DAY 17 Winning Edge Devotions
REV. 21: 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
I feel very fortunate as a coach to have three state championship rings in a trophy case on my desk at home. I had a coaching mentor call me on the eve on our second championship game to wish us luck. His call ended with, “you need to be grateful for this opportunity. Very few coaches get to do what you are about to do”. I hung up the phone and realized what a blessed man I am.
Those rings are getting older. I have not been able to take a team to the championship game in over four years now. Sometimes, those rings seem to represent another separate life and there are no guarantees that I will ever get another one.
How different are the rewards that are guaranteed and waiting for us. The new heaven and new earth is coming. These are rewards that will never grow old or fade.
Just as it helps to look on those rings from time to time, I also believe it is important to re-visit our coming victory from time to time. The King is coming to remove all the rottenness and wrong and make all things new.
The newness of heaven is like the dawning of a spring day that never fades; a new car smell that never goes away, and a warm embrace that never grows cold.
I think that it is almost sad that we cannot even imagine the glory of heaven. Harps, clouds, and halos have corrupted our thoughts of heaven. Take the greatest thrill you have ever had on earth and multiply it to infinity- that is what God’s city will be like!
Does the thought of being an astronaut capture your interest? Imagine flying to a planet and finding discoveries for five hundred years.
You can’t even begin to think of a worship experience that you would hunger for like a world-class meal. You can’t draw a place so beautiful that you tremble. You can’t feel a love that heals all your former hurts…permanently.
Our view of heaven is low, because our understanding of God is rather small. That’s okay- he will make it unbelievable good anyway. Makes those championship rings seem quite unimportant now. The best victory is upon us!
Father, as I grow weary in the battle or worry about loss, please let the glimpse of victory keep me going. Because of Christ, I am on a winning team and I thank you for
That prize! AMEN
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
RESTORED BY FORGIVING
DAY 16 Winning Edge Devotions
EPH. 4: 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Football is never about perfection. If you go back and analyze each play of each game, you will see all kinds of missed assignments and blown coverages. It is also impossible to go through a season without some sort in personal conflicts.
These can be as shallow as simple soldier’s spats in practice or as complex as years of neglect or bullying. Coaches are not immune from the issues. Given time and human nature, all relationships can deteriorate into fragile and fractured pieces.
A team that holds onto anger, bitterness, or slander will crumble under pressure. I have seen good football teams torn apart by selfishness and bitterness. I have also seen good coaching staffs crumble under the weight of broken friendships and hurt feelings.
Another word that stands out in the above passage is clamor. I think of clamor as that underground talk that can rob a coach or team of their unity. It is the behind the scene doubting and gossip that undermines the good spirit of a team.
In the end, people who hold onto slander, wrath, bitterness, anger, and clamor are themselves destroyed. This is the primary reason that the Bible asks us to put it away. Don’t keep hating because it will poison you in the end.
How do we do this? It is really simple. When we truly understand how much God has forgiven us in Christ, there is no injury that we have suffered that compares. If God has put it away in His thoughts of us- we ought to easily put it away in regard to others.
If we can’t do this, then we really do not know the magnitude of Christ’s great forgiveness. As God forgives us, we forgive others.
Mistakes are inevitable; I hope forgiveness is also inevitable. I want my team to go back to the locker room and get it right. I want a team that is kind and forgiving to one another. Is there a relationship in your life in disrepair? Do the right thing and make it right. Forgive the offender, even if they have not asked. Ultimately, the forgiveness will only restore you.
Lord, help me to see Your great forgiveness and let it compel me to forgive others. Help me to see that kindness and forgiveness actually heals my heart. Thank you for loving me and forgiving me. I ask You to forgive those that are grieving me. I will make an effort to begin forgiving them. I know this is the only path to peace.
EPH. 4: 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Football is never about perfection. If you go back and analyze each play of each game, you will see all kinds of missed assignments and blown coverages. It is also impossible to go through a season without some sort in personal conflicts.
These can be as shallow as simple soldier’s spats in practice or as complex as years of neglect or bullying. Coaches are not immune from the issues. Given time and human nature, all relationships can deteriorate into fragile and fractured pieces.
A team that holds onto anger, bitterness, or slander will crumble under pressure. I have seen good football teams torn apart by selfishness and bitterness. I have also seen good coaching staffs crumble under the weight of broken friendships and hurt feelings.
Another word that stands out in the above passage is clamor. I think of clamor as that underground talk that can rob a coach or team of their unity. It is the behind the scene doubting and gossip that undermines the good spirit of a team.
In the end, people who hold onto slander, wrath, bitterness, anger, and clamor are themselves destroyed. This is the primary reason that the Bible asks us to put it away. Don’t keep hating because it will poison you in the end.
How do we do this? It is really simple. When we truly understand how much God has forgiven us in Christ, there is no injury that we have suffered that compares. If God has put it away in His thoughts of us- we ought to easily put it away in regard to others.
If we can’t do this, then we really do not know the magnitude of Christ’s great forgiveness. As God forgives us, we forgive others.
Mistakes are inevitable; I hope forgiveness is also inevitable. I want my team to go back to the locker room and get it right. I want a team that is kind and forgiving to one another. Is there a relationship in your life in disrepair? Do the right thing and make it right. Forgive the offender, even if they have not asked. Ultimately, the forgiveness will only restore you.
Lord, help me to see Your great forgiveness and let it compel me to forgive others. Help me to see that kindness and forgiveness actually heals my heart. Thank you for loving me and forgiving me. I ask You to forgive those that are grieving me. I will make an effort to begin forgiving them. I know this is the only path to peace.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
GRACE: THE REAL THIRST QUINCHER
DAY 15 Winning Edge Devotions
PSALM 116:5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
I cannot describe the incredible thirst that happens to a football player during hot and humid summer two-a-days. The desire can be so intense that players will sip on sweaty wristbands just to experience thirst relief.
Much has changed about football, but the best change is that we now give water during practice. My last year of high school football was still very close to the ‘no water policy’ of some crusty old coaches. I was allowed one sip from a hose! Why we did not have more heat related deaths amazes me!
We work overtime now providing ample water and cold ice towels during the hot summer days. We also realize that a player must hydrate after practice to replace what he lost during the workout. We will weigh in players before and after practices and will actually hold them out of the next practice if they have not gained enough of their water weight back.
There is a deeper thirst in us, however. As humans made in the image of God, we have a deep hunger for HIM. We often try to fill this thirst with worldly things like fortune, fame, power, or pleasure- but they never seem to completely satisfy.
In the above Psalm, David writes about the real thirst-quincher of God’s grace.
When we are dry and thirsty, worn out by life, and torn up by sin- it is God’s grace that washes over us and brings complete healing and restoration.
David has to preach it to himself. He says “O my soul” which is a way of reminding himself of all of God’s blessings and provision.
To not remind ourselves about God’s grace makes about as much sense as that one luke-warm sip. Stop sipping and start gushing in the grace of the Lord Jesus! It is a fountain without bottom and brings incredible relief and healing!
Do you really believe in God’s goodness, mercy, and grace? Do you think you have tapped it dry? Are you too weary to turn it on? Do you trust in His ability to satisfy? I challenge you to turn away from the faulty promise of this world to the cool, trustworthy, infinite spring of love and grace!
Father, teach us to fully imbibe of your sustenance and mercy. Help us to dive deep in Your fountain of mercy. Wash us whole and fill us new! Forgive me for forsaking the living water of Your sacrifice for me. Once I drink of You, I know that I will never thirst again!
PSALM 116:5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. 6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. 7 Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
I cannot describe the incredible thirst that happens to a football player during hot and humid summer two-a-days. The desire can be so intense that players will sip on sweaty wristbands just to experience thirst relief.
Much has changed about football, but the best change is that we now give water during practice. My last year of high school football was still very close to the ‘no water policy’ of some crusty old coaches. I was allowed one sip from a hose! Why we did not have more heat related deaths amazes me!
We work overtime now providing ample water and cold ice towels during the hot summer days. We also realize that a player must hydrate after practice to replace what he lost during the workout. We will weigh in players before and after practices and will actually hold them out of the next practice if they have not gained enough of their water weight back.
There is a deeper thirst in us, however. As humans made in the image of God, we have a deep hunger for HIM. We often try to fill this thirst with worldly things like fortune, fame, power, or pleasure- but they never seem to completely satisfy.
In the above Psalm, David writes about the real thirst-quincher of God’s grace.
When we are dry and thirsty, worn out by life, and torn up by sin- it is God’s grace that washes over us and brings complete healing and restoration.
David has to preach it to himself. He says “O my soul” which is a way of reminding himself of all of God’s blessings and provision.
To not remind ourselves about God’s grace makes about as much sense as that one luke-warm sip. Stop sipping and start gushing in the grace of the Lord Jesus! It is a fountain without bottom and brings incredible relief and healing!
Do you really believe in God’s goodness, mercy, and grace? Do you think you have tapped it dry? Are you too weary to turn it on? Do you trust in His ability to satisfy? I challenge you to turn away from the faulty promise of this world to the cool, trustworthy, infinite spring of love and grace!
Father, teach us to fully imbibe of your sustenance and mercy. Help us to dive deep in Your fountain of mercy. Wash us whole and fill us new! Forgive me for forsaking the living water of Your sacrifice for me. Once I drink of You, I know that I will never thirst again!
WRESTLING WITH GOD
DAY 14 Winning Edge Devotions
GEN. 32: 24-32 (A PARAPHRASE)
Then Jay was left alone and a man fought with him until daybreak. And when he saw that Jay would not quit fighting, he touched Jay and hurt him; so much that Jay hurt as he fought with him. Then He said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But Jay said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So He said to him, “What is your name?” And Jay said, “Schemer” And he said “Your name shall no longer be schemer, but “God Striver”; for you have devoted serious energy with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jay asked him and said, “Are you God, Do you care?” And Jesus blessed Jay there- even as Jay was sweating, and hurting, and bleeding. So Jay named the time of suffering “the face of God” for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed the river to a new adventure, and Jay was limping, but Jay was blessed….it was time to receive even more blessing.
Life is a series of battles, there is no way around it. The passage above is really the story of Jacob and all of the circumstances God used to change him from the inside out. Jacob’s name means “schemer” or “deceiver” and he spent much of his life as a manipulator. He would lie, cheat, steal or do anything to get his way.
Then, through a series of hard circumstances, Jacob was left to struggle. The struggles began producing the fruit of character. It finally culminated in this epic story of Jacob wrestling with God. In this struggle, Jacob was given a new name and a new destiny. But the road of progress always includes pain.
I substituted my name in the above passage because I have experienced hard times in the Lord. Now, the Lord laughs at what I call ‘hard’- my suffering is nothing compared to what many others have had to endure. But I have felt betrayal and disappointment, loneliness and despair. There have been dark moments where I believed my whole life was going to crumble.
In football, I have had some bitter losses and deep, painful experiences.
Put your name in the passage above, can we persevere like this?
There are two very important points in this process. The first one is to keep fighting. Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night. In the darkest moments when all seems lost, we need to keep striving. We need a rugged disposition to fight to the bitter end.
A second important point though is seen in the tactic. The Lord jumped Jacob and wrestled with him. I imagine that early on, Jacob tried to get out of the choke hold. Then, during the night, Jacob changed his plan. Instead of fighting against God, he began to cling to Him. God said to Jacob, “Let me go” and Jacob said, “Not until You bless me”. WOW!
