I played golf for the first time with Bill Lowe last Wednesday morning. The good news is I shot an 87; the bad news is we only played nine holes. Amid all of the quiet time I was afforded in the woods searching for my wayward tee shots, I came up with a few practical golf lessons that I thought you might enjoy.

Stay within yourself. The more I swung from my heels and tried to hit the ball 300 yards, the more I dribbled it a few feet in front of me. In the parable of the talents in , Jesus describes three servants who were given talents (opportunities) according to their abilities. The two talent man did not try to do all that the five talent man was doing, he just went to work with what he had, with what he knew he was capable of doing. Don’t be discouraged or overwhelmed when others are blessed with more abilities and opportunities, be content with what the Master has entrusted you and use it in its fullest capacity to His glory. And remember that the only servant who was punished in the parable was the one who did nothing.

Avoid the hazzards. Whenever we played a hole that had a water hazzard, I was so afraid that I was going to lose one of Brother Lowe’s balls that I would automatically hit it right in the middle of the lake. It is time for Christians to stand up to their fears, to look failure in the eye and say, “You’re not going to get the best of me anymore.” We are engaged in war with the devil and his host, and we need soldiers who will “be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (). If we allow failure to get into our heads then we are more likely to fail, but if we keep our confidence in the delivering power of God then we will be nothing short of victorious.

Finish the course. There was a special feeling about walking up the hill to the green on the last hole and sinking the final three-putt of the day. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t give in. There is a mansion prepared at the top of Mount Zion where Jesus will meet us after our climb and say, “Welcome home.” “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in the far north, the city of the great King” ().