There’s No Monkey Business in Forgiveness

Recently, my wife and I got to keep our five and three-year-old granddaughters for nearly a week. We enjoyed being able to spend that much time with them. I noticed how easily and quickly they forgave each other after having an “episode.” In just a few short minutes (after throwing what seemed to be a very serious and carnal fit of anger), they forgot all about it and played together like sweet little angels.

When we’ve been hurt by someone, we need to forgive quickly and never hold a grudge. Jesus repeatedly commands us to forgive; so forgiveness must be a lifestyle for the believer. If you think it’s too hard to forgive, just remember what Jesus said as He was dying on the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Jesus experienced the worst hatred and cruelty from mankind, yet He forgave. Jesus is the ultimate example of love.

Forgiveness is a vital part of being a born-again Christian. However, a lack of forgiveness is a major problem among believers. There’s a serious scripture in the Bible that tends to be ignored: “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too“ (Mark 11:25 NLT). Another sobering reference is: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14,15 NLT). Notice that neither of these scriptures indicate that the person you’re to forgive has asked for forgiveness. So whether the offender asks or not, we are to forgive.

When we refuse to forgive someone, we’re letting Satan outsmart us and keep us in a rebellious position. We can’t receive all the good things God has planned for us when we continue to live in a state of unforgiveness. When we forgive quickly, it’s for our own benefit. When we miss it and sin, we repent and ask God to forgive us. He doesn’t wait a month or two, He forgives immediately. We’re to forgive in the same way. Shake it off, drop it, leave it, let it go, and pray for the person that wronged you.

Unforgiveness acts as a poison in your life, so why would you want to hang on to it? The longer you allow resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness to grow, the more potent these poisons become.

When you forgive, you’re extending mercy. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7 KJV). So if you extend mercy to others, you’ll receive mercy from your heavenly Father. Mercy is something you can’t earn and don’t deserve. Perhaps you’re thinking your offender doesn’t deserve to be forgiven. Just remember that when you withhold forgiveness you’re hurting yourself, not the other person.

The Bottom Line: If you want to receive mercy and have your prayers answered, then forgive anyone you‘re holding a grudge against. Forgiveness is serious business.

Pastor Jimmy Tucker

(620) 223-1483

Diamond Community Church

10:45 a.m. Worship

Two recent shootings have evoked a range of emotions from shock to rage to blame to guilt to grief. I get it. This is America! We should be able to go to Walmart or a restaurant or a concert or a movie or a mall or a softball practice or a nightclub or a festival or a church or a synagogue without looking over our shoulders, hoping some crazy person doesn’t pick us out as target practice.

The day after the massacres, I was listening to Christian radio as the hosts were discussing this tragedy, explaining that this is a fallen world and sin is rampant. I wondered if their “catch all” answers, albeit truthful, might come across as insensitive to the immeasurable sadness people feel during times like this. Do we Christians appear uncompassionate when our spiritual clichés ignore the depth of despair caused by such evil acts? If loved ones struggle with God during times like this, do we jump on such opportunities by evangelizing? I pray not.

We of faith know that the “Why’s” of hurting people are not too big for God to handle. Those grieving should be free to question without us pontificating about how Satan causes evil or by throwing out Christian platitudes as a means to dismiss others’ despair. Saying “It must be God’s will” or “God just needed another angel in Heaven” fails to recognize the pain felt by not only those left behind but also our Heavenly Father when evil prevails.

Wrestling with God during these painful times does not prevent Him from being in control, but Him being in control does not negate others’ pain. Lives are now changed because people were in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” Twenty-two died in the Walmart massacre, including a young couple shielding their two-month old baby, a couple married 60 years, buying a blow-up bed for visiting relatives, and a grandfather helping his granddaughter raise money for her soccer team. Today I received word that the sister of an owner where Dave and I live in Mazatlán, Mexico, had just left our complex and driven to El Paso. She was one of those killed. Nine were murdered in the Dayton shooting which involved college students, a young man celebrating his birthday and parents with young children.

Senseless. Sickening. Sin-based. Yes.

What are we to take from this? Pastor/author Rick Warren addressed the best way to handle grieving people in his sermon series following the suicide of his adult son. His advice? “Show up and shut up.” He called it “the ministry of presence” and reminded his congregation that the Biblical story of Job shares that his three friends left their homes to sit in silence with Job for seven days.” Warren’s counsel? “The greater the grief, the fewer words needed.”

