Gad or God? Part 2

Our last post focused on a three-letter Hebrew word: gad.  It looks like "God," but it's very different. It refers to luck or fortune - and the book of Isaiah shows if you put all your hope in those things, in a poker room or elsewhere, you're going to be disappointed.

So where should we put our hope? God challenges you to believe the Bible - and put it in Him.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. - Psalm 62:5

But how do we do that?  Simply by saying a prayer?  Well, that's a good way to start....

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. - Romans 12:12

God needs to fill us with a proper hope:

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. - I Timothy 6:17

God can provide you with many blessings if you put your hope in Him. But again.... how?

Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. - I John 3:3

God wants the people who believe in Him to be pure. That means getting the sin out of our lives.

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. - II Corinthians 7:1

The goal is to be holy, and that's done by holy living....

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. - Romans  7:12

Is this how you're living?  Have you gone all-in for God, instead of "gad?"  If not, go back to that first step. Admit to God in prayer you've gone in the wrong way, and ask for His help in turning toward holiness. Then examine your life, put out the things which are impure -- and have hope God will help you with the rest.
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Mind Over Matters

There's one more comment from "Gramps" at our most recent poker tournament which caught our attention.  As we talked with him about Jesus, he said. "I really don't think much about God."

Does that describe someone you know - or perhaps you?

Maybe you play poker because you're trying to get your mind off the "big things" of life -- or even the bigger things beyond this life.  You might take a break for awhile, but those issues still are likely to be there after the tournament is over.

Contrary to what you might have heard, God is not against human thinking.  In fact, he wants us to think about Him.

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. - Psalm 63:6

Just as a good poker player thinks through his options before making a big call or fold, we should think about our options in how we live our lives.  What direction should that thinking go?

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. -- II Peter 3:1

The apostle Peter wanted people to think in a "wholesome" way - or as the King James Version puts it, a "pure" way.  Part of our purpose for this blog is to promote that kind of thinking at poker tables.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think on these things. - Philippians 4:8

If you're not sure how to start thinking about God, read a section of the Bible and consider how it might apply to your life.  In church-speak, that's called "meditation" -- not the self-meditating approach some "gurus" take, but in terms of what God wants you to do.


At the risk of writing a corny rhyme: Think it through.  Then do it, too.  And ask God in prayer to reveal His big things to you.

Coming Clean

"Is there a place around here that has poker during the week?" we asked the motel attendant.  We were on vacation in a resort area that we knew had no casinos or full-fledged poker rooms.  We would have settled for a small game at a bar, to do some surprise poker ministry.

But the woman behind the desk said there was no such place -- not even in a bar.  She named a big tourist attraction in the area, and told us the managers exert a lot of influence to keep any sort of gambling from starting.

That woman at the motel seemed a bit annoyed by that approach.  We accepted it -- and we respect it.  Those managers are trying to keep things "G-rated" and family-friendly for visitors from around the country.

How do you "clean up" an area of things which might be considered sinful?  It starts with people cleaning up themselves....

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior, - Psalm 24:4-5

But the better approach to cleaning is really not to do it ourselves.  We should ask God for help in the clean-up job:

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.  Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. - Psalm 51:1-2

This step is known in "church-speak" as repentance. Ask God to lovingly show your unclean areas. Confess them.  Seek God's forgiveness.  Then strive to walk a different way, seeking God's help in doing it.  II Peter 1:5-8 outlines several steps in doing that -- leading to this:

But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. - II Peter 1:9

We encourage you to review the steps listed in that chapter.  If certain things are missing, ask God to help you find ways to grow in those areas -- and to be "carried along by the Holy Spirit," as the end of the chapter puts it.

Will there be poker games when God's perfect Kingdom comes to earth?  We're honestly not sure -- but if there are, they'll be cleaned-up ones.  How about taking steps toward that now?

Poker Day 428: Nice While It Lasted

The local poker rooms must be doing well these days.  The monthly Sunday special at Arrowhead Poker (which apparently has taken back its old name, after being River City Poker Room for awhile) had a $1,000 guaranteed prize pool today.  That guaranteed some serious action at times....

BLINDS: 500/1,000

IN THE POCKET: A-Q offsuit

We won a couple of early pots, then lost a bundle when a straight we hit on the river ran into someone else's flush.  From a starting stack of 50,000, we're down to about 26,500.

Now we have the Dealer button at a table of seven, and a man two seats ahead of us raises all the way to 12,000.  We look at these strong starting cards and face a big decision.  If we call this big bet, we might as well be committed to going all-in with them.  So we call in hope -- only to find the lead player, a late arrival to the table, raising all-in for more than 40,000!

Other players are folding, but the man who raised ahead of us decides to call.  Realizing we dared to step into a deep swamp in the first place, we can't really fold now.  The cards simply are too strong.  So we call for our last 14,500.

The players who folded talk about their hands as the dealer sorts out the pots.  We hear at least one (maybe two) talk about having Queens.  That's potential trouble.  Then comes turnover time.  The raiser two seats ahead of us has 9-9.  The all-in man across the table shows K-J suited.  The race is on....

ON THE FLOP: Q-2-8

"There's a Queen," we declare - as if no one else at the table knows.  We seize the lead, and clap our hands a few times.

ON THE TURN: K

That's a King -- and more big trouble.  The man across the table now leads, and we need an Ace or a third Queen to stay alive.

ON THE RIVER: K

Running Kings give the third-place man a win at the wire -- and he takes two players out in the process.

"I'm surprised he pushed with that," another man at the table says.  It truly was daring -- but it worked.  Come to think, maybe we should have pushed earlier.  An all-in bet before the K-J player's turn might have pulled him off, to our benefit.  But what's done is done -- and we're "done," tied for 21st place.

MINISTRY MOMENT: We somehow misplaced the "card protector" we put in our pocket for this game. So we reached into the car, and pulled out a small towelette packet from a restaurant.

"I brought this to remind me," we told a man who asked about it, "that I should stay clean and pure -- just as Jesus did."

"That reminds you of that?!?!" The man apparently thought we were bluffing.  But any little thing can be a good reminder of walking a Christian walk....

....And do not share in the sins of others.  Keep yourself pure. - I Timothy 5:22b

Perhaps you're as skeptical as that man next to us at the table.  What do purity and poker-playing have in common?  They can have a lot -- for instance, if you don't curse or drink alcohol to excess.  The main poker rooms where we play these days have no alcohol.  On the other hand, the WPT Amateur League location where we started in our current city was a bar -- and it's apparently now out of business.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to a idol or swear by what is false.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his Savior. - Psalm 24:4-5

That blessing may not always be financial, as in a final table.  Believers should look for the ultimate blessing - eternal life, ruling with Jesus Christ.

So where did our discussion go from here?  It turns out a surprising blessing came minutes later.  We'll get to that in a future post.

UPDATED POKER SCOREBOARD: 151 final tables in 428 games (35.3%) - 25 cashes.  After starting 2014 five-for-five in reaching final tables, we've only reached one of the last six.