In His Grip: A Companion Bible Study, a Player's Handbook for Life and Golf
96
In His Grip: A Companion Bible Study, a Player's Handbook for Life and Golf
96Paperback
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781887002950 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Cross Training Publishing |
| Publication date: | 08/10/1999 |
| Pages: | 96 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d) |
Read an Excerpt
In His Grip A Companion Bible Study, a Player's Handbook for Life and Golf
By Jim Sheard Cross Training Publishing
Copyright © 1999 Jim Sheard
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9781887002950
Chapter One
In His Grip
Psalm 37:23-24
KEY VERSE
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. (Ps. 37:23-24 KJV)
On January 30, 1996, Jim marked that passage from Psalms in his Bible and noted the date. Jim was two months into the most difficult year of his fifty-four years of life. Even with all the trappings of material success, his life was in shambles. No longer able to hold down his executive position due to clinical depression, he sought answers to life's most challenging questions: What is the meaning of it all? Why has God not allowed me to fulfill the career he gave me? How will I provide for my family, find health insurance, have enough money for retirement? How can I enjoy golf if I don't even have the energy to walk eighteen holes? What am I to do with these intense emotions and feelings that keep invading my mind and body? How do I relate to my family and friends?
Exactly one year later, Jim came to this Psalmin his Bible again. That's when he realized it was God alone who had sustained him during that difficult time. Jim realized more clearly than ever that he had been in God's grip.
Today, when the course of life is tough for you when the "bunkers" at work or with your family seem impossibly high, when you don't know if you'll make the "green" in regulation, and when it seems there are few answers from a God who seems distant, rest assured there is a God who cares enough to hold you in his grip.
Be Strong and Courageous
Joshua 1:5-9
KEY VERSE
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Josh. 1:9)
As Tom Lehman prepared for the final round of the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills in Birmingham, Michigan, he read Joshua 1:9, which speaks of being strong and courageous. This passage of Scripture was just the inspiration he needed for the final round in which he paired with his friend, Steve Jones.
As Tom and Steve walked down the first fairway, they prayed and spoke about truths they had learned from passages in Joshua. They reminded themselves of God's promise in verse eight, "... for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." This verse was what they needed throughout the day as they battled the challenges and pressures that only the final round of a major can bring.
Although they were competing against each other for the U.S. Open title, when Steve hit his tee shot into the woods on the sixteenth hole, Tom encouraged him by reminding him that, "The Lord wants us to be strong and courageous." For Tom it would have been easy to see this as an opportunity to prevail against his friend rather than to encourage him. For Steve it would have been easy to falter, but instead he persevered and did not become discouraged. Although Steve won the U.S. Open title that day, both men experienced God's encouragement.
From this experience Tom and Steve were reminded that they didn't need to be frightened or dismayed because strength and courage could be theirs—if they continually went to the right source. While God promises to make our way prosperous and successful, it does not mean we will win every championship or succeed in every situation. It's that way in golf, and it's that way in life.
Abounding in Hope
Romans 15:1-13
KEY VERSE
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Rom. 15:13)
The headline of the Golfweek, June 22, 1996, reads "Hallelujah! Jones completes comeback with U.S. Open victory." The cover photo shows Steve Jones with his arms raised high in the air, his putter in his right hand. He is obviously shouting for joy just like the caption says: "Steve Jones rejoices after paring the 72nd hole and winning his first major title."
The article relates what a long shot it was for Steve to win the tournament. He had not won since 1989 and hadn't finished better than fourth since 1991. He was 100th in the worldwide Sony rankings and had missed three seasons due to a finger injury in a dirt bike accident. For a while, Steve and others wondered if he would ever play again.
Hallelujah was the right word for that headline, A combination of two Greek words for "praise" and "Jehovah," it literally means "Praise the Lord"—Steve's exact words following his great victory. In fact, when you look at the photograph of Steve after his win, you can almost see the word "hallelujah" jump off the page. He felt that much joy.
Hallelujah is a word we can all use to express our gratitude to God for all his marvelous works in our lives.