Be there, he continued, and don’t wait for an invitation. Find a need and fill it. Warren said that his Muslim neighbor “showed up” every week, mowing his (Warren’s) yard, but saying nothing. Friends came with meals and a hug. No one recited scripture.

So, what’s the Christian to do? After all, we know the Truth, the same Truth that will set us free. Still, I believe that we are to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and unless told otherwise, that means we are to support those hurting by praying, listening, understanding, filling a need…and wait for a later, better time to share about the role of sin in our fallen world.

“Juan” grew up poor in a Mexican village, learned the dining business, and ultimately opened an upscale restaurant in Mazatlán. It has become a frequent, fine-dining establishment for many of my friends. Last January he sent his daughter to live on a goat farm in England. He “had it” with her “Princess mentality” and decided to bring her down to earth with a lesson in humility.

Juan and his wife met several years ago when she was visiting Mazatlán from London. They married, and along came “Princess.” Without realizing how they were catering to her every desire, both parents became alarmed when their seven-year old daughter began insisting she was “entitled.” Their years of doting on her had backfired, and now she lived in a parenting world they had created but abhorred. Designer clothes. No chores. Only rich friends. Hours in front of the mirror. Mani’s and Pedi’s upon demand. Inability to apologize. Pouting when things didn’t go her way.

In other words, a spoiled brat.

Even more alarming, Princess’s three-year old sister was beginning to mimic her older sibling’s behavior. The parents were soon to have two prima donnas on their hands. After talking, taking away privileges and grounding, Hector and his wife made no headway.

The answer? Make a phone call to the mother’s relatives in England to ask if Princess could spend six months there, living and working among their goats. Their prayers were answered when the relatives agreed. Mom and daughter left soon after.

Sometimes drastic measures are necessary. Sometimes those measures are the greatest demonstration of love.

A famous Bible parable is the story of the Prodigal Son. A man had two sons, the younger one demanding his share of his father’s estate. His wish was granted. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So, he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.

For a little background, pigs were considered unclean animals. (Still are, in my opinion, but gosh! I do love bacon.) Jews were forbidden to touch pigs, yet this once-privileged son had sunk so low, he was living in their porky sties, watching them eat better than he was. Pig Heaven this was not.

The Biblical tale has a teachable ending. Son #2 came to his senses, returned home and apologized to his father who was waiting for him with open arms. There are many lessons in this parable, not the least of which is how the son represents those of us in sinful rebellion who find ourselves living in less than God-honored conditions. All the while, our Heavenly Father wants nothing more than for us to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness so he can shower us with His love.

Like the prodigal son’s father, Hector is praying his daughter will return home with a new heart. No doubt, God loves his request. After all, He’s in the business of changing people. Author Rick Warren said it well: “God changes caterpillars into butterflies, sand into pearls and coal into diamonds using time and pressure. He’s working on you too.” If He can do it to caterpillars and sand and coal, He certainly can do it for Princess…and for me…and for you.

Sear Your Steak, Not Your Conscience

When I was a little boy, I stole a quarter from my mother’s purse. I immediately knew I had acted wrongly and I needed to make it right. Day after day my conscience bothered me and the heavy load of guilt increased. I finally confessed my sin to my mother and repented to God. Admitting that I had stolen money was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Of course mother and God forgave me. It was a wonderful feeling to be free from guilt and shame and to have a clear conscience again!

When you become a child of God, the Bible states that you’re a new creature and you have the spirit of Christ living in you. Your newly-cleansed conscience can be trusted to lead you in paths of Christlikeness. Deliberately ignoring your conscience is a spiritual danger as stated in 1 Timothy 4:1,2 NKJV: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,  speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron…” Sear means to burn to dryness and hardness; to cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat that changes the color of the surface, or makes it hard. A seared conscience will make you insensitive to God’s voice and opens the door to deceiving spirits from Satan.

In the book of Acts 24:16 NKJV, Paul writes, “…I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” Keeping it clear requires you to do the right thing even when it seems to be the hardest task you‘ve ever done. God speaks in a soft and tender voice that can be ignored if that‘s what you choose to do. But in order to follow Christ wholeheartedly, you must be able to hear the voice of your conscience.

