Seeking Security

This is one of those weekends when we don't really want to blog about poker at all. The news of deadly shooting sprees in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio (a place where we played poker last September) has been stunning and saddening.

The sad truth is that something like that could happen at a poker room near you. Gun-pointing and barroom brawls are the stuff of Western movies, after all - and those were set more than 100 years ago.

We decided to open our Bible today to two sections with stark contrasts. One pictures the worst of times....

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be.... abusive.... without love.... without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash.... - II Timothy 3:1-4

Several other "end-time" sins are mentioned there, but we're focusing on the ones which seem especially timely. And sad to say....

But evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. - II Timothy 3:13 (KJV)

The old phrase says things will get worse before they get better. Right now, it takes faith to believe things will get better at all. But that's where the second section of Scripture comes in:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.... I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.... He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. - Revelation 21:1-4

A new heaven and earth are coming! Death will someday end! The crying over lost loved ones (from shooting sprees or something else) will stop!

This indeed takes faith to believe. And it comes only through faith God's plan to bring Jesus Christ back to Earth to set up His Kingdom.

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ., and he shall reign for ever and ever." - Revelation 11:15

It seems no place is safe in the U.S., after the events of this weekend. The best security you can have comes by giving your life to God and Jesus Christ - by turning away from the ways of "evil men" and putting your hope in the better world which the Bible promises is coming. May "Thy kingdom comes".... quickly.

Swimming with GPI's

Movies have the Oscars. Television has the Emmys. Even the sports world now has ESPYs. So why not an awards show for the poker world?

Nominees were announced this week for the first-ever Global Poker Awards. They're from Global Poker Index, or GPI for short - which could mean we call these awards the "Guppies."

But let's get serious: only a couple of these awards actually are for skill at the poker table. The rest are for people around poker - such as "Poker Journalist," broadcaster and outstanding Tournament Director. (Why is there no award for the best dealer?)

No, this blog did not get nominated for these awards. We didn't even know they were coming. But that's OK - because we've come to realize that while awards are nice to win and could help your resume, they don't have real lasting value. Consider these words....

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. - I Corinthians 9:25

One of our Bibles comments that the apostle Paul probably is referring here to ancient events such as the Olympics or Isthmian Games. Foot races were big events, and winners received laurel wreaths. They might last a few days, but flowers and fresh vegetation eventually withers and dies.

On the other hand, Paul found a crown truly worth seeking, which will "last forever." What could that be?

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. - II Timothy 4:8

He lived seeking a crown from God - and wrote these words of hope shortly before he died (verse 6). As another verse puts it:

...Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. - Revelation 2:10

It's at least symbolic of eternal life, which Jesus will award when He comes again and His faithful believers are resurrected. Now that's an award truly worth seeking - and it will last forever. Award show trophies won't. Not even big poker bracelets will. Which prize has your top attention?

Fight Night at the Casino

Nevada may be famous for poker. But in Arizona, they take the game seriously. Sometimes dead seriously. And it's not simply "Wild West" history....

A fight broke out last weekend at the Talking Stick Casino poker room, outside Phoenix. (Warning: There's X-rated language on the linked clip.)  Several online reports indicate a man became upset with the dealer after he missed a big blind in a cash game. He became very loud - and moments later, someone jumped him from behind.

We don't know what happened from here, except that security personnel threw both men out. We don't know if anyone will face charges. But we do know both these people need to reveal one section of a well-read book:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. - I Corinthians 13:4-5 (NLT)

We can see plenty of violations of this "checklist of love" in this incident. Loudly bad-mouthing a dealer certainly isn't kind. Shouting/ranting about your chip stack seems rather proud to us. And horse-collaring the man to shut him up strikes us as an act by an irritable person.

It turns out there was a second fight last weekend, at a poker room in Las Vegas. It reportedly involved one player insulting another player's daughter. That seems rude - certainly not very kind.