Are you struggling in life? Have you considered pressing into God instead of running? Do you have a battle-hardened spirit that says, “God, You may kill me, but I am not quitting until this comes through.”
You will find blessing. And you will have scars and limps. But that is OK- Jesus kept His scars too! They are marks of victory!
Lord, thank you for the hard road. Give me the strength and courage to fight. Help me to press into You and cling to You… no matter the cost!
GEN. 32: 24-32 (A PARAPHRASE)
Then Jay was left alone and a man fought with him until daybreak. And when he saw that Jay would not quit fighting, he touched Jay and hurt him; so much that Jay hurt as he fought with him. Then He said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But Jay said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So He said to him, “What is your name?” And Jay said, “Schemer” And he said “Your name shall no longer be schemer, but “God Striver”; for you have devoted serious energy with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jay asked him and said, “Are you God, Do you care?” And Jesus blessed Jay there- even as Jay was sweating, and hurting, and bleeding. So Jay named the time of suffering “the face of God” for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed the river to a new adventure, and Jay was limping, but Jay was blessed….it was time to receive even more blessing.
Life is a series of battles, there is no way around it. The passage above is really the story of Jacob and all of the circumstances God used to change him from the inside out. Jacob’s name means “schemer” or “deceiver” and he spent much of his life as a manipulator. He would lie, cheat, steal or do anything to get his way.
Then, through a series of hard circumstances, Jacob was left to struggle. The struggles began producing the fruit of character. It finally culminated in this epic story of Jacob wrestling with God. In this struggle, Jacob was given a new name and a new destiny. But the road of progress always includes pain.
I substituted my name in the above passage because I have experienced hard times in the Lord. Now, the Lord laughs at what I call ‘hard’- my suffering is nothing compared to what many others have had to endure. But I have felt betrayal and disappointment, loneliness and despair. There have been dark moments where I believed my whole life was going to crumble.
In football, I have had some bitter losses and deep, painful experiences.
Put your name in the passage above, can we persevere like this?
There are two very important points in this process. The first one is to keep fighting. Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night. In the darkest moments when all seems lost, we need to keep striving. We need a rugged disposition to fight to the bitter end.
A second important point though is seen in the tactic. The Lord jumped Jacob and wrestled with him. I imagine that early on, Jacob tried to get out of the choke hold. Then, during the night, Jacob changed his plan. Instead of fighting against God, he began to cling to Him. God said to Jacob, “Let me go” and Jacob said, “Not until You bless me”. WOW!
Are you struggling in life? Have you considered pressing into God instead of running? Do you have a battle-hardened spirit that says, “God, You may kill me, but I am not quitting until this comes through.”
You will find blessing. And you will have scars and limps. But that is OK- Jesus kept His scars too! They are marks of victory!
Lord, thank you for the hard road. Give me the strength and courage to fight. Help me to press into You and cling to You… no matter the cost!
Monday, February 11, 2008
INTENSITY OVER EMOTION
DAY 13 Winning Edge Devotions
TITUS 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Our football team will often lose the ‘warm-up’. I can’t tell you how many times we have been preparing to play teams and they are ‘fired up’. Some teams really put on a show with all kind of pump up antics. One year I remember a team coming out of the locker room for warm-ups and barking like a pack of wild dogs!
My experience has convinced me that all of the pre-game hype lasts about 15 seconds into the game. Once the game begins, any manufactured emotion melts into the intensity of battle. Don’t get me wrong, I love emotion, but I want real emotion based on what is happening on the field. Teams that live on emotion will have games of highs and games of flat lows. It is hard to get pumped up week after week with emotion. The players end up feeling unprepared if it is all based on pre-game hype and they ‘don’t feel it’.
We want something more reliable. We teach this as ‘intensity over emotion’. The feelings may come and go as the momentum changes, but we demand fiery focus and a commitment to lay it all on the line for your brother in the trenches.
The above passage contains the exact sentiment- notice the focused intensity. Paul writes for us to be’ trained’ to ‘say NO’ to worldly passions and have a steady, disciplined, steadfast hope which is ‘zealous’ to serve the Lord in our lives through good deeds of godliness.
I know some Christians who live their spiritual lives on feelings. “I don’t feel close to God” or “I don’t feel like my prayers are getting through”. Please keep in mind that your salvation is not based on feelings but faith in the fact of God’s promise. Feelings will come with the natural flow of life, but they are very fickle and totally unreliable.
God’s grace is the trainer. It melts our stubborn worldly desires and washes away our shortcomings. God’s grace props us up to walk one more day in hope. God’s grace marks us as His and eventually makes us desire to produce works for His glory.
My challenge to all of us is to get up each morning and get steadied by the truth of God’s existence and encouraged by His gospel message of salvation. Let it be these solid facts that carry us through the day and not have to rely on warm-up pep talks or motivational music. Those things will come in time, but we don’t need them. We have our hope in Christ and that is enough. In fact, it is much more intense than we could ever imagine.
Father, the fact of your salvation and the trust I have in You to keep your promises is what carries me through the toil of life. There are days that I don’t feel You, but that does not hide the truth of Your existence. There are days I don’t feel like living right, but that doesn’t give me an excuse for ignoring such a wonderful salvation. I walk in truth, today, even if I don’t feel like it. And I do it with intensity of purpose. AMEN!
TITUS 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Our football team will often lose the ‘warm-up’. I can’t tell you how many times we have been preparing to play teams and they are ‘fired up’. Some teams really put on a show with all kind of pump up antics. One year I remember a team coming out of the locker room for warm-ups and barking like a pack of wild dogs!
My experience has convinced me that all of the pre-game hype lasts about 15 seconds into the game. Once the game begins, any manufactured emotion melts into the intensity of battle. Don’t get me wrong, I love emotion, but I want real emotion based on what is happening on the field. Teams that live on emotion will have games of highs and games of flat lows. It is hard to get pumped up week after week with emotion. The players end up feeling unprepared if it is all based on pre-game hype and they ‘don’t feel it’.
We want something more reliable. We teach this as ‘intensity over emotion’. The feelings may come and go as the momentum changes, but we demand fiery focus and a commitment to lay it all on the line for your brother in the trenches.
The above passage contains the exact sentiment- notice the focused intensity. Paul writes for us to be’ trained’ to ‘say NO’ to worldly passions and have a steady, disciplined, steadfast hope which is ‘zealous’ to serve the Lord in our lives through good deeds of godliness.
I know some Christians who live their spiritual lives on feelings. “I don’t feel close to God” or “I don’t feel like my prayers are getting through”. Please keep in mind that your salvation is not based on feelings but faith in the fact of God’s promise. Feelings will come with the natural flow of life, but they are very fickle and totally unreliable.
God’s grace is the trainer. It melts our stubborn worldly desires and washes away our shortcomings. God’s grace props us up to walk one more day in hope. God’s grace marks us as His and eventually makes us desire to produce works for His glory.
My challenge to all of us is to get up each morning and get steadied by the truth of God’s existence and encouraged by His gospel message of salvation. Let it be these solid facts that carry us through the day and not have to rely on warm-up pep talks or motivational music. Those things will come in time, but we don’t need them. We have our hope in Christ and that is enough. In fact, it is much more intense than we could ever imagine.
Father, the fact of your salvation and the trust I have in You to keep your promises is what carries me through the toil of life. There are days that I don’t feel You, but that does not hide the truth of Your existence. There are days I don’t feel like living right, but that doesn’t give me an excuse for ignoring such a wonderful salvation. I walk in truth, today, even if I don’t feel like it. And I do it with intensity of purpose. AMEN!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
CAST DOWN IDOLS- CUT OUT SIN
DAY 12 Winning Edge Devotions
COL 3:5-6”Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”
In our understanding of grace, we sometimes water down the impact of sin. We must keep a clear understanding of the stain and destructive power of attitudes and actions that the Lord despises. He hates them so much because He loves us so much.
Sin dominates and corrupts; it is a sure path to bondage and pain. If you think about it, evil is always the corruption of good. As we look at the list above, we get a stark picture of good things gone wrong. Ultimately, it is a disposition where we look at the Creator and say, ‘No thanks, I’ll do it my way” – it is a snub with a sneer.
Paul writes in this verse to “put to death” which is a commentary on the urgency of the call. We are reminded of Christ teaching about cutting off hands and plucking out eyes; this struggle is no light matter, it is a death match.
As a football coach, I have to prepare my players to fight. I will warn them from time to time about the need to come into a game expecting a war. One year we showed up with a ‘practice pace’ and the other team was stoked! It was a killing! We fell early to their intensity and the other team ripped us. I will say sometimes, “Don’t be shocked when that other team tags you on your chin- you better be ready to fight!”
We often treat our sin with play gloves and a practice pace. Do we not see the danger? If we treat sin lightly, we are showing contempt for the cross. The cross points to God’s very hatred of the things we find so prevalent in our lives.
‘Sexual immorality’ is the cheapening of God’s gift of marital intimacy. We turn tenderness into selfish sensuality. Think of the damage done to women in the rampant disregard of God’s prohibitions. ‘Impurity’ goes along with this. This is the idea of being way too casual with boundaries. It is a mental assent that says, “I’m really not that bad or I can play with sin and not get burned”. ‘Earthly passion’ is an unchecked desire for temporal rewards or pleasures with no regard to God. Passion apart from the moderation of God’s word and spirit always causes chaos.
‘Evil desires’ is the constant lust for the base and dark things of life. We are drawn to the power and allure of fortune, fame, power, and pleasure. Finally, covetous says to God, “You are not enough” or worse, “You are a liar and I cannot trust you”. It puts that thing we covet above the Lord and becomes a substitute god.
We need to gear up to fight and kill these things before they kill us. To lose this battle could cause a loss of family, reputation, trust, and effectiveness for the kingdom. If you want to be a champion, you must find a sense of urgency to keep attacking the sin in your life!
FATHER, Forgive me. I have not hated the things You hate. I am guilty of hammering the nails to the cross with no regard for the pain You endured to forgive me. Show me those things in a new light and let me wage a hearty battle with Your spirit as my helper! Do not let me attack these things in others, I want to fight them in me. Thank you for forgiveness!
COL 3:5-6”Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”
In our understanding of grace, we sometimes water down the impact of sin. We must keep a clear understanding of the stain and destructive power of attitudes and actions that the Lord despises. He hates them so much because He loves us so much.
Sin dominates and corrupts; it is a sure path to bondage and pain. If you think about it, evil is always the corruption of good. As we look at the list above, we get a stark picture of good things gone wrong. Ultimately, it is a disposition where we look at the Creator and say, ‘No thanks, I’ll do it my way” – it is a snub with a sneer.
Paul writes in this verse to “put to death” which is a commentary on the urgency of the call. We are reminded of Christ teaching about cutting off hands and plucking out eyes; this struggle is no light matter, it is a death match.
As a football coach, I have to prepare my players to fight. I will warn them from time to time about the need to come into a game expecting a war. One year we showed up with a ‘practice pace’ and the other team was stoked! It was a killing! We fell early to their intensity and the other team ripped us. I will say sometimes, “Don’t be shocked when that other team tags you on your chin- you better be ready to fight!”
We often treat our sin with play gloves and a practice pace. Do we not see the danger? If we treat sin lightly, we are showing contempt for the cross. The cross points to God’s very hatred of the things we find so prevalent in our lives.