A seared conscience doesn’t happen overnight; it‘s a process that occurs over a period of time. I recently read an incident about an older gentleman that brewed his coffee on the woodstove. He’d pour the boiling coffee into his cup and drink it quickly. Through the years, this man had seared his lips, mouth, and throat until it was easy for him to drink boiling coffee. This is an example of how you need to keep your conscience tender so that spiritual things will be clear to you.

If you speak unkind words, treat someone badly, tell a lie, or act out an evil thought, your conscience will let you know about it. Do yourself a favor and don’t shrug it off! The minute your conscience warns you, stop and make it right. Believe me, the sooner the better because the passing of time will make it harder to straighten out, and repeated offenses will eventually sear your conscience.

If you want to walk as close to the Lord as possible, then you should be thankful when your conscience convicts you. God is giving you the opportunity to come up higher in your spiritual walk.

The Bottom Line: If you want a close personal relationship with God, don’t sear your conscience.

Pastor Jimmy Tucker

(620) 223-1483

Diamond Community Church

Worship 10:45 am

“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” Revelation 21:21

It was so hot last week… I saw a chicken lay an omelette. It was so hot last week… I started sweating like a politician on election day. It was so hot last week… Jehovah’s Witnesses started telemarketing.

Right in the middle of all this heat we have been having, our air conditioner went out. I came home and my wife, Amanda, was frowning. She was drenched in sweat. She looked at me and said, “The air-conditioner is out. I don’t care how you get it done, you just better get that air conditioning fixed, preacher boy.” Now this is not in the Bible, but I have learned a valuable lesson in life: “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” From the expression on Amanda’s face, I could tell she was not happy.

I panicked and ran to the phone. I called 10 air-conditioner repairmen. Nine of the 10 did not answer. I left messages for all of them. None of them called me back. I finally got a hold of an air conditioning repairman. I said, “Our air-conditioner is out. I’ve got an emergency.” He said, “You and everybody else has an emergency. I can get someone out to you in 4 to 6 weeks.” The rest of the summer is going to be hot at my house.

When I was growing up, our church didn’t have air conditioning. Instead we used church fans. For those too young to remember, church fans were little paper fans with wooden handles. In our church, they were always available in the hymnal racks on the backs of pews. The fans in our church were provided by the local funeral home, and at election time, a politician or two would bring in a batch.

On one side of a church fan there would always be a picture of Jesus. Usually Jesus was in a garden, or sitting with children, or holding a lamb in a soft meadow near a brook. On the other side there would be the commercial message of the funeral parlor or the politician who had donated the fans.

“Downer Brothers Funeral Home. Put Them In The Ground, With No Money Down. Our Coffins Are So Nice, You’ll Want To Die Twice. We’re Dead Serious. Ask About Our Installment Payment Plan.”

Or, “Elect Hamp Baker State Senator. Family Man. Deacon. Honest. Keep Your Freedom, Guns, And Money. Vote November 7^th.”

Hamp Baker wasted a bunch of money on church fans, because he never was elected. He always put his picture on his fans. He looked just like Uncle Fester from “The Adam’s Family.” He was so strange looking that nobody would vote for him.

I remember one church fan with a picture of heaven. As a seven-year-old, I would stare at the golden streets and imagine walking there.

That church fan reminds me of the story of an old miner who struck gold and carried his bag of gold with him everywhere. One day he died and went to heaven, still carrying his gold. When he arrived, an angel asked him why he was carrying asphalt.

On earth, we value gold as being the most precious of metals. In heaven, it will be what we walk on.

The point is: The things we value in this life will not be so highly valued in heaven. Money, fame, houses, and cars are nice in the here and now. What value will those things have in eternity? Earthly possessions are temporary. Our true wealth is in heaven.

Have you made your reservation for heaven? Trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Make you reservation today. Trust me, you would rather go to heaven than the alternative.

You think it’s hot here? There are no air conditioners in hell.

James Collins is the Pastor at Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. He can be reached at (620) 223-2986, or through the website thepointis.net.

Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. (Prov. 16:24)

Last week, I wrote about heeding warning signs, especially those given to us by God dealing with choosing the right mate. It took no time at all for Dave to make me crazy. All I asked was for him to look up the definition of a clove of garlic—and yes, I should have known the answer. Bulb or clove, which is which? My brain simply refused to go there. (Sometimes it does that. But that’s a story for another time…provided I can remember it.)