To be fair: poker rooms we've visited have nothing like this. There may be occasional loud discussions about the rules, but things don't go beyond that. Most players are civilized and respectful, win or lose. But these cases may reflect a deeper issue - an internal one:

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don't they come from the evil desires that war within you? - James 4:1 (NLT)

To tell the truth, we all have these desires in one form or another. We may keep things in check for a while. But sometimes they boil over - and they're ugly when they do. So here's a better approach....

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and the will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you.... - James 4:7-8 (NLT)

Instead of letting your emotions overflow, think about good and godly things (Philippians 4:8). Be a part of the ultimate "resistance movement" - resisting sin, and being a loving example to others. Even in a poker room.

Where Was the Love?

Our last post mentioned there was no "ministry moment" during the Thursday night cash back. No mention of God at all. In fact, our "card protector" was a makeshift straw wrapper we found at our seat.

So what changed? The day of the year. Thursday was Valentine's Day - and the church group we've attended for years is against keeping it. It's considered a man-made "pagan day," not Biblical. Ministers would point to Bible verses like this:

...Inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise, You shall not do so to the Lord your God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hates, have they done to their gods... - Deuteronomy 12:30-31 (KJV)

We started doing the "day without love" on February 14 five years ago, after reading a church magazine article with this explanation:

What about showing love on Valentine's Day if I'm not doing it for pagan reasons? Isn't that okay? No, because the expression of that kind of 'love' is still rooted in a former pagan holiday. True Christians must not adopt pagan festivals as holidays....
Showing love as God instructs is not wrong - romantic love included.... But don't do it under the trappings of a pagan holiday like Valentine's Day!...

But just between you, us and the internet, we see a problem with this line of reasoning. Do you see it? The problem is in how the Bible defines God....

And we have known and believe the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him. - I John 4:16 (KJV)

If love was wrong on Thursday, we would ask: did God take Thursday off? Did He stop loving everyone for a day, because some Catholics or pagans had a special "love" or "romance" day? Did the world stop turning? Did the warm sun or helpful rain go away? Of course not.

Our point is simply this: God is defined as "love." And God existed before any pagans or humans did:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 (KJV)

Humans might do ungodly things on February 14. In fact, two "St. Valentine's Day massacres" have occurred on that day in the last 100 years - one with U.S. organized crime, another at a Florida high school. If anything shows what happens when you go without love for a day, those events should.

We should indeed, as that article states, "show love as God instructs." But saying you shouldn't do it on Valentine's Day is illogical and extreme. God's love is non-stop. Ours should be as well.

So we did what we did in an attempt to follow church teaching strictly - but also to teach a lesson to anyone who might see it. (And it cost us money, as we had a losing night in the casino.) Love should not be governed by the calendar. It should follow the instructions of the Bible, which nowhere states love takes a day off on February 14. If you see it there, please let us know where you found it.

The Day We Couldn't Play

On December 24-25, 2015, we did poker "back-to-back." After winning money Thursday night at a Wichita bar, we went to Kansas Star casino for a Friday noon tournament. That didn't turn out well for us, but 42 players showed up to make things competitive.

This year on December 24-25, we tried it again. This time both tournaments were at Jack Casino Cincinnati. But after a money win Monday night, this time.... the daytime tournament was canceled.

Only two other players plunked down the $80 buy-in. In fact, the poker room barely had one full table of cash game players. The managers huddled at the 11:15 a.m. starting time, then canceled the tournament. We regained our buy-in, and proceeded to add some money to that at a blackjack table.

Talk about a difference - 42 "Christmas poker" players in rural Kansas, versus only three in urban southwest Ohio. Is Texas Hold 'em simply a bigger thing in the Plains States? Or are there other factors?

Perhaps Cincinnati offers more things to do with your spare time. Or perhaps the area is more "religious" than we realized, with more people marking Christmas in some way or other. It's quite a Roman Catholic area - with at least two Catholic colleges, and Lenten fish fries which become big news items.

Long-time blog readers know we went to casinos because we do not keep Christmas. Despite what some advocates might indicate, there's no command in the Bible to keep it. And it's very likely Jesus Christ was not born in December at all....

