I haven’t said anything about Clemson’s losing the championship game. I had predicted to friends that they would win. I was wrong. However, I was right on another prediction: that the sun would come up Tuesday morning and life would go on. And it has!

I was proud of the way Coach Dabo Swinney, who builds his teams on love, was gracious in defeat, continuing to give glory to God, and continuing to love his players, win or lose. And now here’s something else to be proud about: the kind of men Dabo is building there. Men (not all, I’m sure) who are unashamed of Jesus and who make decisions for reasons other than immediate financial gain.

Everyone thought Clemson’s top running back, Travis Etienne, who just completed his junior year, would declare for the NFL draft. He was predicted to be picked very high and be offered A LOT of money. Here’s his decision as he tweeted it on January 17. It needs no comment. (If you can’t see the picture, go here.)

Seth Godin has written a compelling Martin Luther King Day blog talking about “trillions of tiny acts,” what we’ve been calling here: Holy Moments. Here’s some of what he said.

We’ve been sold on the idea that difficult tasks ought to be left to heroes, often from somewhere far away or from long ago. That it’s up to them, whoever ‘them’ is.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Theodore Parker: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” But it’s not bending itself. And it’s not waiting for someone from away to bend it either.

It’s on us…Even when it’s difficult. Even when it’s inconvenient. Our culture is the result of a trillion tiny acts, taken by billions of people, every day…

Sometimes it takes a hero like Dr. King to wake us up and remind us of how much power we actually have.

Dr. King, a pastor, understood that church attendance alone wouldn’t get it done as he often quoted from Amos:

Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5.23, 24, ESV)

Jesus said:

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.13 – 16, ESV)

When I served as Minister of Discipleship of a large church, I wrote a monthly column for the church newspaper. This article, first written in November 2004, speaks of the “Heart, hands, head” rubric that Joel Witzel first mentioned in a comment and that I reiterated in yesterday’s blog. Here’s some of what I wrote then…

It’s commitment season at our church. What does God want us to do? If we’re not careful, we’ll perceive mixed signals and get an incomplete message.

“Heart” is not enough. For some, church seems to be about “heart”—feelings. Our worship services are designed to create a worshipful atmosphere and make us more receptive to hear God’s Word. But just feeling good about God is not the objective. Even having strong feelings about serving God is not really enough. The wise men in Matthew 2 had enough heart to travel a great distance to look for the messiah. But they went to the wrong place. That’s inspiration without information. Paul wrote about his fellow Jews:

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10.1 – 2, ESV)

Zeal (“heart”) without knowledge of what God’s will is, is dangerous as the actions of some Muslim radicals demonstrate.

“Hands” is not enough. Our church excels at service. We have raised volunteerism and service to levels rarely seen in churches. The result is that there are some among us who might be tempted to think that service is all God wants. As long as we are busy for God, everything will be OK. Jesus himself debunked that perspective, refusing to ask Mary to quit listening to Jesus to help Martha serve.

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10.38 – 42, ESV, emphasis added)

“Head” is not enough. That brings us to “head”—Bible study—which many perceive is what “Bob’s Discipleship Ministry” is about. (By the way, it’s not my discipleship ministry—it’s all of ours!) In our church, we might perceive the worship leaders as the “heart” guys, the Minister of Service as the “hands” guy, and Bob, along with with the Adult Education Director, as the “head” people. Nothing could be further from the truth.  First, the Bible is clear from start to finish that just as “heart” and “hands” are not enough; neither is “head.” “Study” is NOT a synonym for “discipleship.” Paul put it this way:

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. (1 Corinthians 8.1 – 2, ESV)

God wants all three. Discipleship is heart, hands, and head. One of the earliest sermons in history has Moses reminding the people of God just that:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6.5 – 7, ESV, emphasis added)

I wrote back on January 11 about the insufficiency of theoretical knowledge when it comes to a practical skill like installing a car’s headlight properly. I observed that sometimes in our churches we seem to be more interested that people know “theology” at the expense of actually teaching them to live the Christian life. My friend Joel Witzel wrote an excellent comment which needs the attention of a full blog rather than a cursory response. Here’s what Joel said:

This reminds me, too, of the Jan 4 post about DOING vs. BEING. I won’t discount either. KNOWING has its value, too. I think we run into difficulty when we diminish the value of any of these.