Anyway, I was chopping garlic; Dave was sitting at the kitchen table, playing a word game on his phone. My recipe called for two cloves, but the “bulb-clove” thing confused me, so I asked for help. My sweet hubby needed to finish his game because he was being timed, and I guess he was going to win a kajillion dollars if he won, so I waited patiently. Then he started.

“Patty, did you know that garlic is related to the onion?”

“Lovely. What is a clove?”

“Did you know it comes from the genus Allium?”

“I don’t care where it comes from, Dave. What is a clove?”

“Here’s something interesting. It helps medically. Did you know that?”

“Did you know that I’m about to bang my head on the cutting board?”

“Patty, you’re really cranky, but I’m serious. It’s recommended for gout, snakebites, scalp ringworm, earaches, stomach aches, hemorrhoids…”

“That’s terrific, but unless you are getting a PhD in garlic, all I need to know is the definition of a clove.”

“Wow! It helps treat heart disease, enlarged prostate, chronic fatigue, stress, and…”
“Dave, if it’s recommended for stress, I’m going to suck down this whole thing just to get me through this conversation.”

It was then I left Dave, excitedly rattling off all kinds of garlic gobbledegook, and walked into the living room where my computer is located, googled “clove of garlic” and found my answer. As I stopped chopping and tossed my two cloves in with the other ingredients, sweet hubby was still sharing his research.

“Do you want to know how to get rid of garlic breath?”

“Do you want to know how to get rid of a wife, because you’re getting close.”

“Gosh, Patty, I thought you’d find this interesting.”

“About as interesting as swallowing a bowling ball.”

“Cranky, cranky, cranky.”

As I write this, I think of wonderful Christian couples who never would have a conversation like this. Their words are bathed in prayer, and they purpose to edify each other. From the minute sweet hubby said, “Did you know that garlic is related to the onion?” they would have stopped chopping and shown interest. They would have asked for a handout and memorized the spreadsheet. They would have put the other person’s feelings first. I know that’s what God wants me to do. I know that time is short and I won’t have Dave forever (unless, I guess, we eat a whole lot of garlic).

Proverbs 16:24 gives us advice to guide our talk: Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. I need to memorize that scripture. Kind words benefit soul and body.

Then again, I could just chomp on a clove of garlic. If Dave’s lucky, maybe it remedies crankiness.

Our neighborhood here in Florida is filled with warning signs. The alligator notice posted above is one block from where Dave and I live.

The “cart” sign hangs on a wall outside our local supermarket, and a neighbor’s front door holds the “I’m happy…don’t ruin it” sign. None of us are unfamiliar with notices of caution, but how about this one? “Removing consumer labels from pillows is punishable by fines.” When I was young, I feared the pillow police would show up at my door if I tore off one of those scratchy tags. (Tell the truth; you did too.)

Humorous signs now are the norm. “Children left unattended will be given a Red Bull and a puppy.” “Do not cross this pasture unless you can do it in nine seconds because the bull can do it in ten.” “Stay off the tracks. They are only for trains. If you can read this, you’re not a train.”

Most warnings, however, are not laughable. We heed them…or we pay the consequences. Especially ones God has given us. Every book in the Bible cautions us about what our bad choices can do to us…and to others. Our problem is that sometimes we don’t take the warnings seriously, if we read them at all.

For example, God gave strict instructions on how to choose the right spouse. I have Christian friends who chose their mates only after much prayer, seeking God’s wisdom because of the decision’s lifetime importance. (I wasn’t one of those people, I admit, but God blessed me in spite of myself.) With the divorce rate in the U.S. nearing 40% (one site said that every 13 seconds, there is a divorce in America), many couples—Christians included– are choosing to split.

In Judges’ chapters 13-16, we read of a tragic story in which a young man disobeyed God’s marriage order, and it cost him his life. You’ve probably heard his name, synonymous with what NOT to do in choosing the right mate. Samson. For starters, he refused to listen to his parents’ warning. I have known three sets of praying parents who convinced their children that they were marrying the wrong person. All now are happily married in a union blessed by their father and mother and are grateful for the wisdom in their parents’ concerns.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying all parents know what is best for their children. Many times wedges are drawn when personalities clash with future in-laws as they circumvent God’s best with their attempts to break up a relationship. Children need to recognize the difference in motive. They need to pray for God’s wisdom.

