For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, NLT)
If you are like me, you’re always looking for something to help your golf game. I lately got caught up believing these advertisements that said a certain new driver would give me 30 more yards. So I went on the Internet and did my research on this new driver, and of course the testimonies from others who bought this driver all said the same thing: “I’ve gained 15-30 more yards since I put this new driver in their bag.” This only increased my driver mania! I kept telling myself, “I have to have this driver! I need that 15-30 more yards! I can now maybe reach a par-5 in two!” It’s true, I’m a pretty excitable guy.
Links Players are to be missionaries, fulfilling the Great Commission by “sharing the Good News of Christ through the great game of golf.”But now here’s the end of the story. I have actually gained 15-20 more yards with my new driver! Now I can’t keep the excitement to myself. I have started to tell all my friends and anyone I play golf with. They need this driver, too!
I know it’s hard, but I hope you get more excited than I did over this driver in remembering and celebrating the birth of the Lord and Savior of the world. Isaiah, the prophet who predicted the coming in Jesus, wrote that this Savior would be not only a child born and given to us, but that the government would rest on his shoulders and he would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” And he is!
The Christmas season can be a great time to invite a friend to church or to a Links Fellowship to meet this great God who saves us. People are sensitive to family matters and spiritual things this time of year. Inviting others isn’t something that happens by accident, though. As I considered writing this devotion, I was challenged about my own outreach. Who would I invite? And when will I do it? I realized I needed to get going!
I have shared Luke 10:2 with many of our Links Fellowships over the years: “These were his instructions to them: ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.’”
You have a great harvest field at your golf club. Links Players are to be missionaries, fulfilling the Great Commission by “sharing the Good News of Christ through the great game of golf” (the S of every Links Player’s personal mission). Like a missionary, you know the language and culture of your club. Use that to your advantage as you take the opportunity this Christmas season to reach out.
—
Dereck Wong
December 14, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.