She gave birth to her first child, a son.... That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. - Luke 2:7-8 (NLT)

When Mary gave birth to Jesus, shepherds were on the job outside. That would be chilly work in the Bethlehem in late-December. The Internet allows us to know weather conditions in that part of the Middle East, and nighttime lows right now are in the mid-40's F. It seems safe to assume conditions were the same 2,000 years ago.

But history shows shepherds were not out working in such chilly conditions. Sheep were kept in shelters, since there was little grass for grazing in winter. As Jesus would say after growing up....

So he explained it to them: "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.... Those who go in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures." - John 10:7, 9 (NLT)

Sheep need good pastureland to thrive. Would a caring shepherd settle for less? The winter shelters help explain how shepherds could do what they did after they had a supernatural vision....

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. - Luke 2:15-16 (NLT)

Lots of sheep were "left behind" - but the shepherds later returned to them (verse 20). Jesus would expect a different reaction as an adult, but that's a topic for another post.

We didn't talk about Christmas or Christ at Monday night's tournament at all. That's because the church association we attend has indicated any action toward God on Christmas is the same as keeping the day, and we're not instructed to keep man-made "pagan" days.

A lot of "customs of the season" get debated at this time of year. We invite you to study how we responded to one book about it years ago. Have a Bible ready. Have an open mind. And have a willingness to react obediently to what God shows you - as those shepherds did.

Gambling Town?

With a title like that, you might think we're going to comment on Las Vegas. Or Atlantic City. Or maybe Monte Carlo. But we're not.

We heard a radio preacher say this morning that Antioch was a place where people "loved to gamble." Antioch was a major city in the Roman Empire as the early Church developed.

Yet when we did an online search for "Antioch gambling," we didn't find a New Testament place - we found a town in northern California with a casino. When we added "Bible" to the search, ancient Antioch came up. But Bible resources didn't mention anything about the city's gambling history. And the preacher didn't give a source for his statement - simply "historians."

So maybe ancient Antioch isn't famous for gambling after all. But it became famous for other things:

Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. - Acts 11:20-21

Perhaps some people were persuaded to give up gambling and start serving God. The Bible doesn't say. If they did, they made a good choice. But it may not have been easy....

...Persecutions, sufferings - what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. - II Timothy 3:11

A church group developed in that city, with this Biblical note....

The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. - Acts 11:26

This may explain why many church groups today have "Antioch" in their names. Skeptics may have thought the believers took a wild chance with their lives. But the Christian way is the path which leads to eternal life - a grand prize, if ever there was one.

A Decade of Decisions

The first decision came ten years ago today. We took a short walk from our home to a corner bar, and joined in a free Thursday night poker tournament.

Ten years later, we're still playing poker - but like many who took up the game in the last decade, the "fad" has faded for us. Our schedule doesn't allow us to enter many live tournaments right now. And even our online play is way down, because other Internet games seem more interesting. (Anyone for Scrabble?)

We could compare our rise and fall to a comment made to an ancient church...

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance.... Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. - Revelation 2:2, 4

If you have a "red-letter Bible," this comment probably is in red ink. These are words of a resurrected Jesus Christ. He gave praise to the "church in Ephesus" (verse 1) for several accomplishments and traits. Yet He indicated that interest had faded. In this case, we think the "first love" was for God.

Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things your did at first. - Revelation 2:5

If your first love was poker, this is relatively easy to do. You head back online or into a poker room and get reacquainted with the cards. But if your real first love is for God - and we think it should be - it may be time to repent of letting distractions get in the way.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. - I John 2:15

OK, we'll admit it - poker is definitely a game "in the world." Some church-going people actually might commend us for losing some passion for it. But if you've used poker to be a light for Jesus Christ, those "deeds" and "hard work" can fade by becoming more introverted and secluded.

When we started playing live poker in 2007, we didn't think much about doing it for ministry. It was a test of game-playing skills we developed online. But as time went on, we saw the opportunity to do more than that. Now we can go home from short tournaments feeling better than a final-table bubble player, because we accomplished a higher purpose:

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." - Mark 16:15

That's what we try to do at the table, and on this blog as well.