That did not enter Samson’s mind. Worse than not heeding his father and mother, he disregarded God’s advice and lusted after a beautiful Philistine woman, a no-no to any God-fearing Israelite, much less a young Nazarite (set apart from birth to honor God) like Samson. Suffice it to say, Samson ended up being captured and blinded before dying, thanks to the sinful woman he chose as his wife.

Readers, I think I have this figured out. Messing with an alligator might be much safer than messing with an ungodly spouse.

The Bottom Line

Jimmy Tucker

The Bible is full of accounts where God spoke to people and told them to do things that didn’t make sense. For example, the Old Testament tells us that Naaman had leprosy and Elisha, God’s prophet, told the king of Israel to send Naaman to him. So, in 2 Kings 5:9-14 we read the details of Naaman‘s predicament. In order to receive his healing, Naaman had to obey what he was instructed to do. And that’s where the temptation to doubt and disobey came into the picture. Naaman was expecting Elisha to come out and meet him, wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord and heal him. But no, Elisha sent a messenger out to him and the message was: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”

Naaman didn’t want to wash in the muddy Jordan River. However, he did want to be healed. His officers convinced him to do as the man of God had instructed him. So Naaman obeyed and went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times and his skin became healthy again. I don’t know if Naaman was having doubts by the sixth dip, but he obeyed explicitly — even if it didn’t make a lick of sense to him.

Another time in 2 Kings 6:1-7, we find a bunch of prophets cutting down trees and an ax head came off the handle and fell into the river. This was very disturbing to the wood cutter, because the ax was borrowed. Elisha asked the man where it fell into the water, and he showed him the place. Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water at that spot. Then the ax head floated to the surface so the man could grab it. That didn’t make sense as far as I understand ax heads and water. But it worked because that’s what the Spirit of God told Elisha to do.

The wedding feast at Cana wasn’t a disaster because the servants obediently filled some jars with water. That didn’t make a lick of sense, but it worked because that’s what Jesus said to do. The blind man washed the mud from his eyes in the pool of Siloam and could then see. That didn’t make any sense, but he was healed because he used his faith and obeyed.

When we come to the end of our time on earth, all the challenges we faced will be forgotten. But before we enter eternity, we’ll want to be sure that we didn’t get distracted from obeying God and fulfilling our assignment.

The Bottom Line: When you need a miracle, do what God tells you to do — even if it doesn’t make sense.

Pastor Jimmy Tucker

620-223-1483

Diamond Community Church

10:45 a.m. Worship

Snakes in the Dark

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:5

The great philosopher and thinker, Indiana Jones, once said, “I hate snakes.” I couldn’t agree more. I absolutely hate snakes. I really do. I used to say, “The only good snake is a dead snake.” However, that is not even true. Did you see in the news a while back where a man in Texas nearly died when he was bitten by the severed head of a dead rattle-snake. I hate snakes – big ones; little ones; live ones; dead ones; and rubber ones. I hate them all.

Not long after I moved to Fort Scott, I joined the American Legion. We hold our meetings at Memorial Hall which is two blocks from my house. When we have a meeting, I usually walk there. One night, I was getting ready to leave the monthly meeting when one of the guys in the Legion said, “Hey preacher, I read in your newspaper column that you are scared of snakes. You better be careful out there. The copperheads are crawling tonight.” I just laughed and thought, “What a crazy old man.”

I walked outside, and it was dark, but the streetlights were bright enough to enable me to see the sidewalks. So, I started walking. I was almost home, when I saw the biggest copperhead I have ever seen. He was stretched out across the sidewalk. He looked like a python. He must have been ten-foot long. I swear he looked at me and hissed. My heart was pounding in my chest.

I was stuck. The snake was between me and my house. I had to go around him. Then I thought, “There’s probably hundreds of them in the grass, waiting to get you.” But I had no choice. I ran as fast as I could through the grass around the giant copperhead. I ran into the house and screamed, “There’s a giant snake out there that almost killed me.” My wife, Amanda, rolled her eyes at me and said, “Poor baby.”

The next morning, I looked outside, and the giant snake hadn’t moved. It was still there!

I was shocked and amazed. I couldn’t believe the copperhead was still there. I looked closer. Then I realized it was a tree branch. A limb had fallen on the sidewalk. I nearly had a heart attack running from a tree branch.

