby Orr.

Park was a "victim" of the era in which he played. Four of the six second place finishes were to Orr while the latter was on a streak of eight consecutive Norris wins. In fact, Orr won three Hart Trophies as league MVP during that span, and had a strong argument for more. To put Orr's accomplishments into perspective, consider these facts: It's almost unheard of for a defenseman to win the Hart, and Orr racked up his accomplishments during a career which spanned only nine full seasons. Orr is also credited with changing the way the game is played since he popularized the concept of a "rushing defensman."

With all that in mind, it's very easy to see why the awards were piled on Orr while Park was left out in the cold, so to speak. At any other time in NHL history, after the introduction of the trophy, Park almost certainly would have won Norris awards. We're all human, and we know how human nature works. We like to win. We like to be acknowledged as being great as something. So, how do you think Park felt about his status as perpetual runner-up?

The answer is easy to find. Park once gave it himself. "I saw no reason to be upset because I was rated second to Bobby Orr. After all, Orr not only was the top defenseman in the game, but he was considered the best player ever to put on a pair of skates. There was nothing insulting about being rated number two to such a super superstar."

That was reality, and Brad Park was man enough to face it. In fact, he even watched Orr's play with the hope of improving his own. "Bobby had a definite influence on my play. I began studying him during the 1968-69 season. While I was recuperating from my broken ankle, I got a chance to watch Bobby a bit closer in a couple of games on television and a couple more in person. I'll tell you this, he slowed things down and when he suckered somebody in, he'd burst around them with his fantastic accelerations." Brad Park accepted that Bobby Orr was first and that he was second, and he made the most of it.

Now, with all of that in your mind, let me ask you some questions. Who is in first place in your life? Is it you? Do you live your life looking out for "number one," trying to put yourself ahead of all others? If you do, you're in for a sad awakening one day. None of us will ever be "number one." This life isn't about us. Rather, it's about Jesus Christ.

I hope you'll forgive the crude illustration, but Jesus Christ is the Bobby Orr to our Brad Park. No matter what we accomplish, and no matter what successes we have in this life, we'll never measure up to Him. To fight that is only to bring misery into our own lives.

Similarly, just as Brad Park determined to better his game by watching Orr's, we can better ourselves by observing Jesus. We have the perfect model for how to live our lives in the Gospel narratives about Him. As great as Orr was, however, and as much as there was for someone who observed him to learn from him, he wasn't perfect. That's not so with Jesus. He is perfect. His example will never fail us.

Ultimately, though, we have to go a step further if we want to make the most out of our lives. It's not enough to simply acknowledge that He's greater than we are and follow the pattern He left for us. We must realize that our purpose in life is His pleasure. That's why we were created. To find the ultimate fulfillment, we must accept Him as Lord and live our lives in His service. Even then, God will be a debtor to no man. Those who have served Him faithfully will receive eternal rewards at the judgment seat of Christ and will hear the greatest words they could ever receive: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

What place do you hold in your life? If it's first place, you've got it all wrong. This is one instance that striving for first won't win. It's a guaranteed loser. Do you want to win? If so, put Jesus Christ first. Are you willing to be second?

Count Your Blessings

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Deuteronomy 28:2

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

In a typical day, do you spend more time focusing on positives or negatives? Sadly, I think many of us would have to answer that we think about negatives more often. Difficulties come along and we feel overwhelmed, and feel like we have to deal with them, allowing them to draw our attention away whatever else is going on around us. In fact, all too often, we simply take the blessings in our lives for granted without giving them a second thought.

My thoughts along these lines spur from the service at my church Sunday night, which spontaneously turned into a testimony time. Expressing what I'm thankful for and hearing others express what they're thankful for was a very uplifting experience. During the invitation and after the service, people sought one another out to say how much they loved and appreciated each other. To call it uplifting would be a serious understatement, but I don't really know how to express my full emotions about it.

Thinking about all of the blessings in my life has been overwhelming also. Those blessings come in the for of temporal gifts, people, and of course, salvation and the Saviour. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from the Lord, and if we follow Him, more blessings than we could ever dream of flow into our lives. God doesn't want us to live a life of discouragement and defeat. He wants us to follow Him, and experience the blessings and victory that come from doing so.

If you can't think of anything to be thankful for, try harder. There's always something there. In fact, there are many things. There's the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, the roofs over our heads, and the fact that we're not in Hell right now. None of those are things that we deserve, and they come only from the goodness of God.

If you're saved, the top blessing you have is your salvation that was paid for by Jesus Christ. If you're lost, the top blessing you have is the chance to live another day and the opportunity to receive the gift of salvation in that day. If we look hard enough, there are always blessings to count.