We were writing a different blog when we sat down for our first poker night ten years ago. It was a locally-centered humor blog - so here's how we reported on what happened 15 Jun 07.

A Read You Can Trust

"I grew up in a super-religious family," the man sitting to our left at a poker tournament said. "But I've always wondered how you can tell a story over thousands of years, and not have some changes in it."

This man was expressing skepticism about the Bible. How could today's translations be anywhere near the same as what was originally written in the years "B.C.", or before Christ? After all, poker players often stretch the truth or forget key details of their greatest victories or bad beats.

We could try answering that skepticism with the Bible's own words....

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.... - II Timothy 3:16

For the believer in God, this is accepted as truth. But for the skeptic, it can seem like a boast any delusional street-corner preacher might make about himself.

We could try pointing to fulfilled prophecies....

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in the was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. - I Peter 1:10-11

Believers can list many Old Testament prophecies which were lived out by Jesus Christ. But skeptics can point to prophecies still not fulfilled....

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." - II Peter 3:3-4

We tried to point the poker player next to us toward the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were discovered in the mid-20th century, and include more than 200 "Biblical texts" which show little change over a 1,000-year period compared with other Biblical scrolls.

Other ancient writings, such as those of Aristotle and Confucius, don't face the same doubts and skepticism that Biblical writings do. Perhaps that's because not as much rides on those writings - while the Bible challenges readers to accept that there is a God, and we should obey Him.

He [Jesus] replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." - Luke 11:28

Are you a Biblical skeptic? Or are you concerned about what you might have to do, should you find the Bible really is accurate?

A King on the River

Today is a holiday in the U.S., marking the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Do a search for his name and "poker," and you might find "bonus points" offers at casinos or special holiday tournaments.

If you really want to "honor King" by playing poker, you can order a King Memorial deck of playing cards online. For only ten dollars, he can stare at the other players for you. And if you really wanted to have a holiday theme, we suppose you could have a poker game where Kings are wild.

People old enough to remember Dr. King's causes and campaigns probably would find these things tacky at best, and insulting at worst. But some people invoke Dr. King's name in support of poker cash games and similar gambling. One casino website put it this way several years ago:

The Reverend spoke of equality, and the freedom of every American to have choices. Gambling is a choice that Americans should have the right to decide whether they want to take part or not.

If Dr. King made a direct statement on gambling in a speech or sermon, we could not find it. (If you know of one, please let us know in a comment.) But that website strikes us as turning words out of context. In fact, Dr. King's semi-rival of the time Malcolm X gave up gambling because he thought white people had "forced" it on black people to keep them economic slaves.

Yet the website has a valid point about choices. As a minister by trade, Dr. King might have said God gives humans choices. For instance....

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.... - Deuteronomy 30:19

God does more than offer a choice. He tells humans the right answer. For instance, "choose life" - a phrase we're sure would get the late George Michael in some trouble, if he wore it on a T-shirt in a music video today.  But back to our point....

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable for you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15

You can serve "the Lord" - the God of the Bible - or some other god that is fake and false. Joshua chose to follow the Lord which led Israel into a land of promise. We face that same choice today. If you make poker your "god", as in the thing you worship and idolize more than anything else, consider this...

Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold.... - Proverbs  8:10

Will you pay attention to what God instructs, or your desire for money and riches? In reality, living God's way could lead you to all these things. We'll develop that concept in an upcoming post.

River Without Rats

The last card that's dealt in a Texas Hold 'em poker hand has a name with more symbolism than you might think.

Why is it called "the river"? One theory we found online says that card actually was a cheater's card long ago - and gamblers would throw it over the side of a riverboat if they got caught. Into the river, you see.

But big things happened at rivers long before poker came along. Consider a few examples....

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them... as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.... So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. - Joshua 3:14-16

The nation of Israel entered God's "promised land" by crossing the Jordan River. Decades of wandering ended, and a payoff was achieved.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John... As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." - Matthew 3:13-17

The Son of God agreed to be baptized in a river, and God used that moment to make a major statement about Him.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. - Acts 16:13

The apostle Paul went to the riverside to pray - and more baptisms followed (verse 15).