‘Sexual immorality’ is the cheapening of God’s gift of marital intimacy. We turn tenderness into selfish sensuality. Think of the damage done to women in the rampant disregard of God’s prohibitions. ‘Impurity’ goes along with this. This is the idea of being way too casual with boundaries. It is a mental assent that says, “I’m really not that bad or I can play with sin and not get burned”. ‘Earthly passion’ is an unchecked desire for temporal rewards or pleasures with no regard to God. Passion apart from the moderation of God’s word and spirit always causes chaos.
‘Evil desires’ is the constant lust for the base and dark things of life. We are drawn to the power and allure of fortune, fame, power, and pleasure. Finally, covetous says to God, “You are not enough” or worse, “You are a liar and I cannot trust you”. It puts that thing we covet above the Lord and becomes a substitute god.
We need to gear up to fight and kill these things before they kill us. To lose this battle could cause a loss of family, reputation, trust, and effectiveness for the kingdom. If you want to be a champion, you must find a sense of urgency to keep attacking the sin in your life!
FATHER, Forgive me. I have not hated the things You hate. I am guilty of hammering the nails to the cross with no regard for the pain You endured to forgive me. Show me those things in a new light and let me wage a hearty battle with Your spirit as my helper! Do not let me attack these things in others, I want to fight them in me. Thank you for forgiveness!
Saturday, February 09, 2008
LEARNING TO SERVE
DAY 11 Wining Edge Devotions
JOHN 15: 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
We live in very self-centered times. Fifteen years ago players would talk about region and team championships and today I hear a lot more about scholarships. Do you see the difference? Getting teenagers to look beyond themselves is very difficult, but I do believe that if they ever catch the vision of serving and loving others, it can be life changing.
Team service projects can do wonders in helping to teach this concept. I am always looking for ways that I can get my players to help others.
Are you down or discouraged? The quickest recovery is to serve someone else.
There are a number of things we can do daily to practice love and service.
#1- Make it a point to encourage at least three people daily. Look for honest and sincere opportunities to brag on others. Find someone doing something right and point it out. Honor those who are loving and serving well.
#2- Learn to thank all of the people who serve you. Tell them thanks and show gratitude. At my school, I like to walk around and pump up those who serve so well and get very little recognition. I love to give them caps or shirts with out logo on it.
#3- Plan how to love and serve. Get out your PDA or planner and program in time to serve. It could be as simple as a birthday card or complex as working in a soup kitchen, but give time and money to good causes.
#4 Use e-mail lists or phone directories to call and check up on people. I take two evenings a week as I drive home to scroll down my contacts and call. I always just speak a warm word or leave a short message.
I want to do a better job of thinking about others. The Christian life ultimately boils down to loving God and loving others. A way to think of this is, we can practically love God the most by serving others.
How do you read the tone of Jesus above? I read it as a warm tone. It does not strike me as a stern- YOU BETTER LOVE… I COMMAND YOU- instead it comes across as” I want you to love others and you want to”. Why? We love because of the sacrifice for us. Jesus laid down his life for us. Is it that hard to give some effort for others?
Lord, let me see the need today in others. Teach me to serve others. Please forgive my selfishness. Give me that attitude of gratitude that produces warmth and encouragement for others. AMEN!
JOHN 15: 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
We live in very self-centered times. Fifteen years ago players would talk about region and team championships and today I hear a lot more about scholarships. Do you see the difference? Getting teenagers to look beyond themselves is very difficult, but I do believe that if they ever catch the vision of serving and loving others, it can be life changing.
Team service projects can do wonders in helping to teach this concept. I am always looking for ways that I can get my players to help others.
Are you down or discouraged? The quickest recovery is to serve someone else.
There are a number of things we can do daily to practice love and service.
#1- Make it a point to encourage at least three people daily. Look for honest and sincere opportunities to brag on others. Find someone doing something right and point it out. Honor those who are loving and serving well.
#2- Learn to thank all of the people who serve you. Tell them thanks and show gratitude. At my school, I like to walk around and pump up those who serve so well and get very little recognition. I love to give them caps or shirts with out logo on it.
#3- Plan how to love and serve. Get out your PDA or planner and program in time to serve. It could be as simple as a birthday card or complex as working in a soup kitchen, but give time and money to good causes.
#4 Use e-mail lists or phone directories to call and check up on people. I take two evenings a week as I drive home to scroll down my contacts and call. I always just speak a warm word or leave a short message.
I want to do a better job of thinking about others. The Christian life ultimately boils down to loving God and loving others. A way to think of this is, we can practically love God the most by serving others.
How do you read the tone of Jesus above? I read it as a warm tone. It does not strike me as a stern- YOU BETTER LOVE… I COMMAND YOU- instead it comes across as” I want you to love others and you want to”. Why? We love because of the sacrifice for us. Jesus laid down his life for us. Is it that hard to give some effort for others?
Lord, let me see the need today in others. Teach me to serve others. Please forgive my selfishness. Give me that attitude of gratitude that produces warmth and encouragement for others. AMEN!
Friday, February 08, 2008
LEARNING TO REJOICE
DAY 10 Winning Edge Devotions
PHIL. 4: 4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Losing kills me. Some of the worst kind of losses are we had opportunities to win. It is hard to communicate how much my heart hurts when I experience losing, it is a deep, empty, and fragmented sense of failure. I always feel like I have let my players down.
It is interesting some of the ministering spirits God has sent to me in those times. One night my children ran to me on the field right after we lost a heartbreaker. Their hugs numbed the pain… a little. It was so sweet.
On another occasion as I walked off the field, an opposing parent came to me. She asked if I was the coach and I said ‘yes’. She said, "I went to your (school) website this week and wanted to commend you on your stance for Christ." That was a soothing minister who helped.
Psalm 112 says, "1 Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD. Yes, happy are those who delight in doing what he commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will never be forgotten. 4 When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come.”
When Paul wrote of rejoicing always…he was in prison! He was being unfairly persecuted for his faith. He encourages us to find Joy- “rejoice” literally means, “find again your joy!”.
Paul pushes us to quickly lose the depression and pray. As we hurt, we need to be ‘thankful’. Our pain is going to produce good fruit down the road. There was one school in particular that had caused us a lot of pain. We shed a lt of tears on their field for three straight years. We prayed, we cried, we thanked, and we kept our spirit of rejoicing alive.
The next year, we finally pushed through a win and we celebrated! Learning to rejoice, makes life all the more sweet and keeps us unbeatable in any circumstance!
Father, teach me to rejoice in all things. Help me to see You in the midst of my pain and let me praise you even in defeat. Give me again the joy of knowing you!
PHIL. 4: 4-7 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Losing kills me. Some of the worst kind of losses are we had opportunities to win. It is hard to communicate how much my heart hurts when I experience losing, it is a deep, empty, and fragmented sense of failure. I always feel like I have let my players down.
It is interesting some of the ministering spirits God has sent to me in those times. One night my children ran to me on the field right after we lost a heartbreaker. Their hugs numbed the pain… a little. It was so sweet.
On another occasion as I walked off the field, an opposing parent came to me. She asked if I was the coach and I said ‘yes’. She said, "I went to your (school) website this week and wanted to commend you on your stance for Christ." That was a soothing minister who helped.
Psalm 112 says, "1 Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD. Yes, happy are those who delight in doing what he commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will never be forgotten. 4 When darkness overtakes the godly, light will come.”
When Paul wrote of rejoicing always…he was in prison! He was being unfairly persecuted for his faith. He encourages us to find Joy- “rejoice” literally means, “find again your joy!”.
Paul pushes us to quickly lose the depression and pray. As we hurt, we need to be ‘thankful’. Our pain is going to produce good fruit down the road. There was one school in particular that had caused us a lot of pain. We shed a lt of tears on their field for three straight years. We prayed, we cried, we thanked, and we kept our spirit of rejoicing alive.
The next year, we finally pushed through a win and we celebrated! Learning to rejoice, makes life all the more sweet and keeps us unbeatable in any circumstance!
Father, teach me to rejoice in all things. Help me to see You in the midst of my pain and let me praise you even in defeat. Give me again the joy of knowing you!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
LEARNING TO TRUST
Day 9 Winning Edge Devotions
ROMANS 4: 18” In hope he (Abraham) believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.’”
One measure of our success as a football team is how far we grow in learning to trust. Any team is built on a foundational trust. We say that we want a team where players trust players, coaches trust coaches, players trust coaches, and coaches trust players.
When times get tough or the pressure rises, a trusting team will hang together and fight together. A team without trust will quickly disintegrate into useless individuals and the results are disastrous!
Trust is built in time as individuals give themselves to a cause bigger than themselves. The individual learns that he cannot rely on himself to accomplish the objective. As these individuals give themselves in energy, passion, sweat, and pain- they observe others giving the same sacrifice. Then they get a vision of what can happen if they all join together. When a team learns to give up self and give in to trusting their brothers, it is a beautiful experience.
Abraham grew in his ability to trust God. It took a long time of experience to follow the Lord this way. God was always faithful to His promise and Abraham learned to put stock in God.
When the pressures of doubt came, Abraham clung to his trust in God and refused to let go. He did not know how or when God would come through, he just knew that He would do as he always promised.
God’s Kingdom is always victorious and the gospel is never hindered. In the darkest moments of final despair is when God most wants to show up and conquer. God is a hero, and all He wants from us is to just keep swimming, keep swinging, keep praying, keep loving , and …..never, never , never lose hope.
It is important to note that Abraham had to grow in this faith, as we do. Jesus asked the question, "when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" I believe He is referring to this type of faith- if we have anxiety, fear, or are overcome by circumstance- aren't we implying that we really do not trust God to keep His promises?
Lord- may we walk in our faith- may it secure our hearts, not merely fall from loose lips. You are able to do what You say- You will do what You have promised...even when it seems the bleakest!
ROMANS 4: 18” In hope he (Abraham) believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.’”
One measure of our success as a football team is how far we grow in learning to trust. Any team is built on a foundational trust. We say that we want a team where players trust players, coaches trust coaches, players trust coaches, and coaches trust players.
When times get tough or the pressure rises, a trusting team will hang together and fight together. A team without trust will quickly disintegrate into useless individuals and the results are disastrous!
Trust is built in time as individuals give themselves to a cause bigger than themselves. The individual learns that he cannot rely on himself to accomplish the objective. As these individuals give themselves in energy, passion, sweat, and pain- they observe others giving the same sacrifice. Then they get a vision of what can happen if they all join together. When a team learns to give up self and give in to trusting their brothers, it is a beautiful experience.
Abraham grew in his ability to trust God. It took a long time of experience to follow the Lord this way. God was always faithful to His promise and Abraham learned to put stock in God.
When the pressures of doubt came, Abraham clung to his trust in God and refused to let go. He did not know how or when God would come through, he just knew that He would do as he always promised.
God’s Kingdom is always victorious and the gospel is never hindered. In the darkest moments of final despair is when God most wants to show up and conquer. God is a hero, and all He wants from us is to just keep swimming, keep swinging, keep praying, keep loving , and …..never, never , never lose hope.
It is important to note that Abraham had to grow in this faith, as we do. Jesus asked the question, "when the Son of Man returns, will He find faith on the earth?" I believe He is referring to this type of faith- if we have anxiety, fear, or are overcome by circumstance- aren't we implying that we really do not trust God to keep His promises?