I like HEAD, HANDS and HEART.

I’d agree, though, that we are too (more?) often guilty of lack of follow-through and keeping our word. However, I sense there’s a deficit of truth and identity that leads to the lack of doing. So which is the problem: be, know, or do?

It’s a non-trivial question, as Joel knows. He and I have very similar backgrounds: retired Air Force officers, doctorates in education, involved in training and education in the Air Force. The age-old question when designing a training program is: How much do the students need to know? There is always more that can be taught, but within the constraints of time and money, what is the optimum level of knowledge and the optimum balance of knowledge and skill? And neither is worth anything if the student doesn’t want to actually use the knowledge and skill. Hence, as Joel said, “Head (knowledge), hands (skill), and heart (attitude).”

And we can’t neglect any of them. Tomorrow, I’ll share some of a column I wrote on Heart, Hands, and Head when I was on church staff.

Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven… Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock…But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. (Matthew 7.21, 24, 26, ESV)

I wrote recently about the will of God and a helpful question, suggested by Andy Stanley: What would love require?

Here’s another challenge, this one from marketing blogger Seth Godin. Speaking of mass media on January 12, here’s some of what he wrote:

If it [mass media] is not for you, about you, or something you need to engage in, then who put it on your agenda?…Here’s something to consider: the world doesn’t get better when you spend more time engaging with mass media…But it does get better when you spend more time doing things that matter. Actions matter. (Emphasis mine)

Wow. There’s a question: will what I’m doing make the world better? That’s a good perspective on things we can be about:  good work, well done; deeds of love and mercy (holy moments); modeling godly character, ministering grace and love, … Small but intentional actions do change the world, and that may be a subject for another blog!

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5.15, 16, ESV)

Whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10.42, ESV)

[Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13.31 – 33, ESV)

Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3 closes with the familiar affirmation:

And as Jesus rose up out of the water, the heavenly realm opened up over him and he saw the Holy Spirit descend out of the heavens and rest upon him in the form of a dove. Then suddenly the voice of the Father shouted from the sky, saying, “This is the Son I love, and my greatest delight is in him.”. (Matthew 3.16, 17, Passion Translation)

“This is the Son I love, and my greatest delight is in him.” My friend and former pastor Jim Singleton used to say that this blessing and affirmation came BEFORE Jesus had done anything. But that’s not quite true. He had done something: he had grown up in an obscure town, patiently waiting for the right time, and in the meantime, no doubt, he was working in the carpenter shop. 

Jesus knew the Isaiah prophecies of “the voice,” so by now he knew he had to wait.

And the Father is well pleased with him, maybe primarily in his identity as my friend Jim suggested, but the Father also was well pleased with his submission to his mother and his years of preparation. Prep time counts!

Paul originally charged off into ministry, but God shunted him off into the desert. “You need some prep time.” (See Galatians 1.15 – 18).

June is undertaking a 3-year program of study to be a spiritual director. Prep time! God is pleased with that.

On a daily basis, I need prep time! I can’t just get up and charge off into the day. Time in the quiet counts. I should also take a weekly sabbath and a monthly or quarterly day of prayer. God’s pleasure is in the quiet as well as in the bustle of activity. 

So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (Luke 5.16, NKJV)

I wrote back on January 5, 2020, the day I completed one year of publishing a blog every day, that there was something important about a streak. I quoted baseball’s iron man, Cal Ripken, about the importance of a streak, just the daily discipline.

Now Seth Godin, who has blogged continuously for 20 years(!), has written about another aspect of a streak. Here’s some of what he said:

Fear of falling behind is a good way to enforce compliance.

But it turns out that real progress comes not from measuring ourselves against everyone else’s pace, but in building habits. And habits come from streaks.

You’re almost certainly never going to win a 26-mile marathon, but if you train every day, you’ll finish one.

Drip by drip, day by day. Habits lead to commitments and commitments create learning.

A culture of streaks can’t help but be mutually supportive. If there’s no behind, then there’s no ahead. But if we’re supporting each other in building new habits, we discover that opening the door for someone else also benefits us as well.

Writing this daily blog has been transformative for me. I pray that it may not only be encouraging and instructive for you, but that it will also inspire you to start your own streak…of holy moments, daily time with God, or some other contribution or discipline.