The next time we had an American Legion meeting, I just drove the two blocks.

The point is: Things are always worse in the dark. When it is dark, we don’t see things like we normally see them. However, there are some things in the dark that are not a tree branch. Things like doubt, discouragement, and demons.

Often, when darkness comes in our lives, we tend to think, “God, I can’t see You. God, I can’t feel you.” When shadows obscure our walk, we believe we are walking alone. We focus on the gloom and forget God. We may even ask, “Lord, Are You still there?”

Even though you can’t see Him, Jesus has never taken His eyes off you. Even though you are walking in the darkness, He is still with you.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Light of the world. He shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’t overtake Him. If you are traveling down a dark path, you don’t have to be afraid of the dark because the Light is with you. In Jesus, we have the only Light that we need to find our way through the darkness of this world.

Are you walking in the Light?

James Collins will be signing copies of his latest book “Don’t Throw The Believer Out With The Baptistry Water: The Best Of The Point Is… Volume 1” today (July 20^th) from 10 am until 2 pm at the Fort Scott Public Library’s LibraryCon. For more information about the LibraryCon, please call (620) 223-2882.

Wimbledon, the most impressive of all tennis tournaments, is over, and I am sad. For two weeks, Dave and I record the matches so we can watch them together when he gets home from work. Seeing English nobility in the “Royal Box” is thrilling, and everywhere the camera pans, there is no shortage of excellence, including the ball-boys and ball-girls. These are no ordinary ball retrievers.

Over 700 teens apply, and after a written test, 250 are selected and train for five months to perfect their skills of tossing, catching, and rolling the tennis balls as well as learn how to “present” the towel to the sweaty athlete. They scurry like jackrabbits to nab errant balls and return to their assigned position where they stand like robots. Perfection is expected.

The code of professionalism extends to everyone. This year, Serena Williams (the best female tennis player ever!) was fined $10,000 for damaging the grass practice court when she frustratedly threw her racquet to the ground. Three players were fined when the umpire found their coaches giving advice during the match. Bernard Tomic was fined his entire $56,000 prize money when the umpire determined he had not “tried hard enough.” (If fans are going to pay big bucks to watch this level of tennis, they deserve to get their money’s worth.)

This year, Dave and I were especially excited when Saturday’s women’s final round involved Serena Williams (U.S.A.) and Simona Halep (Romania), two of my favorites. I watched the match live that morning but recorded it for Dave who would pick up Chinese food on the way home from the ballpark and we would view it together. (I would need to gag myself not to disclose who won.) It didn’t matter. As Dave left the locker room, one of the other coaches shared the news: “Hey, Roachie, could you believe Serena got crushed?”

So much for our Wimbledon picnic. Dave opted not to watch the game.

Sunday would make up for it. Roger Federer would take on Novak Djokovic (whom I rooted against because he rudely rolled his eyes at one of the ball handlers). Once again, I DVR’d the event, joining the almost-ten million fans who watched on their televisions. Following church, Dave and I would hold our Wimbledon picnic and watch Roger win. I was on the edge of my chair the entire time. Four hours into it, they were tied when Dave’s phone buzzed and he blurted out, “This can’t be right. This lists the years Djokovic has won Wimbledon, and 2019 is listed. How would they know?” I stared at him. In shock. “Because England is five hours ahead of us. That’s why we record it,” I reminded him.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Dave just did to me what the other coach had done to him. My day was ruined. The suspense was gone. I now knew the ending. Dave immediately moved to the kitchen so I could sulk alone…which I did well, thank you very much. But then something changed. I found myself relaxing. The “highs” of Federer’s aces and “lows” of his errors were gone because I knew the results.

For most things, life doesn’t work like that…which probably is a good thing. None of us know how our day/week/month/life will turn out. All we have is this moment…except, that is, where the Bible is concerned. From the beginning to the end, we are given the full picture of how life plays out. God created. Satan interfered. Jesus saved and will return again to open Heaven’s doors for all who make him Lord.

Granted, there are earthly, daily, unpredictable issues for all of us (like people who disclose tennis results prematurely), but we can relax and not get too concerned about our “highs” and “lows” when we know the outcome of what really matters. Jesus wins. Satan loses. And we all know that in eternity’s case, the stakes are much higher than those of a tennis tournament.