So historic events can happen at rivers. Perhaps you can think of more from the Bible. But we've been reminded of this lately by a big song on Christian radio - ironically, by a singer with "Jordan" in his name. It talks about a "river" offering something far more valuable than poker pots.

The Private Plan

Steps continue to unfold in our area's crackdown on gambling - which seems primarily to be a crackdown on poker rooms and tournaments.

We've now learned a big tournament was held earlier this month, outside the Wichita city limits - put on in the suburbs as a fundraiser for the football team. The school district and football team websites didn't seem to have anything about it when we checked today (including the fine print about whether there was a required buy-in). But one poker group's Twitter feed indicates it's gone on for several years.

Then there's the move by our primary Wichita poker room. Arrowhead Poker has cleansed its Facebook feed of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of posts about cash games in progress and upcoming tournaments. Now it says this:

Arrowhead Poker Cardroom is a private social club. We offer free texas holdem tournaments daily. Like this page to keep up with current events we are running. We are seeking Spades players as well for future tournament play details to come. 

The poker room's website still advertises daily tournaments - but the "Sunday Showdown" which once had a $75 buy-in now has no price showing.

"Private clubs" have a long history in our state. They go back to a time when "liquor by the drink" was not openly allowed, people would cross state lines to stock up on wine, and a minister with a lost voice box led an anti-alcohol "Life at Its Best" movement warning about "drug suffering."  That all changed in Kansas in the mid-1980s. But we wonder if what Arrowhead Poker is promoting is a first step toward bringing it back.

If you choose to play poker in private to get around local and state laws, keep one thing in mind. You might be able to hide your cash game from police - but you can't hide it from God:

..All who sin under the law will be judged by the law.... This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. - Romans 2:12, 16

To borrow from a song co-written by the late Glenn Frey, "You can't hide your lyin' eyes." Not from God, you can't. He watches over "the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3).  But that doesn't mean secret acts are bad.  In fact, the Bible also says....

..And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. - Matthew 6:18b

The King James Version says God will "reward you openly."  He wants others to know about the deeds you do for Him - but on the other hand, He doesn't want you to promote them:

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.... do not let your left hand know what you right hand is doing. - Matthew 6:2-3

We've heard ministers preach for decades about attempts by big government to encroach on your "right to privacy." But ultimately, that "right" does not exist. The idea is a farce, because God watches it all and will judge based on all. How are you spending your private time - and will it pass the final judgment test?

The Old Stomping Ground

It was the first place where we played in a free in-person poker tournament.  The first place where we reached a final table.  And the first place where we finished in the money.  But we learned today that place has changed.

Lil Kim's Cove was a small corner bar, practically across the street from where we lived in Georgia. Walking there to play on Thursday nights was easy.  Getting home sometimes could be challenging, as we encountered a beggar or two on our path after dark. (And the website for it still stands, although it's several years old.)

But for reasons unexplained to us, that bar now is called Acers. As we understand it, poker-playing stopped there shortly after we moved to Kansas. But Thursday night games have picked up again -- with many of the same tough opponents we used to face.

Life is like that, isn't it?  Poker venues come and go. The owners of a business decide to sell and retire.  Even our lives can be the same way....

Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. - James 4:14 (KJV)

Long before "vaping" became popular, people realized our lives were that temporary. That can seem depressing.  But the Bible offers something better - even eternal:

I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. - Psalm 89:1

Forever?! How?!  This verse was written long before anything thought of vinyl records or .MP3's.

But believers in God have the hope they will live forever. This is the ultimate hope of the Bible:

...Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. - Psalm 16:10-11

That "Holy One" was Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of all humans but was resurrected by God so that we might have "eternal pleasures" - with eternal life, and who knows what else.

So how are you living - like a vape, or someone walking the path to eternity?

Poker Night 396: Donuts for Dollars

A couple of weekends ago, we sat inside a McDonald's restaurant eating dinner when a surprise occurred.  Two children walked in, holding boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts -- and they proceeded to ask us to buy some.  We openly asked if that was allowed.  They said yes, but took our hint and moved on.

