In our Tuesday Night Bible Study last night, led by my young Friend, Associate Pastor John Nash Quintans, we continued our study in Psalm 119:33-40, a discussion about our perseverance based upon the promises of God.
In that Scripture passage we saw how God will teach us (v33) - give us understanding (v34), help us to walk in His commandments (v35) - incline our heart toward Him and not to covetousness (v36) - help us to keep our eyes on Him and not on worthless material things (v37) - establish His Word within us (v38) - turn away our reproach, i.e., shame, that our witness of Him will not cast doubt in those who are weaker or who are not yet believers (v39) - make us sincerely long for His precepts, His guiding commandments, that we might grow in His righteousness (v40).
Dory suggested this this passage in Psalm 119, perseverance based upon God's promises - seems to parallel the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12.
And while looking at verse 36, "incline our heart toward Him and not to covetousness" and verse 37, "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless (or foolish) things, And revive me in Your way" - the discussion turned toward our habits of working to attain greater and greater material things - often to neglect of our more important spiritual life.
Those two verses made me think of a documentary video I had watched the previous evening about the life of Pistol Pete Maravich - possibly the greatest basketball player to ever walk on the court. That is not just my judgment, but reflects the thoughts of many of his basketball peers.
One man who played professional basketball against Pete Maravich said this, "Take all the talents of all the Harlem Globetrotters, put them into one man - and that man would be Pistol Pete Maravich." That is a powerful statement.
In the documentary video, it told how Pete's dad, Press Maravich, who had a brief career in professional basketball before turning to coaching - seemed to dedicate Pete Maravich's life, almost from birth, to building the perfect basketball robot, master of the game of basketball. And, he almost succeeded. But at what cost?
Pete Maravich starred on the high school varsity basketball team - when he was still in the eighth grade. He went on to even greater success in college basketball. In his college basketball career at LSU he averaged 44.2 points per game - and that was before the 3-point rule (adopted in 1979) which would have made his number far greater. And he averaged 24.2 points per game in his ten year professional career.
Yet with his finely honed, practice-perfected basketball skills which had been drilled into him almost from birth by his father - Pete Maravich had problems relating to people, even his teammates, and I would guess his family. On the basketball court, according to his teammates, it was as though he was always alone.
He began searching, seeking, peace via many avenues - even science fiction. But it always eluded him, for he was seeking peace everywhere except in the only source of true peace, God.
After he was forced by injury to retire from basketball in 1980 - he turned his intensity toward seeking that peace. In this video, Wayne Federman, Maravich biographer, tells how after being forced to leave the only life he had ever known, basketball, Pete went through two years of extreme darkness and depression. In the video Pete shares how, one evening as he was getting ready to go to bed, he heard the call of God on his life.
Finally Pete did find peace in God. Then he used that same intensity which had always driven him in basketball - turning it toward sharing and speaking about God to all who would listen.
At the age of forty, in 1988, Pete Maravich was in Pasadena to be interviewed for a Christian radio program. Before the interview he was playing in a pick-up game at the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena. Dr. James Dodson of Focus on the Family was on the court with him. Dr. Dobson tells how he turned away for just a moment - and turning back he saw Pete collapse. On January 5, 1988, Pistol Pete Maravich, 40 years old, died of a heart attack in the arms of Dr. Dobson.
In a way that was ironic. Pistol Pete Maravich died doing the two things which meant the most in his life: (1) playing basketball and (2) getting ready to share and talk about his Christian faith.
Now think back to why these two Scripture verses from our Bible study I felt paralleled the life of Pistol Pete Maravich. We read in verse 36, "incline our heart toward Him and not to covetousness" and in verse 37, "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless (or foolish) things, And revive me in Your way."
Pete Maravich had let his desire for basketball greatness, his desire for crowd adoration, his seeking fame and fortune in the worldly game of basketballguide his life - instead of seeking the more important goal of spiritual maturity in Christ. But praise God, before he died prematurely - he did find eternal life in Christ and he used the gift of sharing which God had given him, to spend the rest of his short life as an ambassador for Christ. In that sense, his life truly was successful.
Many of my Friends are not old enough to remember Pistol Pete Maravich. But to me, it seems only yesterday that I was watching him putting on his basketball clinic in every LSU game he played. And I remember wondering how he kept from tripping over his floppy gray socks that always seemed to be drooping over his basketball shoes.
In our Tuesday Night Bible Study discussion of Psalm 119:33-40, I could not help but remember Pistol Pete Maravich - and briefly shared with our group about his life and death. It is a great reminder that no matter how great and successful we are in this life - if we do not have Jesus Christ front and center in our life - we are a failure, a spiritual failure.