If the Lord Permits
1 Corinthians 16:4-9
KEY VERSE
For I do not want to see you now just in passing;
I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. (1 Cor. 16:7)
While the television audience saw Tom Lehman's name being engraved on the coveted Claret Jug, they did not see the actual presentation of the trophy for his winning the 1996 British Open. When Tom spoke to the assembled members of Royal Lytham & St. Anne's, accepting the Claret Jug, he said, I just want to thank God for giving me this opportunity today to play in this tournament—to win this tournament. I really believe that God loves all of us. He has a special plan for our lives. Fortunately for me, today, it was in his plan for me to win. I know He cares about me. I know He cares about you. God bless you all. Thank you very much.
God truly does have a plan for our lives—just as God had a plan for Tom to win that day. That is why we do well to hear the words of the apostle Paul who says he will spend time in Macedonia, "if the Lord permits." We have plans, but God directs our steps. With God as our source of strength, we can be focused on our goals and at the same time be spiritually flexible.
The first thing we must do is make our first priorities (verses 4-5) consistent with God's priorities. Then we are free to make detailed flexible commitments (verses 6-7) ... as he permits. We can trust in God's provision (verse 6) and adapt to the practical flow of life (verse 8) as circumstances allow. The result of our faithfulness will be fruitful fields with wide open doors, even though there will always be frustrating foes who will oppose God's work in our lives (verse 9).
What happens to us on the golf course—and in all of life—is under God's control. Our job is simply to do our best and trust him for the results.
Perseverance
Philippians 4:11-13
KEY VERSE
I can do all things in him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)
An advertisement for Taylor Made[TM] described Tom Lehman as "dedicated, humble, and persevering." That's truth in advertising! That's the man he really is.
When testifying of his faith in Christ, Tom says he believes God has given him the strength to endure. He has played golf longer and spent more time on the so-called mini-tours than most of his competitors.
When it might have been easy to give up and take the coaching job at Minnesota, Tom and his wife Melissa sensed that God wanted him to persevere in playing golf. It was a difficult decision, and there were days when they wondered if they'd be able to pay their bills. But Tom did persevere, and it paid off when he was named PGA Player of the Year in 1996 after winning the British Open. That year he was the top money winner on the tour and was rated second in the worldwide Sony rankings.
Philippians 4:11-13 describes the kind of perseverance that we should all want as our hallmark for living. Paul says we can do all things that are in God's will if we allow him to be our strength. That is how we, like Paul, will learn to face plenty and hunger, abundance and want.
Scott Simpson once said, "I want the same discipline in my faith that I have in my golf game." So it should be with you and me. We need both discipline and perseverance, and God will help us in our pursuit of both.
The Confidence to Win
Proverbs 3:21-35
KEY VERSE
The Lord will be your confidence.... (Prov. 3:26)
When severe rains caused the delay of the 1996 Players Championship in Tulsa, Tom Lehman led the tournament by nine strokes. If the washed-out course couldn't be prepared for play on Monday, Tom would win the tournament, the money, and the scoring titles for 1996 without even playing the final round.
But Tom wanted the opportunity to play the full seventy-two holes to win the Players' Tournament—and the other titles that would be his by virtue of this win. He wanted to win without the asterisk of only 54 holes played stamped in his mind and in the minds of others. He also wanted to demonstrate that he had the confidence and ability to prevail.
Tom says one of the greatest lessons he has learned while struggling to make a living on the tour has been one of confidence in his ability to win. He says there was very little difference in his ability to play back in the 1980's, but he had not learned to play with confidence, to trust his ability. Through the years, as circumstances set up roadblocks to his goals and dreams—like the bad bounce into the fairway bunker on the 18th hole of the 1996 U.S. Open—Tom gained the confidence to fight back and to overcome the challenges that are part of the game of golf, and of life itself.
Without God as his sourced of strength and courage, it is unlikely Tom would have developed that confidence. God has gifted Tom with the ability to play the game of golf and has helped him gain the confidence he needs to win.
Continues...
Excerpted from In His Grip by Jim Sheard Copyright © 1999 by Jim Sheard. Excerpted by permission.
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