Lord- may we walk in our faith- may it secure our hearts, not merely fall from loose lips. You are able to do what You say- You will do what You have promised...even when it seems the bleakest!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
THE GREATEST COACH
DAY 8 Winning Edge Devotions
JOHN 14: “15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
I loved playing football. I started as a Jr. 70 lb 2nd grader and played through two years of college, almost 14 years! During that time I had some incredible coaches. It was their awesome ability to influence me that led to my desire to coach. There is something about a coach that makes you want to please them and follow them.
I never saw these men as perfect, but I knew their words of instruction were helpful. They were invested in me and wanted me to be successful. I can still see a lot of them in my mind today. I was especially blessed to have some great coaches as role models for me. My high school coach was David Cutcliffe and I was honored to play at Alabama for Coach Bryant’s last season.
Coaches represent a standard and knowledge that we do not have yet. As much as I wanted to know the game, I realized that these men had experience and knowledge that I did not have. They also desired to impart in me their knowledge, and they took time every day to tell and train me in the ways of winning football. My respect for them and my admiration of them put me in a place of the willing apprentice. They did not restrict the flow of information; it was up to me to apply diligence and practice.
Without a coach, I can never move forward. There are some men who are disciplined enough to self-train and self-teach, but it is never as intense and fruitful as training under an expert coach.
In John 14, Jesus introduces the greatest coach of all time- God’s Holy Spirit!
It is very clear in this passage that the Spirit is a person. Think about it, as a believer in Christ, you have the awesome benefit of a ‘live-in’ coach! He is with you all the time and ready to help. Have you ever though about the tone of verse 15? For years I read it as a harsh command, like my mom telling me to clean my room. In later years, it seemed to sound more like a natural flow of feelings and actions. I love college football so I watch it. I love pizza, and I look forward to eating it with mouth-watering anticipation.
I love Christ, so I want to obey Him. It is not drudgery for me to follow Christ; it is an honor! I thank my Coach who helps me develop this mindset and attitude. We read later in the passage that the Holy Spirit is the one that convicts of sin and brings to remembrance the things of God. The Bible also makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is the distinctive between natural men of flesh who cannot know God and children of the Spirit who depend on and cry out to the Father. We can also grieve the Holy Spirit when we continue attitudes or actions of rebellion.
Ask God for a search today. Are you aware of His spirit within you? If you are struggling with that, take it up with God. The fact that you are wrestling with it is a good sign of the Coach at work! Then start acknowledging Him and ask Him to coach you on Christ and His ways. He has training aids to take you further than you ever dreamed possible.
Lord, thank you for sending the Spirit. Please allow me to be more sensitive to His training in my life. I realize that when I pray, it is His prayers that are engaged. Thank you for the gift of this coach!
JOHN 14: “15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
I loved playing football. I started as a Jr. 70 lb 2nd grader and played through two years of college, almost 14 years! During that time I had some incredible coaches. It was their awesome ability to influence me that led to my desire to coach. There is something about a coach that makes you want to please them and follow them.
I never saw these men as perfect, but I knew their words of instruction were helpful. They were invested in me and wanted me to be successful. I can still see a lot of them in my mind today. I was especially blessed to have some great coaches as role models for me. My high school coach was David Cutcliffe and I was honored to play at Alabama for Coach Bryant’s last season.
Coaches represent a standard and knowledge that we do not have yet. As much as I wanted to know the game, I realized that these men had experience and knowledge that I did not have. They also desired to impart in me their knowledge, and they took time every day to tell and train me in the ways of winning football. My respect for them and my admiration of them put me in a place of the willing apprentice. They did not restrict the flow of information; it was up to me to apply diligence and practice.
Without a coach, I can never move forward. There are some men who are disciplined enough to self-train and self-teach, but it is never as intense and fruitful as training under an expert coach.
In John 14, Jesus introduces the greatest coach of all time- God’s Holy Spirit!
It is very clear in this passage that the Spirit is a person. Think about it, as a believer in Christ, you have the awesome benefit of a ‘live-in’ coach! He is with you all the time and ready to help. Have you ever though about the tone of verse 15? For years I read it as a harsh command, like my mom telling me to clean my room. In later years, it seemed to sound more like a natural flow of feelings and actions. I love college football so I watch it. I love pizza, and I look forward to eating it with mouth-watering anticipation.
I love Christ, so I want to obey Him. It is not drudgery for me to follow Christ; it is an honor! I thank my Coach who helps me develop this mindset and attitude. We read later in the passage that the Holy Spirit is the one that convicts of sin and brings to remembrance the things of God. The Bible also makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is the distinctive between natural men of flesh who cannot know God and children of the Spirit who depend on and cry out to the Father. We can also grieve the Holy Spirit when we continue attitudes or actions of rebellion.
Ask God for a search today. Are you aware of His spirit within you? If you are struggling with that, take it up with God. The fact that you are wrestling with it is a good sign of the Coach at work! Then start acknowledging Him and ask Him to coach you on Christ and His ways. He has training aids to take you further than you ever dreamed possible.
Lord, thank you for sending the Spirit. Please allow me to be more sensitive to His training in my life. I realize that when I pray, it is His prayers that are engaged. Thank you for the gift of this coach!
BIG TEAM - LITTLE ME
DAY 7 Winning Edge Devotions
ROMANS 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
The most common characteristic I have found on our championship teams is a noticeable absence of selfishness. I always worry about teams that have a number of discontented individuals. The worst example of this is when the team has won, but that individual is not happy after the game because he didn’t get enough touches or playing time.
I make it a habit to look at everyone in the locker room after the game. After a win, we sing a silly song and really celebrate. I don’t care if it was an ugly one-point win- a win is a win and a beat is a beat. So we sing and dance and I watch the locker room for individuals with that ‘far away look’. It is those individuals who need encouragement in the message of “Big Team- Little Me”.
I had a quarterback one game who threw 4 interceptions in the game. He came back in the 4th quarter and threw the game winning touchdown pass. On the sideline as time was running out, I walked up to him and saw the tears streaming down his face.
Usually, I try to gently encourage a young man who is broken like that, but my response was surprising; I lit him up! I was angry that he could not stop focusing on self. I wanted so badly for him to see that it is not about him, we had a team win! Thankfully, the technique worked!
Self- focus is a terrible condition and it infects us all at various times. I believe it one of Satan’s best avenues to steal the joy of living from us. It kills a team.
The individual who cares more about the team than himself is the young man who learns to love and serve. He lives in the comfort of brotherhood and has great help in times of pressure. He is free to compete and tends to be focused on his role.
The most liberating time in my Christian life is when I get my eyes of the temporal and myself, and submit to the loving care of the Sovereign King of the Universe. Everything is about Him. It is all orchestrated to His glory and I an thankful to just be a small part.
Romans 11:36 is the great culminating doxology to some of the most incredible doctrinal statements in the Bible. The apostle Paul has just finished explaining the gospel in depth and detail that takes your breath away. Right after this chapter, he begins the application of these great truths. This great verse at the end of doctrine and the beginning of application is where we get the phrase- “SOLI DEO GLORIA- To God Alone Be the Glory”. It is not about me- It is about Him.
I am a part of a big team and Christ is my captain. When I start living for His glory and not mine, I find life becomes much less crazy. The greatest part is that the Lord cares for ‘little me’!
Father, thank You for being awesome enough to contain and maintain all things! It is comforting to me that You are bigger than my thoughts and unbound by my imagination. Help me to submit to You and live for You. Teach me to reflect glory back to You in humility and gratitude. Keep my focus on You and eternity and off this present circumstance. You are God and in control! Amen!
ROMANS 11:36 “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
The most common characteristic I have found on our championship teams is a noticeable absence of selfishness. I always worry about teams that have a number of discontented individuals. The worst example of this is when the team has won, but that individual is not happy after the game because he didn’t get enough touches or playing time.
I make it a habit to look at everyone in the locker room after the game. After a win, we sing a silly song and really celebrate. I don’t care if it was an ugly one-point win- a win is a win and a beat is a beat. So we sing and dance and I watch the locker room for individuals with that ‘far away look’. It is those individuals who need encouragement in the message of “Big Team- Little Me”.
I had a quarterback one game who threw 4 interceptions in the game. He came back in the 4th quarter and threw the game winning touchdown pass. On the sideline as time was running out, I walked up to him and saw the tears streaming down his face.
Usually, I try to gently encourage a young man who is broken like that, but my response was surprising; I lit him up! I was angry that he could not stop focusing on self. I wanted so badly for him to see that it is not about him, we had a team win! Thankfully, the technique worked!
Self- focus is a terrible condition and it infects us all at various times. I believe it one of Satan’s best avenues to steal the joy of living from us. It kills a team.
The individual who cares more about the team than himself is the young man who learns to love and serve. He lives in the comfort of brotherhood and has great help in times of pressure. He is free to compete and tends to be focused on his role.
The most liberating time in my Christian life is when I get my eyes of the temporal and myself, and submit to the loving care of the Sovereign King of the Universe. Everything is about Him. It is all orchestrated to His glory and I an thankful to just be a small part.
Romans 11:36 is the great culminating doxology to some of the most incredible doctrinal statements in the Bible. The apostle Paul has just finished explaining the gospel in depth and detail that takes your breath away. Right after this chapter, he begins the application of these great truths. This great verse at the end of doctrine and the beginning of application is where we get the phrase- “SOLI DEO GLORIA- To God Alone Be the Glory”. It is not about me- It is about Him.
I am a part of a big team and Christ is my captain. When I start living for His glory and not mine, I find life becomes much less crazy. The greatest part is that the Lord cares for ‘little me’!
Father, thank You for being awesome enough to contain and maintain all things! It is comforting to me that You are bigger than my thoughts and unbound by my imagination. Help me to submit to You and live for You. Teach me to reflect glory back to You in humility and gratitude. Keep my focus on You and eternity and off this present circumstance. You are God and in control! Amen!
Monday, February 04, 2008
Embrace the Battle
DAY 6 Winning Edge Devotions
2 CORIN. 10: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
One thing that sets football apart from any other sport is putting on armor and going to war. It is not natural. I remember being so afraid at times playing football- but I faced my fear and became more of a man.
I am always interested in watching our young players face their fears and learn to hit. At different times and in various ways, they learn to embrace the physical side of the game. The best lesson is to learn to be the ‘hitter’ and not the ‘hittee’. The players who flinch often feel the most pain. The warriors learn to attack and become quickly feared. I love the steely eyed toughness of a seasoned fighter- there is awesome strength there!
This life requires learning to fight. One day you may have to fight for a job, for your wife, fight against disease or a tough situation. You may have to fight for your faith. Jesus was a great fighter. He used tough words against the Pharisees, he fashioned a whip and drove out the moneychangers, he carried a cross up the mountain bleeding and hurting for me.
This is a difficult issue. Our society is increasingly becoming more sedentary. Leisure is a big commodity. An unintentional result of leisure and affluence is “softness” or an inability to endure difficult circumstances or discomfort. Education tends to erode necessary traits of survival such as the ability to fight.
Our football program believes that true manhood is a balance between tenderness and toughness. Tenderness without toughness leads to weakness. Toughness without tenderness leads to brutality. Our motto is “become warriors and brothers”.