God bless, have a wonderful blessed day,
Bill
In that Scripture passage we saw how God will teach us (v33) - give us understanding (v34), help us to walk in His commandments (v35) - incline our heart toward Him and not to covetousness (v36) - help us to keep our eyes on Him and not on worthless material things (v37) - establish His Word within us (v38) - turn away our reproach, i.e., shame, that our witness of Him will not cast doubt in those who are weaker or who are not yet believers (v39) - make us sincerely long for His precepts, His guiding commandments, that we might grow in His righteousness (v40).
Dory suggested this this passage in Psalm 119, perseverance based upon God's promises - seems to parallel the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12.
And while looking at verse 36, "incline our heart toward Him and not to covetousness" and verse 37, "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless (or foolish) things, And revive me in Your way" - the discussion turned toward our habits of working to attain greater and greater material things - often to neglect of our more important spiritual life.
Those two verses made me think of a documentary video I had watched the previous evening about the life of Pistol Pete Maravich - possibly the greatest basketball player to ever walk on the court. That is not just my judgment, but reflects the thoughts of many of his basketball peers.
One man who played professional basketball against Pete Maravich said this, "Take all the talents of all the Harlem Globetrotters, put them into one man - and that man would be Pistol Pete Maravich." That is a powerful statement.
In the documentary video, it told how Pete's dad, Press Maravich, who had a brief career in professional basketball before turning to coaching - seemed to dedicate Pete Maravich's life, almost from birth, to building the perfect basketball robot, master of the game of basketball. And, he almost succeeded. But at what cost?
Pete Maravich starred on the high school varsity basketball team - when he was still in the eighth grade. He went on to even greater success in college basketball. In his college basketball career at LSU he averaged 44.2 points per game - and that was before the 3-point rule (adopted in 1979) which would have made his number far greater. And he averaged 24.2 points per game in his ten year professional career.
Yet with his finely honed, practice-perfected basketball skills which had been drilled into him almost from birth by his father - Pete Maravich had problems relating to people, even his teammates, and I would guess his family. On the basketball court, according to his teammates, it was as though he was always alone.
He began searching, seeking, peace via many avenues - even science fiction. But it always eluded him, for he was seeking peace everywhere except in the only source of true peace, God.
After he was forced by injury to retire from basketball in 1980 - he turned his intensity toward seeking that peace. In this video, Wayne Federman, Maravich biographer, tells how after being forced to leave the only life he had ever known, basketball, Pete went through two years of extreme darkness and depression. In the video Pete shares how, one evening as he was getting ready to go to bed, he heard the call of God on his life.
Finally Pete did find peace in God. Then he used that same intensity which had always driven him in basketball - turning it toward sharing and speaking about God to all who would listen.
At the age of forty, in 1988, Pete Maravich was in Pasadena to be interviewed for a Christian radio program. Before the interview he was playing in a pick-up game at the First Church of the Nazarene in Pasadena. Dr. James Dodson of Focus on the Family was on the court with him. Dr. Dobson tells how he turned away for just a moment - and turning back he saw Pete collapse. On January 5, 1988, Pistol Pete Maravich, 40 years old, died of a heart attack in the arms of Dr. Dobson.
In a way that was ironic. Pistol Pete Maravich died doing the two things which meant the most in his life: (1) playing basketball and (2) getting ready to share and talk about his Christian faith.
Now think back to why these two Scripture verses from our Bible study I felt paralleled the life of Pistol Pete Maravich. We read in verse 36, "incline our heart toward Him and not to covetousness" and in verse 37, "Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless (or foolish) things, And revive me in Your way."
Pete Maravich had let his desire for basketball greatness, his desire for crowd adoration, his seeking fame and fortune in the worldly game of basketballguide his life - instead of seeking the more important goal of spiritual maturity in Christ. But praise God, before he died prematurely - he did find eternal life in Christ and he used the gift of sharing which God had given him, to spend the rest of his short life as an ambassador for Christ. In that sense, his life truly was successful.
Pete Maravich ESPN Sports Century
https://youtu.be/FNTtYNU9rKc
Many of my Friends are not old enough to remember Pistol Pete Maravich. But to me, it seems only yesterday that I was watching him putting on his basketball clinic in every LSU game he played. And I remember wondering how he kept from tripping over his floppy gray socks that always seemed to be drooping over his basketball shoes.
In our Tuesday Night Bible Study discussion of Psalm 119:33-40, I could not help but remember Pistol Pete Maravich - and briefly shared with our group about his life and death. It is a great reminder that no matter how great and successful we are in this life - if we do not have Jesus Christ front and center in our life - we are a failure, a spiritual failure.
God bless, have a wonderful blessed day,
Bill
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