Please, Can I Have Just One More Chance?
I don't play a lot of golf... anyone who has played with me would agree with that. 
But, I have played some golf. I enjoy playing golf but it never has really liked me. Well, it likes taking the balls I've lost in the woods and the ponds and the.. well, you get the idea. A guy told me once that he played "military golf." I looked at him puzzled. With a slight smile he said, "right, left, right, left." I smiled... yeah, I play that kind of golf, too!
But, I have played some golf. I enjoy playing golf but it never has really liked me. Well, it likes taking the balls I've lost in the woods and the ponds and the.. well, you get the idea. A guy told me once that he played "military golf." I looked at him puzzled. With a slight smile he said, "right, left, right, left." I smiled... yeah, I play that kind of golf, too! One of the unique things about golf is what's known as the "mulligan." A "mulligan" means you get a second shot. Let me explain.
Before you begin your golf game you decide how many mulligans you will allow. For instance, you might agree on one mulligan per nine holes. I have played in tournaments were mulligans were sold as a fund-raiser. Basically. a mulligan is a do over... you hit a bad shot and you want to try again so you hit a mulligan.
Mulligan's are needed in life and I mean more than one per nine holes. I mean, everyone makes mistakes.
This past Sunday I started teaching our core values at The Retreat. Our first core value is People Matter To God. Our second core value is Everyone Needs A Second Chance.
I mean, everyone makes mistakes. This past Sunday I started teaching our core values at The Retreat. Our first core value is People Matter To God. Our second core value is Everyone Needs A Second Chance.
The Retreat is a place where a person can come and worship Jesus regardless of their past.. regardless of mistakes... etc... This is a core value because there are many people who think they have messed up too badly to worship. Some don't attend worship because they don't want to experience judgment. They don't want to get the looks of "WHAT are THEY doing here?"
Or, they don't want to hear someone say "Be careful... the roof is going to fall in... so & so is in church."
A person shouldn't have to face that kind of thing trying to worship Jesus. But they do and it keeps many people out of worship. At The Retreat, we believe every person... EVERY person... can be forgiven and, we don't care what you have done or what you have thought about doing but didn't do... everyone deserves a second chance.
One of the most POWERFUL examples of the love and grace of Jesus... to me... is the story of Simon Peter. The night Jesus was betrayed three different times, Simon Peter denied that he knew Jesus.
Ok, everything is over for Peter,. right? Not quite. He got a mulligan..
After Jesus rose from the grave, He appeared to Peter. He asked Peter three different times if he loved Him. Each time, Peter was honest; he told the Lord he loved Him but didn't love Him as much as he should. Still, Jesus said "Peter, feed me sheep."
But get this... in the book of Acts, in chapter two, on the day of Pentecost, it was Simon Peter who preached the first Christian sermon in history. The very first Christian sermon was preached by a man who had denied the Lord, yet Jesus forgave him.
I don't understand why Christians and the church have such a hard time with this. I mean, we can be an unforgiving lot. A person can make a mistake and we are quick to throw them away.
At The Retreat we believe everyone deserves a second chance. If you are looking for a place to serve God but think there are too many skeletons in the closet, come try us.
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