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9.23, ESV)

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 8.34, 35, ESV)

I wrote yesterday that by any definition, Jesus was a layman. He might have assumed he was to be raised in the Temple like Samuel was (see 1 Samuel chapters 1 – 3), but he grew up in Nazareth as the son of a carpenter, and, therefore, participating in the family business.

Before I say just a bit more about that, I hear a question: “You mean Jesus, as God, did not enter the world with complete knowledge? That it’s possible that he thought incorrectly that Samuel’s life might be an example to him?” Yes, exactly. Else, “Jesus grew in wisdom” (Luke 2.52) doesn’t mean anything. He grew. Therefore, at some point, he was less than full-grown. His understanding was incomplete.

Back to growing up in Nazareth: he experienced an ordinary childhood in an ordinary town. He helped run a carpentry business. He wasn’t raised in privilege at the Temple. No senior rabbi took Jesus under his wing. When he was grown, he chose working men to follow him.

There are many sources indicating that young boys were chosen to follow a rabbi around age 15 and that, therefore, Jesus’ disciples had already been rejected by other rabbis when he called them. But I haven’t seen pointed out that Jesus himself did not go through such an apprenticeship with a rabbi either. (Such an observation may be there, but I haven’t seen it.)

When people say Luke’s gospel is for everyone, we mean everyone. For example, Luke takes pains to include women (annunciation to Zechariah AND Mary, Simeon AND Anna in the temple, etc.). The angels appeared to shepherds. Jesus did not have a special Temple or rabbinical education.

The message is clear: Jesus is “like us” that we may be like him, participating in God’s mission.

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, ESV)

I love that no matter how many times I read the Bible or think about a familiar story, there’s always the potential for something new. I was meditating on Jesus’ visit to the Temple when he was 12 years old. Here’s the exchange with his parents when they finally found him:

When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” … Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them…And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. (Luke 2.48 – 52, NIV)

This is an interesting exchange. “ Son, why have you treated us like this?” In fact, it didn’t occur to Jesus that he was doing anything to them. Maybe he thought it was natural that he would be in his (real) Father’s house. Maybe he thought that, like Samuel, he would just stay there. 

Then Elkanah went home to Ramah, but [Samuel] ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest… And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with people. (1 Samuel 2.11, 26, NIV)

This incident may have been pivotal. Jesus understands that he will stay in Nazareth until the proper time. After the visit to the temple, Jesus learns that he will be “about his Father’s business” while he is about his father’s business. Not a professional hanging out in the temple but among real people, working, in Nazareth.

And I just noticed that the same phrase was used for both Samuel and Jesus: they grew in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people. Except Jesus grew in obscurity with no official or religious position. Jesus was a layman! I’ll write more about that tomorrow.

The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? …Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” (John 7.47, 48, 52, ESV)

What’s your reaction to a blog title of “Discipline!”? Most of us have a negative reaction, don’t we? Either it’s synonymous with punishment or it’s part of an arduous training process as in Hebrews 12.11:

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (ESV)

But I want to write about the discipline I observed at the auto mechanics’ shop when my headlights were fixed. It was a joy to watch.

When I went out to watch Ben work, he was in the process of buffing the headlight lenses. He had a little case that had a small air-powered buffer, two different pads, and two different buffing compounds. Upon completing the work, he carefully returned all the pieces into the case. Everything else he picked up, after he used it, he returned it to where it was. Discipline. Attention to the little things.

When Ben opened the garage door to back my car out, he saw a 55-gallon drum of brake wash outside the door that a vendor had dropped off. He rolled that inside. The men have apparently been trained to do what needs to be done when you notice that it needs to be done. Discipline.

And the best news is that when I arranged to have the work done, I scheduled 1:00 pm, knowing I had to leave by 2:00 pm in order to get to a meeting. And, guess what? I was ready to leave by 2:00 pm. With a 45-minute drive in front of me, I stopped by the bathroom. Surprise, surprise, it was clean! More evidence of discipline, and maybe the art-signs posted there for the employees to see were part of it:

I enjoy excellence and discipline wherever I find it. Good work done well is an art-form.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1.7, NLT)

Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding. (Proverbs 15.32, NIV)