A former music director at my church who has since passed on to Heaven used to change the words to the chorus of this hymn sometimes. Instead of singing "name them one by one," he'd have us sing "name them ton by ton." That's pretty accurate. We could never count all of our blessings one by one, and honestly, we couldn't count them ton by ton either. We're a truly blessed people.

Practical Idolatry

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

Football season is here! Millions of people across the United States will be glued to their televisions for the next four or five months. Many of them will eat, breathe, and sleep every touchdown over that period of time.

Understand, I'm not putting down sports fans, because to do so would be quite hypocritical. For the first time in my life, I'm really not excited about football season, but I'm still eagerly awaiting the beginning of hockey season. There's nothing wrong with being a sports fan. Everyone needs something to provide relaxation or an escape from the stress of every day life.

Those hobbies are perfectly acceptable when they are kept in their proper place, but for too many they are blown out of proportion. I find it highly unlikely that many who read this blog would classify themselves as idolaters, but the fact of the matter is that if we're not careful, any one of us can fall into a form of idolatry. I'm not talking about building an idol and worshiping and praying to it, but I'm talking about putting something ahead of God.

Lest anyone think I'm being condescending, I'll make a confession here. About nine years ago, I found myself at a point where sports had taken far too big of a role in my life. I hadn't come to the point that I'd stay home from church to watch a game or anything like that, but if you were to begin a conversation with me, sports would have been my top pick, far and away.

Things really hit the fan one Saturday, when, while watching a football game, I got angry when I felt that my team lost a game because of poor officiating. While I still believe the officiating in that game was poor, I'm nonetheless very ashamed by my reaction. If someone who wasn't a Christian would have seen how I acted that afternoon, I would have given a very poor testimony. It would have suggested that a football game was more important to me than living my faith.

I had to do some re-evaluation. I stopped watching football for the rest of the season to give myself an opportunity to straighten out my priorities. I couldn't let my love of sports be the first love of my life. If it hadn't done so at that point, it was well on its way.

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus told the church of Ephesus that he had somewhat against them because they had left their first love. Jesus is the first love of a Christian. When we're first saved, He is more important than anything in the world. However, over time, our love for Him often grows cold, and our focus moves away from Him and to worldly things.

As much as we might not like to admit it, this is ultimately a form of idolatry. Anything we put ahead of God is an idol. I'm fully aware that this is a thought that will offend many, but if we want to be the servants of God that we should be, we must be able to face our sin for what it is so that we can deal with it. Denial will get us nowhere.

If at this point, you realize that you're at the point I was a few years ago, there is good news. If we'll confess this sin to God, He'll forgive it just as He will any other. We can have complete fellowship restored and resume our proper service to Him.

Go ahead. Watch a football game. Engage in your favorite hobby. Enjoy it. But please, keep it in its proper place. Don't let it take the place of your first love. Give first place to Jesus, and everything else will fall in line. That is the only way to live life to its fullest.

Jesus Saves

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13

We have heard the joyful sound:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Spread the tidings all around:
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!
Bear the news to every land,
Climb the steeps and cross the waves;
Onward!—’tis our Lord’s command;
Jesus saves! Jesus saves!

We had a great service at my church tonight. Actually, great is an understatement, but words fail me to adequately describe it. My pastor preached an outstanding message which he titled "Oh, Say but I'm Glad." The subject was reasons Christians should be happy. It probably goes without saying that one of those reasons was salvation. But, as great as the sermon was, the greatest part of it took place afterwards. During the invitation, a lady came forward and got saved!

There's nothing in the world more heartwarming than seeing someone saved. Eyes around the sanctuary were filled with tears, and there were shouts of rejoicing across the room. An unsaved person can't understand those reactions, but a child of God who is in fellowship with Him can't help but praise Him when they witness such an event. And why not? It's a reminder of his or her own conversion, and an opportunity to witness someone else experiencing the same joy.

Miracle is a word that is tossed around haphazardly today, yet in this case, miracle is the perfect description for what took place tonight. The salvation of a soul is the greatest miracle of all. Jesus healed the blind, the deaf, the mute, the lame, and raised the dead during His ministry on Earth, yet all of that doesn't compare to the redemption of a lost soul.

Sin is far worse than any physical problem. It dooms its victim to an eternal death. While many fear physical death, it is not their true enemy. The fact is, all of us will one day die. For those that are saved, there is no threat in that. We simply leave a world filled with sin, sorrow, and sickness for an everlasting home with nothing bad. We are absent from the body but present with the Lord. We do not lose, we gain.