Our culture is growing increasingly hostile to the core beliefs of Christianity. As the country embraces secularism and relativism we see battle lines becoming more distinct. One thing that is interesting about this passage in I Corinthians is that it is impersonal. Our enemies are not people!
However, make no mistake about our being in a war! As believers we cannot wimp out of the fight. We have the divine power of God to boldly stand in the marketplace of ideas and destroy any argument that stands against the truth of God.
Have you been ignoring a tough situation? What fears are keeping you from engaging a noble fight? Instead of weakly walking in and taking a beating, why not attack in the Holy Name of Christ? There is great strength in winning battles; it creates momentum to win the war!
Lord, I have not been a faithful warrior for truth. Why am I so afraid of that person, they are not my enemy. Help me find the ability to fight in worthwhile ways and for worthy causes. Train me in how to battle! Christ is my great example. Give me His boldness and tenacity!
2 CORIN. 10: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
One thing that sets football apart from any other sport is putting on armor and going to war. It is not natural. I remember being so afraid at times playing football- but I faced my fear and became more of a man.
I am always interested in watching our young players face their fears and learn to hit. At different times and in various ways, they learn to embrace the physical side of the game. The best lesson is to learn to be the ‘hitter’ and not the ‘hittee’. The players who flinch often feel the most pain. The warriors learn to attack and become quickly feared. I love the steely eyed toughness of a seasoned fighter- there is awesome strength there!
This life requires learning to fight. One day you may have to fight for a job, for your wife, fight against disease or a tough situation. You may have to fight for your faith. Jesus was a great fighter. He used tough words against the Pharisees, he fashioned a whip and drove out the moneychangers, he carried a cross up the mountain bleeding and hurting for me.
This is a difficult issue. Our society is increasingly becoming more sedentary. Leisure is a big commodity. An unintentional result of leisure and affluence is “softness” or an inability to endure difficult circumstances or discomfort. Education tends to erode necessary traits of survival such as the ability to fight.
Our football program believes that true manhood is a balance between tenderness and toughness. Tenderness without toughness leads to weakness. Toughness without tenderness leads to brutality. Our motto is “become warriors and brothers”.
Our culture is growing increasingly hostile to the core beliefs of Christianity. As the country embraces secularism and relativism we see battle lines becoming more distinct. One thing that is interesting about this passage in I Corinthians is that it is impersonal. Our enemies are not people!
However, make no mistake about our being in a war! As believers we cannot wimp out of the fight. We have the divine power of God to boldly stand in the marketplace of ideas and destroy any argument that stands against the truth of God.
Have you been ignoring a tough situation? What fears are keeping you from engaging a noble fight? Instead of weakly walking in and taking a beating, why not attack in the Holy Name of Christ? There is great strength in winning battles; it creates momentum to win the war!
Lord, I have not been a faithful warrior for truth. Why am I so afraid of that person, they are not my enemy. Help me find the ability to fight in worthwhile ways and for worthy causes. Train me in how to battle! Christ is my great example. Give me His boldness and tenacity!
RELY ON YOUR TEAM MATES
DAY 5 Winning Edge Devotions
HEB. 10:24 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
One of the many reason I love football is because it is the ultimate team sport. Football requires incredible cooperation and team unity. In 2006 I began to rethink my definitions of ‘success’ and ‘achievement’ and developed the idea that one factor in our success, as a program, is if we grew into a ‘team’. Many of us know the slogans- “There is no I in Team” and T.E.A.M. “ together everyone accomplishes more”- but I want a team to be much more than a slogan. I think all teams are products of growth. A team cannot be made in a moment; it must be developed over a period of time. The fundamental ingredients to becoming a team are love and trust. To the degree that our players and coaches can learn to love each other and trust each other will be the depth of our power as a team. Ultimately a team is characterized by self-sacrifice and a unity of purpose. Selfishness, bitterness, cynicism, apathy, and isolation are team killers. To develop love and trust requires communication, honesty, forgiveness, tolerance, and effort. A great step to love and trust is learning to suffer together.
I can point to important moments when our football teams experienced major moves in developing the team spirit that we so eagerly wait for each season and it usually follows very difficult struggles or failures. Under pressure, we learn who we can rely on. There is very little pretending in times of pain.
Christianity is a team sport. Our need for the team is based on our enemy being the best one on one player in the history of the world. Our Savior beat Satan in the contest in the wilderness, but no one else has survived the encounter. We need each other to make it in this world of danger and pitfalls.
I believe that God’s mystery is designed to bring us together in fellowship. As we struggle with the questions of Scripture and life, we have to spend time together. It is good to hear different experiences and discuss various ideas. It is good to come together, it is dangerous to drift apart.
One of my mentors noted that most men who fall are isolated, without support or accountability. We need to make an honest effort to take time and invest in the relationships that carry us in life. For a man, it will be his spouse and a significant two or three men who are able to challenge, encourage, love, forgive, and support.
The local church provides some of the greatest opportunities to develop these types of relationships. I challenge men to take time and invest time and energy in building quality men’s ministries in their congregations. Find what you and other men like to do and do it together. Through these similar passions, you can begin to love and trust each other enough to begin encouraging one another. When the pressures of life come or when the opponents attack, you have teammates to rely on. They will watch your back! If you have been living life as a lone ranger, please reconsider. Do not forsake coming together with a team. Begin searching today for those you can encourage and grow with.
Father, who comes to my mind as I think of my teammates? Please help me be the kind of person who can play on a team. Begin building that team today!
HEB. 10:24 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
One of the many reason I love football is because it is the ultimate team sport. Football requires incredible cooperation and team unity. In 2006 I began to rethink my definitions of ‘success’ and ‘achievement’ and developed the idea that one factor in our success, as a program, is if we grew into a ‘team’. Many of us know the slogans- “There is no I in Team” and T.E.A.M. “ together everyone accomplishes more”- but I want a team to be much more than a slogan. I think all teams are products of growth. A team cannot be made in a moment; it must be developed over a period of time. The fundamental ingredients to becoming a team are love and trust. To the degree that our players and coaches can learn to love each other and trust each other will be the depth of our power as a team. Ultimately a team is characterized by self-sacrifice and a unity of purpose. Selfishness, bitterness, cynicism, apathy, and isolation are team killers. To develop love and trust requires communication, honesty, forgiveness, tolerance, and effort. A great step to love and trust is learning to suffer together.
I can point to important moments when our football teams experienced major moves in developing the team spirit that we so eagerly wait for each season and it usually follows very difficult struggles or failures. Under pressure, we learn who we can rely on. There is very little pretending in times of pain.
Christianity is a team sport. Our need for the team is based on our enemy being the best one on one player in the history of the world. Our Savior beat Satan in the contest in the wilderness, but no one else has survived the encounter. We need each other to make it in this world of danger and pitfalls.
I believe that God’s mystery is designed to bring us together in fellowship. As we struggle with the questions of Scripture and life, we have to spend time together. It is good to hear different experiences and discuss various ideas. It is good to come together, it is dangerous to drift apart.
One of my mentors noted that most men who fall are isolated, without support or accountability. We need to make an honest effort to take time and invest in the relationships that carry us in life. For a man, it will be his spouse and a significant two or three men who are able to challenge, encourage, love, forgive, and support.
The local church provides some of the greatest opportunities to develop these types of relationships. I challenge men to take time and invest time and energy in building quality men’s ministries in their congregations. Find what you and other men like to do and do it together. Through these similar passions, you can begin to love and trust each other enough to begin encouraging one another. When the pressures of life come or when the opponents attack, you have teammates to rely on. They will watch your back! If you have been living life as a lone ranger, please reconsider. Do not forsake coming together with a team. Begin searching today for those you can encourage and grow with.
Father, who comes to my mind as I think of my teammates? Please help me be the kind of person who can play on a team. Begin building that team today!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
WORK THE PLAN
DAY 4 Winning Edge Devotions
JOSHUA 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
One football season our offense had a very hard time scoring in what we call the ‘red zone’. We would drive the football all the way down the field and stall. We could not score touchdowns and we missed a lot of field goals.
The next season we began a practice period called ‘Live at the 35’ where we would spot a ball near the scoring zone and drive for points. We became a lot better at managing that space on the field and learned to adjust, as the ball got closer to the goal line. On 4th down we would punt or kick field goals. With a lot of the same players, the offense that next season learned how to score in the red zone and we scored a lot.
One of the assistant coaches remarked to me that season, “It’s kind of amazing, you get better at what you work on.” That has led us to try to keep in mind to spend practice time working on what we need to do to improve.
I have found the same thing to be true spiritually. It isn’t enough to draw up calendars and plans. A lot of poor performance begins with good intentions. At some point, we have to work the plan. It is in the repetition that we develop long-term memory and the building of habits.
One plan that needs constant work is the study and meditation of the Bible. God’s word is deep and supernatural. It doesn’t read like any other piece of literature I have ever encountered.
There is a wonderful promise here in Joshua 1:8. It encourages us to meditate on the word. This meditation, I believe, is a mental turnover and constant rehearsal of what the text says and how it should be applied.
We need to apply it to our situation. It should not always be directed at others and their issues, it should be directed within. It should be mulled over all day and night. The psychology textbooks tell us that the key to having information stored in our long-term memory is spacing and repetition. We need to multiple encounters with content, put it away for a time, and then return to that information and repeat it again. It is the recurring experience, divided over time, that really goes deep in our being. It is one of the many reasons that we remember music so well.
Notice also that it is the practice of God’s word, in a very detailed way, that brings about success. When we live according to the Creator’s game plan, we find the best environment for success. Every time we ignore God’s plan and go our own way, we close the door to the optimum avenues for true success.
So work the plan. Read it, mull it over, and practice it. Do it again and again. Over time, you will begin to get good at what you work on. Wouldn’t it be great if those things were pleasing to the Lord!
Father, help me have the patience to work the plan. Please remove the day-to-day distractions, which hinder my practice and focus. Let me clearly see what to do, help me to rehearse it, and then give me the strength to practice it.
JOSHUA 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
One football season our offense had a very hard time scoring in what we call the ‘red zone’. We would drive the football all the way down the field and stall. We could not score touchdowns and we missed a lot of field goals.
The next season we began a practice period called ‘Live at the 35’ where we would spot a ball near the scoring zone and drive for points. We became a lot better at managing that space on the field and learned to adjust, as the ball got closer to the goal line. On 4th down we would punt or kick field goals. With a lot of the same players, the offense that next season learned how to score in the red zone and we scored a lot.
One of the assistant coaches remarked to me that season, “It’s kind of amazing, you get better at what you work on.” That has led us to try to keep in mind to spend practice time working on what we need to do to improve.
I have found the same thing to be true spiritually. It isn’t enough to draw up calendars and plans. A lot of poor performance begins with good intentions. At some point, we have to work the plan. It is in the repetition that we develop long-term memory and the building of habits.
One plan that needs constant work is the study and meditation of the Bible. God’s word is deep and supernatural. It doesn’t read like any other piece of literature I have ever encountered.
There is a wonderful promise here in Joshua 1:8. It encourages us to meditate on the word. This meditation, I believe, is a mental turnover and constant rehearsal of what the text says and how it should be applied.