"Krispy Kremes" are welcome in a poker room -- but sometimes they can lead to a meltdown.  So here's what we did with them tonight at The Red Barn....

BLINDS: 200/400

IN THE POCKET: King of clubs - King of spades

Good cards have been scarce for us so far, so we've only tested the water in a couple of hands.  We're already at a semifinal table on a three-table night, and start this hand with 4,975 chips.  Sitting one behind the dealer, no one raises ahead of us.  So it's time to move.

"Raise - 1,000."

At a table where players have bought food, drinks and jukebox songs worth tens of thousands, this is a modest inconvenience.  Several players call.

ON THE FLOP: Qh-4h-Kh

A third King comes -- but so does big trouble.  Three hearts open the door for a flush.  Thankfully, the players check ahead of us again.  So it's time to make a bigger move -- as in throwing a block.

"All in for 3,975."

The response isn't exactly what we want.  Not one, but three players call.  We're concerned.

ON THE TURN: 6c

Good.  The three players who still can bet all check.  But keep in mind, the chances of hitting a flush on the river card are slightly higher than on the turn (19.6 versus 19.1 percent).

ON THE RIVER: 8s

So now we can relax?  The table checks again.

"Show me your Aces," a player across from us says.

"Nope, I have three Kings."

"I was chasing a flush," that man admits.  He shows the 10 of hearts, but he has nothing else!  We make a massive gain, to 22,900.

 The cards improved a bit after that, but our success with them came and went.  A-K brought us a gain in the second hour, when a King came on the flop.  But then we missed with A-K and A-Q, and had to fold to potentially bankrupting bets.  We finally did push with A-8 of clubs, but the board didn't pair and a man to our left made a flush.  Our hopes were dashed again, finishing in 13th place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: "Thank GAWWW-D for a three!" a woman said next to us after a hand.  The 3 on the river secured her a higher straight and a nice pot -- and her response sounded exactly as exaggerated as we've spelled it.

"We should thank God for everything," we said quietly to her.  And with no exaggeration.

We've noted many times the importance of being thankful, for blessings great and small.  But we think it's also important to thank God with an attitude of respect:

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.... - Hebrews 12:28

No one in the Bible has the ministerial title "Reverend."  But reverent is how we should be in our dealings with God.  Look at what could happen if we aren't....

To this day they have not humbled themselves or shown reverence, nor have they followed my law and the decrees I set before you and your fathers.  Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah. - Jeremiah 44:10-11

Jeremiah spoke these words on God's behalf.  Biblical history shows that disaster eventually happened, with the nation of Judah taken captive and Jerusalem burned (Jeremiah 52:13, 27).  The lesson for all of us can be summed up simply....

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. - Galatians 6:7

When you say you thank God, do you mean it?  Really mean it?

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 136 final tables in 396 nights (34.3%) - 20 cashes.

Our Grand Opening

On this anniversary, you may be wondering how we did on our first live poker night five years ago.

We wrote about it, of course.  The Blog of Columbus is now closed, but the entry from 15 June 07 is still there -- the good, the bad and the funny.

Where's the Evidence? II

That poker table discussion last Thursday night involving a religious skeptic brought up so many issues that we're still sorting through them all.

"Skeptic?" you might be asking.  "She sounds like an atheist."  In fact, someone at the table asked the woman if she was -- and she said she wasn't.  She doesn't believe in Jesus or the Bible, but she claims she's not atheistic.  Yet our dictionary defines atheism as "disbelief in or denial of the existence of God."  That's different from agnosticism, which "does not deny God but denies the possibility of knowing Him."

Some Christian ministers would turn at this point to a blunt message in the Psalms....