That is not so for those who don't know Jesus Christ. They have a very real reason to fear death. For them, Hell awaits. The fact of the matter is, that's exactly what every one of us deserves. We're all sinners, and Hell is the just reward for sin. We can't undo our sin, and therefore can't do anything to remove that sentence.

That's where the glory of salvation lies. God Himself, the only One who could justify us before His holiness took on human flesh, lived a perfect life, and died in our place. Because of that, we can have salvation from our sin and deliverance from Hell. All that we have to do is put our faith in Him and call upon Him. Anyone who does so receives eternal salvation at that very moment.

I witnessed a miracle tonight. It was the greatest of all miracles. It was the miracle of salvation. It was the moment someone dead in trespasses and sin was brought to life. I'll never tire of seeing it.

I Could Still Go Free

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36

What is true freedom? Some will say that it's the ability to do as they please without fear of repercussions. Some will say that it's the opportunity to engage in commercial activity to make money, or the chance to strive for fame.

While those things may seem like good things to strive for, I'd argue that many who have capitalized on those opportunities who were still in complete bondage. On the other side of the coin, many who have never had those chances have known the feeling of true freedom.

This is a thought that has been on my mind since last night. A young man at my church sang the song in the video above, and began that train of thought. When he wrote this song, Ronnie Hinson posed a very interesting premise: a man is in prison and has been deprived of his liberty, his necessities, his sight, and his movement, yet, he still considers himself to be a free man. That seems like a very strange thing to say, but with a look at scripture and eternity, it is proven true.

Excluding Adam, Eve, and Jesus Christ, every person in human history has come into the world as a slave -- a slave to sin. Sin has no problem allowing its victims to feel free. It has no problem aloting them a measure of enjoyment. As long as those it has a hold on don't realize that it has that hold, they won't try to seek freedom.

However, the rude awakening for those enslaved by sin is that the pleasure is only for a season. The freedom is a mirage, and those who go through life without ever being freed from the bondage have nothing to look forward to but an eternity in a lake of fire.

What sin does not want its captives to know is that there is freedom available to one and all. Jesus Christ, the "man on the cross" did indeed put us in His will. He paid the price of our liberation from sin through his sacrificial death.

Now, I know what some will say to that: serving God takes a lot of the fun out of life. God wouldn't let me do some of the things I enjoy. If that's your reaction, let me ask you a question. Would you prefer to hold on to temporal pleasures and lose your soul? The Bible makes it clear that even if you could gain the whole world, it's not worth it if you lose your soul. Honestly, that's something that any rational person can clearly see. But even if you look at things from the perspective of this life only, I'd still be forced to disagree with you. Take it from someone who has served the Lord for years. There is a peace that can be found nowhere else. There is a fulfillment that can be found nowhere else. Besides that, when the Holy Spirit moves in, He'll change your "want to."

Now, let me give you the things that top it all off. Sin has no love for you. Jesus has proven His when He took your place. Sin offers death. Jesus offers eternal life. Would you prefer to spend eternity in the lake of fire with Satan, his demons, Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Joseph Stalin, and so many others of their ilk that I could never list, or in Heaven with the One who loved you enough to take the just punishment for your sin? I won't even bother to list anyone else in Heaven, because the fade so much in the light of His glory.

Friend, you can be free no matter what life throws your way. Accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour today, and learn of an unmatched freedom. If you're not sure how to do so and would like more help, please contact me.

Lock me up in a prison and throw away the key, and I could still go free.

How Will You Be Remembered?

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? 1 Kings 11:41

The hockey world is in mourning today, following the news of the death of legendary New York Islanders head coach Al Arbour. He passed away today at the age of 82. As of the time of this writing, I have been unable to learn his exact case of death, but he was known to be suffering from dementia and Parkinson's disease.

Arbour played all or part of 14 seasons in the NHL, winning three Stanley Cups, but is most known for his coaching career, during which he compiled a 782-577-248 record with the St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders. His tenure with the Isles was legendary, and he coached the team to dynasty status winning four consecutive Cups from 1980-83. The respect he earned from those years was so great that during the 2007-08 season, when then-Islanders head coach Ted Nolan realized Arbour had coached 1,499 games with the team, he invited him to come back for one more game to make an even 1,500. Arbour's 782 wins and 1,607 games coached are second all-time in NHL history, behind only Scotty Bowman's marks.

I woudn't be one bit surprised to see a book on Arbour's life and career released soon. It almost seems inevitable considering the amount of success and respect he earned. Looking at it from the vantage point of a hockey fan, I'd say it would be a very fitting and appropriate thing.