We need to apply it to our situation. It should not always be directed at others and their issues, it should be directed within. It should be mulled over all day and night. The psychology textbooks tell us that the key to having information stored in our long-term memory is spacing and repetition. We need to multiple encounters with content, put it away for a time, and then return to that information and repeat it again. It is the recurring experience, divided over time, that really goes deep in our being. It is one of the many reasons that we remember music so well.
Notice also that it is the practice of God’s word, in a very detailed way, that brings about success. When we live according to the Creator’s game plan, we find the best environment for success. Every time we ignore God’s plan and go our own way, we close the door to the optimum avenues for true success.
So work the plan. Read it, mull it over, and practice it. Do it again and again. Over time, you will begin to get good at what you work on. Wouldn’t it be great if those things were pleasing to the Lord!
Father, help me have the patience to work the plan. Please remove the day-to-day distractions, which hinder my practice and focus. Let me clearly see what to do, help me to rehearse it, and then give me the strength to practice it.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
FUNDAMENTALS ARE FOUNDATIONAL
DAY 3 Winning Edge Devotions
2 TIM. 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Every year we begin a quest to build, once again, a successful football team. Training camp consist of the same basic practices each season. Our seniors will hear and practice once again the same drills that comprise our ‘fundamentals’.
In football, all championship teams have great fundamentals. These include proper stances and winning techniques. It takes a lot of practice to instill these winning fundamentals. Practice does not make perfect. One of my favorite youth ministers used to tell our team, “practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
On our practice field, we start everyday with these fundamental routines. You will hear our coaches say the same things every day- “Stance, start, form, fit, finish”. Our players go fast with the coaches calling out the buzz words of our system. You will hear “eat the football with your eyes”. The running back coach will say, “tuck it away, high and tight”, the linebacker coach yells, ‘step on toes, bite the football, club arms, grab cloth, and run your feet”.
Our quarterback’s coach repeats , “drop, drop, drop,, and hold our pose” our receivers coach preaches “burst off the cut” and “come and see me”.
This continued repetition builds habits. When our players play the game, we want them reacting and not thinking. By doing the same fundamentals again and again, we develop the proper fundamentals by instinct.
The same habits need to be cultivated in our spiritual lives. The evidence of grace is demonstrated in a desire to practice the disciplines of grace. The fundamentals of Christianity have not changed- we need to read the Word, pray, fast, worship, memorize scripture, share our faith, give. These habits of holiness re-orient our lives to be sensitive to Christ and His kingdom.
Can these habits become meaningless routines? Yes! But just as we push for energy and effort on the football field, we need to add enthusiasm for the fundamentals of our faith. The greatest fundamental, though, is the gospel itself. It is good news for bad people. The message is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin and His resurrection is proof of our hope for eternal life in Him. I cannot earn or deserve this gift of salvation, I humbly accept in faith. I am not trusting in myself for eternal life; I am trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus. It is such an awesome message that it transforms our lives and is the foundation of all we do.
I challenge us to develop a practice schedule that includes a daily dose of fundamentals. Let us find workout partners who will hold us accountable and train in the ways of God. These disciplines are always a part of championship performance.
Lord, I have neglected some vital disciplines of my spiritual growth. I had great excuses for leaving them out including my worry about my life with You becoming routine and monotonous. Now, I find that I give almost no time to my study of Your word and prayer. I have not fasted in years. Father, help me to remember why these disciplines are so good for me and keep encouraging me to practice these with energy. Let my thoughts and daily routine develop habits of holiness to Your glory!
2 TIM. 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Every year we begin a quest to build, once again, a successful football team. Training camp consist of the same basic practices each season. Our seniors will hear and practice once again the same drills that comprise our ‘fundamentals’.
In football, all championship teams have great fundamentals. These include proper stances and winning techniques. It takes a lot of practice to instill these winning fundamentals. Practice does not make perfect. One of my favorite youth ministers used to tell our team, “practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”
On our practice field, we start everyday with these fundamental routines. You will hear our coaches say the same things every day- “Stance, start, form, fit, finish”. Our players go fast with the coaches calling out the buzz words of our system. You will hear “eat the football with your eyes”. The running back coach will say, “tuck it away, high and tight”, the linebacker coach yells, ‘step on toes, bite the football, club arms, grab cloth, and run your feet”.
Our quarterback’s coach repeats , “drop, drop, drop,, and hold our pose” our receivers coach preaches “burst off the cut” and “come and see me”.
This continued repetition builds habits. When our players play the game, we want them reacting and not thinking. By doing the same fundamentals again and again, we develop the proper fundamentals by instinct.
The same habits need to be cultivated in our spiritual lives. The evidence of grace is demonstrated in a desire to practice the disciplines of grace. The fundamentals of Christianity have not changed- we need to read the Word, pray, fast, worship, memorize scripture, share our faith, give. These habits of holiness re-orient our lives to be sensitive to Christ and His kingdom.
Can these habits become meaningless routines? Yes! But just as we push for energy and effort on the football field, we need to add enthusiasm for the fundamentals of our faith. The greatest fundamental, though, is the gospel itself. It is good news for bad people. The message is that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin and His resurrection is proof of our hope for eternal life in Him. I cannot earn or deserve this gift of salvation, I humbly accept in faith. I am not trusting in myself for eternal life; I am trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus. It is such an awesome message that it transforms our lives and is the foundation of all we do.
I challenge us to develop a practice schedule that includes a daily dose of fundamentals. Let us find workout partners who will hold us accountable and train in the ways of God. These disciplines are always a part of championship performance.
Lord, I have neglected some vital disciplines of my spiritual growth. I had great excuses for leaving them out including my worry about my life with You becoming routine and monotonous. Now, I find that I give almost no time to my study of Your word and prayer. I have not fasted in years. Father, help me to remember why these disciplines are so good for me and keep encouraging me to practice these with energy. Let my thoughts and daily routine develop habits of holiness to Your glory!
Friday, February 01, 2008
EVALUATION PRECEDES PREPARATION
DAY 2 Winning Edges Devotions
PSALM 139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Our regular season Monday is a well-rehearsed routine. We lift weights, we watch tape, and we condition very hard. As a coach, it is the film that serves as the greatest teaching tool. We watch the previous Friday’s game play by play.
It is an amazing time – there is satisfaction if the play is a success and embarrassment if the play was a failure. Every player is required to study and listen as the coaches talk over essential details of alignments, stance, and fundamentals. You cannot be thin skinned and survive our film room!
When we slow the play down, frame-by-frame, we are able to see exact moments of success and failure. We run it back and forth, over and over, and there are unlimited details regarding how the player is supposed to step, block, run or tackle. Our coaches are great teachers, and the film clearly shows every detail!
We break down these tapes after every game whether we win or lose. It is a great way to evaluate. We go player-by-player and play-by-play, constantly making observations about the progress of our team. If we are making the same mistakes as the last game, we know that somehow our players are not getting the correct message or techniques.
Sometimes the mistakes are a flaw in the scheme or system, sometimes it is just a player mistake, sometimes it is a great job by the opposition. In every evaluation, we are then able to adjust and plan for future success.
Our lives are so busy in this post-modern world that I worry we don’t have time to evaluate. We don’t take time to rewind the tape and rehearse what went right or what went wrong. I believe that this is a major part of the Biblical idea of meditation. Psalm 139 speaks of God’s constant presence and the psalmist boldly asks for God’s evaluation.
This is a terrifying request. Do I really want to know what God thinks about me? It is easier to keep myself busy in my infinite desire to find distraction. I once saw a sign that quoted Baron Von Trapp saying ‘we often confuse a life of activity as a life of meaning’.
I am suggesting that we get alone and allow God’s spirit to replay our day. Frame by frame and person by person. What was I thinking when I said that? Did that decision glorify God? What values am I demonstrating in my lifestyle? Am I applying God’s word? Am I reading it?
It is only after that kind of honest assessment that we are able to plan progress. We have to know where we are coming from to navigate where we are going.
Father, help me today slow down and honestly evaluate. Search me and know me Lord. Show me what I need to know to move in Your direction. I have been hiding from some dark truths about my heart and motives. Shine Your light on me and let me experience Your merciful presence. I admit that I am afraid to see the depths of my sin, but I know that You are a good God and a loving Father. Thank You for caring enough to show me the truth.
PSALM 139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24 And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Our regular season Monday is a well-rehearsed routine. We lift weights, we watch tape, and we condition very hard. As a coach, it is the film that serves as the greatest teaching tool. We watch the previous Friday’s game play by play.
It is an amazing time – there is satisfaction if the play is a success and embarrassment if the play was a failure. Every player is required to study and listen as the coaches talk over essential details of alignments, stance, and fundamentals. You cannot be thin skinned and survive our film room!
When we slow the play down, frame-by-frame, we are able to see exact moments of success and failure. We run it back and forth, over and over, and there are unlimited details regarding how the player is supposed to step, block, run or tackle. Our coaches are great teachers, and the film clearly shows every detail!
We break down these tapes after every game whether we win or lose. It is a great way to evaluate. We go player-by-player and play-by-play, constantly making observations about the progress of our team. If we are making the same mistakes as the last game, we know that somehow our players are not getting the correct message or techniques.
Sometimes the mistakes are a flaw in the scheme or system, sometimes it is just a player mistake, sometimes it is a great job by the opposition. In every evaluation, we are then able to adjust and plan for future success.
Our lives are so busy in this post-modern world that I worry we don’t have time to evaluate. We don’t take time to rewind the tape and rehearse what went right or what went wrong. I believe that this is a major part of the Biblical idea of meditation. Psalm 139 speaks of God’s constant presence and the psalmist boldly asks for God’s evaluation.
This is a terrifying request. Do I really want to know what God thinks about me? It is easier to keep myself busy in my infinite desire to find distraction. I once saw a sign that quoted Baron Von Trapp saying ‘we often confuse a life of activity as a life of meaning’.
I am suggesting that we get alone and allow God’s spirit to replay our day. Frame by frame and person by person. What was I thinking when I said that? Did that decision glorify God? What values am I demonstrating in my lifestyle? Am I applying God’s word? Am I reading it?
It is only after that kind of honest assessment that we are able to plan progress. We have to know where we are coming from to navigate where we are going.
Father, help me today slow down and honestly evaluate. Search me and know me Lord. Show me what I need to know to move in Your direction. I have been hiding from some dark truths about my heart and motives. Shine Your light on me and let me experience Your merciful presence. I admit that I am afraid to see the depths of my sin, but I know that You are a good God and a loving Father. Thank You for caring enough to show me the truth.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A SECOND CHANCE, AGAIN
Winning Edge Devotions Day 1
PSALM 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
It is hard to put into words how much I hurt when we lose. Sometimes, it is a playoff loss and we shed a lot of tears over a senior playing his last game. As a coach, I live with the emotions of winning and losing weekly. In sixteen years, I have tasted the highs of state championship wins and the devastation of last second losses.
In some strange way, these experiences are a blessing. I have had to learn about failure. I have to find a way to put the pain aside and keep moving. I have to learn how to keep loving my family and performing my duties.
I don’t find many people who deal a lot with failure. The parents at my school are very successful. As Americans, we love to win and have experienced success a lot more than failure. In 1999, I was coaching a team that experienced losing in a regular season game for the first time in four years. In 1998, that same team had a perfect season (15-0) to claim the State Championship!
