Hot Pursuit

I was reading in 1 Samuel 14 about Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country joined a battle against the Philistines. Now, stories of Israelites against Philistines are often told throughout the Old Testament, but this account caught my eye because of two simple words – “hot pursuit.” I was using the online Bible application http://www.youversion.com/, and I just had to pull out my old fashioned paper Bible to make sure that the translation was correct. Sure enough, my NIV said in 1 Samuel 14:22:

“When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit.”

I’m not exactly sure why, but the words “hot pursuit” made me chuckle. I expect to hear these words on an episode of Cops, or in a movie where the police are pursuing a band of criminals, but not in my Bible. It made me wonder – what did “hot pursuit” look like for the Israelites? Were they running as fast as they could, in full armor, wielding their swords above their heads? Were they on horseback, charging with swords and spears aimed forward? Was there someone in the group yelling a play-by-play back to the dispatch messenger “We’re running through Shrub Hill, into Grass Valley. Now we’re turning towards Rock Canyon and Adam 12 is in front putting out the spike strips to slow the Philistine horses.”

I digress – big time.

In this particular story, God had caused the Philistine army to become confused so that Israel would be successful in their battle with the Philistines. The next verse recounts Israel’s victory:

“So the Lord rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.” 1 Samuel 14:23.

Because the Israelites were faithful in listening to and waiting for God, they defeated the Philistine army on this day. Their “hot pursuit” was after the Philistines, but before they launched their attack, they sought God and His direction – in essence, they pursued Him, and God not only met them, but laid a path for them to follow.

Those two crazy words – hot pursuit – really made me ask the question of myself “Towards what am I in Hot Pursuit?” What is it that I’m chasing after with such veracity that it can be called pursuit? And am I leading an army of people to do the same?

You can ask yourselves these same questions. Pursue after God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and He will create in you a Hot Pursuit.

Football? Really? A Leader Lesson.

I'm not a big sports fan - anyone who knows me very well knows this to be true. But as football season gets under way, and I'm surrounded by serious college football fans (I hear the appropriate color to wear is orange, although I prefer crimson), my mind doesn't turn to the teams, games, or statistics. Instead, because I tend to focus on individual people and how they best fit within a group, my mind turns to the players and their coaches.


So here's my question - What is the difference between a good coach and a great coach?
Of course there are many things that separate good coaches and leaders from mediocre ones…understanding the fundamentals, experience, resources…but one thing stands out to me. What is their focus? Is their focus solely on winning the game? Or is it on getting the best out of each and every player for the game at hand and for the future?

Teams are generally measured on wins and losses – how many games have they won or lost during a season. But there’s another measurement that I think we fail to recognize. How many players have gone on to be successful on other teams or even in business?

Many players begin playing their particular sport as children. Some have obvious talent and will rise through the ranks because of that sheer talent. But some may not have talent that is obvious to the untrained observer. For those players to be successful, they will have to have the heart and passion to stick with the game, and will have to have a coach who can see inside of them – see that the talent is there just waiting for someone to bring it out. Anyone can coach a team full of extremely talented players – you know the kind, they were born with a bat in their hand, or were swishing 3-pointers at age 12. But a true leader takes the kid who picks daisies in the outfield during the game and capitalizes on their heart and passion, and pulls that star-outfielder talent out of them.

Great coaches and leaders not only generate success out of a player while they are on their team, but they also send them out to continue in success either on other teams or in other realms. Great college coaches send numerous players into the pros. Great professional coaches send players out into successful business once their sports career has ended.

Great leaders send their team members out to lead others.

Whether you’re leading a team of volunteers, or a team of people in your business, who have you sent out lately? Who has left the ranks of your team to become leaders of another team? Who have you turned out that has become successful in other areas?

Focus on cultivating successful players – focus on the person themselves, finding their talent and developing it – and you’ll have a successful team and win the game.

Under Construction

I always marvel at construction sites. My stepdad spent his life in construction and built numerous silos that are standing strong throughout the Golden, Colorado valley. Not only did my stepdad construct for a living, there was always a project going on at the house – usually involving concrete. Dad was in his element when he had a concrete pumper truck pulling up to the curb. My sister and I learned how to prepare the work site, set forms, lay rebar, and pour and cure concrete, all before we were teens.


To this day, I tend to be drawn to anything concrete – my dream home would be patterned shades of gray cement on the exterior and polished stained concrete floors throughout. You could say my stepdad created in us a sound foundation for understanding and admiring quality construction.

While my stepdad was teaching us about structures, my family was also laying another foundation – belief in Jesus Christ. They taught us that Jesus Christ was the son of God, born of a virgin, crucified and raised from the dead. They instilled in us that through His blood, our sins were forgiven. They shared with us not only the good news, but the fear of God because of sin. They laid the foundation.

We were “church bus” kids through our early years. We attended a larger Baptist church in the area, riding the bus each Sunday with the other kids whose parents preferred to sleep in. We would attend Sunday School, then go on to children’s church, then usually meet our parents after church for the ride home. Statistics show that we were like the majority of Christians – attend church on Sunday, go on with normal life Monday through Saturday. We believed in Jesus, but we only visited him at church, and didn’t cultivate our relationship with Him during the week.

Is that a problem? I mean, I go to church on Sundays to visit – just like going to Grandma’s house for a week in the summer. I still love you and you love me, right?

Construction doesn't end after the foundation is laid - it continues until the building is completely finished.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.”  Luke 14:28-30.

Learning about, and then accepting Jesus Christ is like laying the foundation to the most amazing building ever built.  To finish the building, you must continue to work, developing your relationship with Christ.  He will provide the blueprints, the tools and the materials.  You just have to show up and do the work.  At the end, you will witness the most incredible construciton imagineable - a life filled with the beauty that is Jesus Christ.

So what are you waiting for?  Do you need to start the foundation now?  Then call on Jesus Christ and ask Him to become your personal savior.  Is your foundation already laid, then seek after Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and get ready for the most luxurious life imaginable - a life of service to the one and only true living God!