That said, there has already been a book written on the life of Al Arbour. It was written over the course of 82 years, and it was written by none other than Al Arbour. At every point during his life, there was someone who watched him and observed the things he did. As such, he wrote a book for those people. When he played and especially when he coached, there were a large number of people who watched him. He wrote a book for those people.

I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but you're also writing a book. Now, your book may not be a best-seller, and very few of us will ever have as many readers as Al Arbour did, but we're all writing one nonetheless.

Those who are close to me know very well how passionate I am about writing. I write this blog, I write a blog on hockey history, I have written the drafts of a few novels I hope to see published one day, and I have pieces of other stories and a few hockey player biographies written. However, I feel very safe in saying that no matter how successful any of those writings may one day be, they are not as important as the book that I'm writing for those who are watching me.

Many people have written books for me. I'm very grateful for many of them, while others have deeply disappointed me. Whether I like what I've read or not, though, they have all helped shape me into the man I am today. In the same respect, I'm helping to shape those who are coming up watching me with the book I'm writing.

As our text verse says, Solomon wrote a book with the way he lived his life. It was finished thousands of years ago. Al Arbour wrote a book that finished today. You and I are both writing books that will end one day as well. Are we writing Godly books that will point others to Jesus Christ, or are we pushing people away from Him? One day, it will all be revealed. Will we have reason to be ashamed, or will we hear "Well done, thou good and faithful servant?"

Where Could I Go?

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27

Living below in this old sinful world,
Hardly a comfort can afford,
Striving alone to face temptation sore,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

Where could I go,
Oh, where could I go,
Seeking a refuge for my soul,
Needing a friend to help me in the end,
Where could I go but to the Lord?

This particular hymn is one of my favorites, a fact which is probably not uninfluenced by the fact that it was written by the grandfather of a very dear friend of mine. Friend and family connections aside, though, this song has a wonderful message, and asks a very important question.

I heard the version of this song from the video above on the radio on my way to work yesterday, and I've been thinking about it ever since. There are so many types of difficulties that we face every day, but no matter what the difficulty is, we can take it to the Lord. No matter how big the difficulty is, we can take it to the Lord. In fact, while there are certain things that we can handle, or that others can help us with, there are some things that only the Lord can handle for us.

Where can we go when we have a broken heart? We can go to the Lord. "He healeth the broken hearted, and bindeth up their wounds." Some try to drown their sorrows in alcohol, but when they sober up, the pain is still there. Some turn to medication to turn away depression, but sometimes the medication is ineffective, or even worsens the problem. There's nothing that can compare to the treatment of the Great Physician for a broken heart.

Where can we go when the checkbook is unable to cover the expenses for our necessities? We can go to the Lord. "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." God will take care of His own. He will never forsake us. Now, I'm not saying that we can go to God, demand a $10,000 check and expect Him to deliver it, but I am saying that he can and will make sure we have what we need. It may not be what we want or how we want it, but He will do it in the best way possible. There's no better provision than the King of Glory.

Where can we go when met with strong temptation? Jesus met with temptation in the wilderness after 40 days with no food. It's fair to say that He was physically weakened, and that from a human perspective that he would have been more susceptible. Even then, that weakness couldn't overwhelm His deity, and He rebuffed the devil. He will do the same for us. He has promised us a way of escape. There's no better deliverance from temptaion than the sinless Saviour.

Where can we go when we've failed and fallen into sin? "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." There is nothing that the love of God will not forgive. That doesn't give us license to sin, and should make us even more eager serve Him faithfully, but it's still a blessed reminder. There's no better forgiveness than that of  loving Heavenly Father.

Where can we go when we're staring death in the face? Since the first Easter, death can't claim to be undefeated. Before that time, all that died either stayed dead, or, if they were resurrected, died again. But, when Jesus Christ arose, He did so to live forever. He is now the firstfruits of them that slept. Because of this, He has removed the sting of death, and turned it into a gain for those that have trusted in Him. Plus, because of His resurrection, we have the promise of the same. There's no better resurrection than that of the One who conquered death.

But, maybe you don't know Him. Maybe you aren't saved. Perhaps, if you died in five minutes, you would, as a former pastor of mine used to say, split Hell wide open. If that's the case, He's also the answer for your problem. He died in your place to pay for your sins, and now offers forgiveness. "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." If you need salvation, you can only find it in Him. There's no better salvation than that of the perfect, spotless Lamb of God.

Where could I go but to the Lord? Nowhere. No matter what the problem is, He is the answer. Thank God we can go to Him, because that means we need nothing else.