At our team meeting the following Monday I told them, “If all the game of football had taught you was winning, then you missed out on one of its best lessons”. We have to learn how to lose. Coach Bear Bryant is often quoted as saying, “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.” And even though this quote gets a lot of laughs from the crowd, it hides a truth in life. We often lose, especially when it comes to really living life as God intended. I never want to like losing, in fact I hate it- but I better learn how to live with the reality that I am going to lose at times.
In Psalm 51, David had experienced devastating losses. In spite of historic wins and unprecedented success, David did the unthinkable. Not only did he commit adultery, but he also added deceit and murder to his dark thoughts and actions.
The entire Psalm outlines the spiraling cancer of sin and guilt. This proud champion had stopped depending on God and was slipping into unrelenting depression. After being confronted by Nathan, David realized his only hope- ‘I have to go to the Lord and cry for mercy’.
In spite of the intense feelings of failure, David reached out for his only hope. All he could offer was a broken heart. In tears and anguish, he humbly pleaded for a Savior!
Have you ever felt that broken? You had such good intentions and a great start, but once again you failed. You hear the voice of cynics telling you that you are a miserable failure. There may even be the voice of your enemy telling you that you will never win. Don’t give up! Cry out to the Lord and let Him get to work repairing all the brokenness and picking up the fragments of failure.
Our Lord is a God of new beginnings. He created the beauty of new mercies each morning and spoke the idea of forgiving seventy times seven! He wants to cleanse us and give us a new start. That includes…..today!
After a loss, you feel incredible depths of despair, but you have to get up. Christ will help you as you reach out to Him. He forgave David and He wants to restore you. There is an old saying, “It matters not if you try and fail and try and fail again. What matters is if you try and fail and fail to try again.” The day after a loss, I am up and ready to start working on a win.
Lord, I pray that for the next 30 days, You will show yourself as the God of New Beginnings. Help me experience the cleansing of grace and a willingness of spirit. These have to come from You, because I fell like such a loser. Teach me Your ways and give me Your heart!
PSALM 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
It is hard to put into words how much I hurt when we lose. Sometimes, it is a playoff loss and we shed a lot of tears over a senior playing his last game. As a coach, I live with the emotions of winning and losing weekly. In sixteen years, I have tasted the highs of state championship wins and the devastation of last second losses.
In some strange way, these experiences are a blessing. I have had to learn about failure. I have to find a way to put the pain aside and keep moving. I have to learn how to keep loving my family and performing my duties.
I don’t find many people who deal a lot with failure. The parents at my school are very successful. As Americans, we love to win and have experienced success a lot more than failure. In 1999, I was coaching a team that experienced losing in a regular season game for the first time in four years. In 1998, that same team had a perfect season (15-0) to claim the State Championship!
At our team meeting the following Monday I told them, “If all the game of football had taught you was winning, then you missed out on one of its best lessons”. We have to learn how to lose. Coach Bear Bryant is often quoted as saying, “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.” And even though this quote gets a lot of laughs from the crowd, it hides a truth in life. We often lose, especially when it comes to really living life as God intended. I never want to like losing, in fact I hate it- but I better learn how to live with the reality that I am going to lose at times.
In Psalm 51, David had experienced devastating losses. In spite of historic wins and unprecedented success, David did the unthinkable. Not only did he commit adultery, but he also added deceit and murder to his dark thoughts and actions.
The entire Psalm outlines the spiraling cancer of sin and guilt. This proud champion had stopped depending on God and was slipping into unrelenting depression. After being confronted by Nathan, David realized his only hope- ‘I have to go to the Lord and cry for mercy’.
In spite of the intense feelings of failure, David reached out for his only hope. All he could offer was a broken heart. In tears and anguish, he humbly pleaded for a Savior!
Have you ever felt that broken? You had such good intentions and a great start, but once again you failed. You hear the voice of cynics telling you that you are a miserable failure. There may even be the voice of your enemy telling you that you will never win. Don’t give up! Cry out to the Lord and let Him get to work repairing all the brokenness and picking up the fragments of failure.
Our Lord is a God of new beginnings. He created the beauty of new mercies each morning and spoke the idea of forgiving seventy times seven! He wants to cleanse us and give us a new start. That includes…..today!
After a loss, you feel incredible depths of despair, but you have to get up. Christ will help you as you reach out to Him. He forgave David and He wants to restore you. There is an old saying, “It matters not if you try and fail and try and fail again. What matters is if you try and fail and fail to try again.” The day after a loss, I am up and ready to start working on a win.
Lord, I pray that for the next 30 days, You will show yourself as the God of New Beginnings. Help me experience the cleansing of grace and a willingness of spirit. These have to come from You, because I fell like such a loser. Teach me Your ways and give me Your heart!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Repost - Intelligent Design and the New Discrimination
I Wanted to Re-post this Blog in Reference to the new movie coming out called "Expelled" by Ben Stein. Read more about it at www.expelledthemovie.com
Original post Sept 14, 2007
Google “Intelligent Design” and you will see an amazing battle being fought today in the context of academic institutions. If you are a professor in most colleges and universities and even hint of a favorable attitude toward intelligent design and you will be blacklisted and viciously attacked by peers and media.
What is the problem? There is a world-view battle raging between Neo-Darwinists and Theists over the boundaries of science and what should be allowed in the context of debate.
Is it a fair fight? The answer is “NO”- the Darwinists pull a great sleight of hand in the debate. Their basic premise is that evolution is science and ID proponents are theologians. Evolution is good science while I.D.’s (or they like to call them “creationists”) lack any scientific credibility.
What is the trick? Well, evolution is not exactly what they purport it to be. No one debates micro-evolution. It is accepted and proven that species do successfully adapt to environmental changes. But that is where the science ends and “speculation” begins.
There is no consensus that “macro-evolution” is proven. Macro-evolution extrapolates the concept of micro-evolution in theorizing that , over time, these slight, successful variations produce new species.
So when Darwinists say evolution is science and intelligent design is not, it is an unfair comparison. Both materialists and theists accept evolution, but both differ as to what the universe is telling us about origin and diversity.
Is it random chance or intelligence? There is good and reasoned debate on both sides.
There needs to be a legitimate debate about the theories of origins and there needs to be respectful hearing of both sides.
Isn’t it ironic how history has flipped? The famous Scopes trial was about the unwillingness of conservative Christians to include evolutionary theory in the classroom. In the famous portrayal, Inherit the Wind (more drama that truth), the Christians are shown to be bigoted and mean. The hero is the lone science teacher who just wants a fair debate in the classroom.
Looking at the trail of fine scientists who have been villainized over mentioning design including denial of tenure and media attacks- the question is “Who are the bigots now?”.
Original post Sept 14, 2007
Google “Intelligent Design” and you will see an amazing battle being fought today in the context of academic institutions. If you are a professor in most colleges and universities and even hint of a favorable attitude toward intelligent design and you will be blacklisted and viciously attacked by peers and media.
What is the problem? There is a world-view battle raging between Neo-Darwinists and Theists over the boundaries of science and what should be allowed in the context of debate.
Is it a fair fight? The answer is “NO”- the Darwinists pull a great sleight of hand in the debate. Their basic premise is that evolution is science and ID proponents are theologians. Evolution is good science while I.D.’s (or they like to call them “creationists”) lack any scientific credibility.
What is the trick? Well, evolution is not exactly what they purport it to be. No one debates micro-evolution. It is accepted and proven that species do successfully adapt to environmental changes. But that is where the science ends and “speculation” begins.
There is no consensus that “macro-evolution” is proven. Macro-evolution extrapolates the concept of micro-evolution in theorizing that , over time, these slight, successful variations produce new species.
So when Darwinists say evolution is science and intelligent design is not, it is an unfair comparison. Both materialists and theists accept evolution, but both differ as to what the universe is telling us about origin and diversity.
Is it random chance or intelligence? There is good and reasoned debate on both sides.
There needs to be a legitimate debate about the theories of origins and there needs to be respectful hearing of both sides.
Isn’t it ironic how history has flipped? The famous Scopes trial was about the unwillingness of conservative Christians to include evolutionary theory in the classroom. In the famous portrayal, Inherit the Wind (more drama that truth), the Christians are shown to be bigoted and mean. The hero is the lone science teacher who just wants a fair debate in the classroom.
Looking at the trail of fine scientists who have been villainized over mentioning design including denial of tenure and media attacks- the question is “Who are the bigots now?”.
Coach Bryant Memories
I was quoted in the Tennessean today regarding Coach Bryant- I pasted the article below-
Two corrections- I live in Franklin not Brentwood and I played 1982 through Spring of 85
Two corrections- I live in Franklin not Brentwood and I played 1982 through Spring of 85
"My senior year, after the season and while we were practicing to play Oklahoma in the Bluebonnet Bowl, I was over in the cafeteria at Bryant Hall eating lunch and the dorm director came over and said, 'Coach Bryant wants to talk to you on the phone.' I said, 'Oh no, what's this all about?' That's not good when he's calling you at lunch.
"I picked up the phone and he said, 'Let me ask you something Billy. After the bowl game, do you want to go out and play in the Hula Bowl out in Hawaii?' I said, 'Well, yes I guess I would.' He said, 'I'll go ahead and arrange that. Somebody called me the other day wanting to know if we had anybody that wanted to play in it.'
"What was so amazing was the power that he had. Somebody had called him and said, 'Coach Bryant, do you have somebody you want to send us to play in the Hula Bowl?' They only had spots for four defensive backs, and they trusted and respected (him) so much that they were willing to take whomever he sent out there. He could have sent a linebacker out there and said he's playing safety, they'd have never known.
"It was a phenomenal trip. I got out there and Archie Manning was the quarterback on my team (South) and Jim Plunkett was the quarterback of the other team along with Joe Theismann."
-- Bill Blair, Brentwood (Safety, 1968-70)
"Coach Bryant had made a deal with me to play football and baseball when I went (to Alabama). It was that as a freshman there was no baseball. As a sophomore, you can play until spring football practice starts, and as you move on we'll see how that works out.
"Well, starting into my senior year, I was slated to be the starting quarterback and I got a broken toe and Scott Hunter was progressing and coming along and started beating me out. We each played about half the time my senior year.
"Before that spring practice, I was supposed to be able to play baseball. (Coach Bryant) had a meeting with me one morning at about 6:30. Of course, anytime you get a call and they say, 'Coach Bryant wants to see you,' you don't sleep the night before.
"So I met him and he said, 'We've got this deal and I wanted to know if you still want to play baseball?' I said, 'Coach I'd really like to play if it doesn't jeopardize my position playing football.' He said, 'No, I gave my word on that. I just wanted to make sure because I'm getting ready to start making out the lineups.'
"I was feeling pretty good and I got up to walk out, and I was almost out of the room when he said, 'Oh, there's one more thing – you better win the damn conference.'
"Alabama hadn't won the SEC baseball championship in 40 years. So I spread what he had said around to the team and (baseball) Coach (Joe) Sewell and damned if we didn't win the conference that year (1968)."
-- Joe Kelley, Brentwood (Quarterback, 1966-68)
"My senior year (1969) we were ranked. We had just beaten Ole Miss 33-32.
"We came up here to play Vanderbilt and we wanted to score quick and (Coach Bryant) wanted to play everybody. Well, we got beat (14-10). In the dressing room afterward, of course, nobody took their helmet off or said a word.
"He used to wear a pair of hunting boots in the wintertime. He set one up on a bench, untied it and set it to the side, then untied the other. He picked up one of them and threw it at one of those big mesh fans.
