Pastor Paul’s Blog

Well, Spring is here! Or is it? I guess part of the nature of Spring to be a little unpredictable. Spring, for me, brings an almost uncontrollable desire to play golf. I’ve kept it pretty well suppressed until this past weekend watching on television The Masters golf tournament played in Augusta, Georgia. I think part of what makes golf such an enjoyment for me is the aspect of getting outdoors. One famous golfer had this to say about the leisure activity, “Golf combines two favorite American pastimes: taking long walks and hitting things with a stick.”

One of the other aspects of golf that draws me to it is how it is governed. It’s the only sport, that I know of, where a participant can enforce a penalty on him or herself. There are instances, in tournament play, in which players contending to win the tournament disqualified themselves because they had broken a rule. In some instances, no one else was even aware of the infraction, but the player was honest enough and possessed enough integrity that he disqualified himself.

Integrity – doing the right thing even when no one is watching. I can’t say that I’ve always been guilty of having impeccable integrity. One thing that has helped me was my mom’s voice constantly reminding me of Numbers 32:23 which says “But if you fail to do this you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” Even with her constant reminders I’m still learning what that all means in my life. Let’s face it, God has always known all about our sins, but just like Adam and Eve, we’ve tried to hide them from him and each other. Here is the good news! In spite of our sin God loves us, and the apostle Paul reminds us that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. God Loves You! Christ Died For You! I’m trusting you’ll accept His free gift today.