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."  They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good. - Psalm 53:1

But while this woman made some bold statements about not believing in Jesus and having power over her own life, we're reminded of a prayer Jesus offered to God the Father shortly before His death:

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.  They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. - John 17:6

While God wants everyone to be saved (I Timothy 2:4), you might be surprised to learn He's not revealing Himself to everyone right now.  We even heard one player at the poker table mention that skeptical woman will have a "second chance" to understand Jesus someday.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened... The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. - Revelation 20:12

Those demanding proof of Jesus's existence will have it then -- because the Bible refers to this as "the judgment seat of Christ" (II Corinthians 5:10).  In other words, He'll be there.

This discussion went on well after we were eliminated from the poker tournament -- and we told the young woman at one point this issue ultimately is a matter of faith.  She seems to put plenty of faith in herself.  But the years of life may well reveal to her how we even let ourselves down at times.

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. - I Corinthians 2:5 (KJV)

P.S.  We received a comment via Facebook about this discussion.  She says using Bible wisdom is not the best answer in this case....

I think a good place to start is to try and show her that the Bible truly is the Word of God by revealing its accurate prophecies etc. 

One of the most amazing prophetic proofs involves Daniel 11.  It takes some time and digging in a library using encyclopedias (and the old-fashioned hardback versions are going out of style at many libraries) -- but years ago, we verified how historical events recorded by Daniel have been fulfilled, all the way through World War I.  Some ministers maintain the "time of the end" events from verse 40 on still have yet to occur.

First to Act

Let's head back to that pre-game discussion about God from the other night.  A man noted the challenge of attempting to believe in something you can't easily see.

"Besides," he added, "how do we know Buddha wasn't the first god?"

The answer to that can be found in history.  Researchers agree the ancient Buddha was alive and teaching about 2,500 years ago.  The roots of Judeo-Christian faith have been around much longer.  Take this example....

Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. - II Chronicles 12:2

When was Shishak on the throne?  Archeologists who research these things (and know much more about it than we do) believe he was in charge around 925 B.C.  Rehoboam was the successor to King Solomon (I Kings 11:41-43) -- a leader who had several personal encounters with God (I Kings 9:1-2).  So this is a God who predates Buddha by hundreds of years.

But beyond the historical record, there's that matter of faith.  Faith that says....

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. - Psalm 90:2

How could God be around before there was a world?  Many have asked that question through the centuries.  It's a mystery waiting to be revealed after God sends His Son back to Earth.

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. - Colossians 2:2-3

Isaiah 55:9 adds God's ways are "higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Are you prepared to have faith to trust God to reveal Himself -- at the time and schedule He considers best?

Words of a "LoSer"

"I am number 1," declared someone we met at a National League of Poker tournament the other day.

"At this table. At this moment," we wrote in response. When someone writes that comment out of the blue, you expect a lively discussion to follow -- and we quickly steered it in a moral direction.

LoSerUr2: i am king
LoSerUr2: bow to ur king
Me: No. Jesus is my King.
LoSerUr2: drop roses at me feet as i walk by
LoSerUr2: well im your king then
We live in the U.S., so we admittedly didn't even pay that much attention to the royal wedding in London earlier this year. (We learned while writing this the phrase "We have no king but Jesus" apparently was NOT a creation of the American Revolution.) But to be fair, it's not wrong to honor royalty in countries which have it....

Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. - I Peter 2:17

But as you do, keep in mind who the Ultimate King really is.

....the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. - Revelation 15:3

Our opponent didn't stop there - firing back as some poker players naturally would, during this Sunday afternoon tournament.

LoSerUr2: if jesus is ur king
LoSerUr2: how come ur not at church
LoSerUr2: shame shame shame
Dealer: phasma wins Main Pot ($1525) with Two pair, tens and eights
LoSerUr2: you playing poker for money instead
LoSerUr2: your king will be so proud of u
LoSerUr2: muhahahaha
Me: I attend church on the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
Me: As in Saturday.
This has been our practice for many years - in part because the Bible indicates that's what Jesus practiced.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. - Luke 4:16

Why would this be Christ's custom? Because He was Jewish (John 4:9) -- and He went to a place where God traditionally was worshiped. (Jesus probably would say the people there didn't really worship God, or they would have accepted Him as Messiah.)

There's more to this discussion; you'll see it in our next post.