"And then he started. He said, 'Let me tell y'all something. Tonight you embarrassed me, the state of Alabama, the university, your mother and daddy, your grandparents, your siblings. The only persons you didn't embarrass were yourselves.
"We're going to get on the bus, we're going to go back, and I'm going to find out who wants to play. I'm going to try to run every one of you off. And when I do, I'm going to go over to the university and I'm going to get some of those 150 pound kids that would give their life to play for Alabama. Now, we'll get beat next week (against Tennessee), but you better not bet against us the week after that.'
"Nobody opened their mouth.
"Also, I remember when we went down to Baton Rouge to play LSU (1967). Before the game you always got off the bus and walked around the field before you went into the field house. They had that Tiger in a cage right there at our dressing room where we came out.
"They would poke that Tiger and he'd roar and they had those microphones all throughout that stadium. It was real eerie.
"Coach Bryant walked out in front of us and everybody was uptight a little bit. He looked over at that Tiger and said, 'Hell, that damn Tiger's older than I am. I wouldn't be afraid to get in there and rassle him around.' It kind of broke the monotony up."
-- Hunter Husband, Nashville (Tailback and tight end, 1967-69)
"The thing that stands out to me about Coach Bryant was what he talked to us every day about was not really the Xs and Os of football, but it was about stuff like show your class, display good character, respect your parents, be nice to folks and raise your kids to do that and everything will work out okay.
"You hear more about the inspirational stuff and the motivation before the game and so forth. But he truly every day tried to prepare us for growing up and getting a job and getting fired, and your wife running off and your dog getting run over to be able to handle the things in life that you've got to handle to keep moving on."
-- Jim Bob Harris, Brentwood (Defensive back, 1978-81)
"I had the privilege of being with Coach Bryant his last season at Alabama. I have more special memories than I could ever recount.
"When he walked into the team room, everyone sat up straight and put both feet on the floor. I used to be amazed because he seemed so hard to listen to on TV with that raspy, deep growl, but in the meetings he was animated and you understood every word.
"He would read to us a lot. He liked little quotes and neat stories.
"He always preached kicking game first, defense second, and offense last.
"He always told us how we were going to win and we believed him.
"He loved playing and winning with class.
"The team was honorary pall bearers at his funeral. I will never forget that ride to Birmingham in a Greyhound bus behind his hearse. Every inch of Interstate 59 was covered with people, including the overpasses. They stood quietly and held signs. I fought back tears the whole way.
"Growing up idolizing Bear Bryant was not a bad thing, it changed my life.
"Getting to play for him for one season was something I never will forget.
"Has it been 25 years?"
-- Jay Mathews, Brentwood (Quarterback, 82-86)
"I got married in college and I had to get his blessing basically. This was my junior year. We had beaten Auburn and still had a chance to win the national championship.
"My brother (Gary) told me it was going to be hard because he got married when he was playing at Alabama, and I didn't think it was going to be nearly as hard as what it was.
"I went by his office about five times before I had the guts to walk in. When I told him I wanted to share some plans with him he said, 'All right.' I said, 'I plan on getting married the weekend after we play the Sugar Bowl.' He said, 'You're gonna do what?' I said, 'I plan on getting married.' He said, 'You know who we're playing?' And I said, 'Yes sir, we're playing Ohio State.' The way he said it, 'No, we're playing Woody Hayes, and I've never played that you know what, and my quarterback's getting married?'
"I immediately started thinking, 'Oh my gosh, he's going to tell me no.' Then he said, 'Let me ask you some questions. Do you love her?' I was like, 'Oh, yes sir,' and it ended up being fine.
"I've got a great picture after that game of him looking down at me at the press conference and he said, 'Nice wedding present, wasn't it son?'
"I ended up getting MVP of that game so I actually played well. But I was a nervous wreck before thinking, 'If I don't play well, Oh my goodness.'"
-- Jeff Rutledge, Phoenix (Quarterback, 1975-78)
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Recovering One Day at a Time
Well, getting better- I actually did the elliptical trainer for 30 minutes yesterday and will have stitches out tomorrow!
But also my spirit is improving- the Lord is good!
Some of my most sincere prayers have been "HELP"
And the Father is good to hear and answer.
I hope I get off the floor in time to enjoy the beauty of Christmas!
But also my spirit is improving- the Lord is good!
Some of my most sincere prayers have been "HELP"
And the Father is good to hear and answer.
I hope I get off the floor in time to enjoy the beauty of Christmas!
Sunday, December 02, 2007
This Time Left Knee
I am recovering from knee surgery for the 2nd time- I just read my posts in 2004 to remember the last time.
Wasn't major- torn meniscus and some arthritis- orthoscopic in and out.
I have a lot on my mind and a lot to pray for- I am hoping for a recovery of knee, body, and soul
One thing that I noticed immediately was the absence of the nagging pain that I had been limping around with since September-
I had gotten used to the pain- to not have it now is shockingly distinct.
I think we carry around pain a lot and it becomes 'normal' to us
So I am in the winter blues- but hopefully on the rebound
Lord, I need some healing help!
Wasn't major- torn meniscus and some arthritis- orthoscopic in and out.
I have a lot on my mind and a lot to pray for- I am hoping for a recovery of knee, body, and soul
One thing that I noticed immediately was the absence of the nagging pain that I had been limping around with since September-
I had gotten used to the pain- to not have it now is shockingly distinct.
I think we carry around pain a lot and it becomes 'normal' to us
So I am in the winter blues- but hopefully on the rebound
Lord, I need some healing help!
Monday, October 08, 2007
You're Blaming Me?
We are accepting questions from the audience in our Sunday School. Here is the latest one:
“All men are sinners. I fully believe that. But, what I don’t get is why we as Christians let God totally off the hook for that. Why? Seems like if we are God’s creation and 100% of us are sinful (Born that way), then there is a huge quality control issue. As the saying goes, ‘When they made you, they broke the mold, and then beat the mold maker. Why is God not at least partly responsible?”
Thanks for the question. This question comes up from time to time. “Why am I responsible if this how I am made? God, why did you make me this way?”
This is such a natural part of human reasoning that the apostle Paul addresses this exact topic in Romans, Chapter 9. I encourage you to read the entire chapter, but here is the excerpt on this question:
In addressing your question, you need to know that our concept of God, our understanding of His authority, our comprehension of His love and wrath, and the understanding of our sin is so far short of reality that we usually come up with incorrect presuppositions and conclusions in these matters.
The ultimate answer is that He is God. We have a hard time with this in our western culture and rugged, independent heritage. Cultures who have a King understand the sovereign rights of a ruler much better than we. In fact, it flies all over us to say, “He is King and can do as He wills”. Regardless of how we feel about that it is, nonetheless, true.
Is there a quality control issue with God? How do you control quality?
The Bible makes it very clear that things have gone wrong. Man was created perfect with a freedom of choice and man chose to serve the creature rather than the creator.
Most makers, it would seem, would then begin to smash and burn to correct the error.
But this maker is different, He loves His creation! He does not desire that any should perish.
He does the unthinkable; He becomes the piece of clay! He enters in, demonstrates the proper way to address the Creator and live for the Creator and then suffers the crushing penalty reserved for vessels of wrath. He then returns from the destruction to proclaim good news- “I offer restoration and forgiveness”.
This sacrifice now allows for the salvation of flawed creatures while, at the same time, still keeps perfect standards of quality and purity. There is now a way that the flawed creatures do not have to be destroyed!
Sadly, most of the creation, it seems, will not accept the correction. They still shake their fist at the maker. This is the great, uncorrectable flaw and rejecting the Son will heap up a fiery furnace of incredible wrath from the Maker. When we turn our backs on the good news, we are rejecting our only chance to survive inspection!
There is precise and perfect quality control from God. He will one day separate the flawed from the unflawed. Those stamped by the Son will be declared perfect. Those who resisted because of pride and sin will be discarded to their shame and misery.
At that point, the factory will once again be perfect to the glory of the Maker. Only now, the creation will see Him in a new light- not only our Maker, but also our sacrificial Lover! To Him Alone Be the Glory!
A final note- we are responsible for our sin.
One of the founders of Princeton, Archibald Alexander summed up judgment day like this:
“The things which shall be brought under the eye of the Judge, and exhibited to the view of the universe, are, all deeds done in the body — whatsoever a man hath done, whether good or bad. Every secret thing. "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14. Every idle word. "I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give a account thereof in the day of judgment." Matthew 12:36. The thoughts of the heart shall also be made manifest. Every unholy desire; every proud, envious, or malicious thought; every secret purpose of iniquity; every unhallowed temper; every rebellious and discontented and ungrateful feeling towards God and his government, will be brought into judgment.
And the inquiry will extend not only to positive acts; but also to omissions of duty. Great as is the number of the acts of wickedness, the catalogue of omissions will be greater, and not less criminal. The first sin of this sort which will claim the attention of the Judge, will be the omission to entertain and cherish right sentiments towards God. No more heavy charge will be brought against any individual on that day, than that he neglected to love the Lord his God with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. This is the total violation of the first and greatest command, and the fountain of all other iniquities. The neglect to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ when he was offered to us a complete Saviour in the gospel, will, to the unfruitful hearers of the word, be an accusation of the highest kind.
O reader, whoever thou art, let me entreat you to inquire without delay, whether you are prepared for the scrutiny and judgment of this coming day. Have you made you peace with God? Have you repented of all your sins? Are you in union with Christ by faith? Have you any clear scriptural evidence that your sins are pardoned? What says conscience to these inquiries? Be assured, if your own heart condemns you, God, who is greater than your heart, and knoweth all things, will much more condemn you. But your situation is not like that of them whose day of grace is ended. You are yet in the place of reconciliation. You have yet a little time before you — God only knows how much. Now, then, hear the voice of warning — hear the voice of mercy. Now "strive to enter in at the strait gate." Now forsake your sins, and live. Accept the offered grace — "lay hold on eternal life.’” (The Day of Judgment, Archibald Alexander)
“All men are sinners. I fully believe that. But, what I don’t get is why we as Christians let God totally off the hook for that. Why? Seems like if we are God’s creation and 100% of us are sinful (Born that way), then there is a huge quality control issue. As the saying goes, ‘When they made you, they broke the mold, and then beat the mold maker. Why is God not at least partly responsible?”
Thanks for the question. This question comes up from time to time. “Why am I responsible if this how I am made? God, why did you make me this way?”
This is such a natural part of human reasoning that the apostle Paul addresses this exact topic in Romans, Chapter 9. I encourage you to read the entire chapter, but here is the excerpt on this question:
“14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?”
In addressing your question, you need to know that our concept of God, our understanding of His authority, our comprehension of His love and wrath, and the understanding of our sin is so far short of reality that we usually come up with incorrect presuppositions and conclusions in these matters.
The ultimate answer is that He is God. We have a hard time with this in our western culture and rugged, independent heritage. Cultures who have a King understand the sovereign rights of a ruler much better than we. In fact, it flies all over us to say, “He is King and can do as He wills”. Regardless of how we feel about that it is, nonetheless, true.
Is there a quality control issue with God? How do you control quality?
The Bible makes it very clear that things have gone wrong. Man was created perfect with a freedom of choice and man chose to serve the creature rather than the creator.
Most makers, it would seem, would then begin to smash and burn to correct the error.
But this maker is different, He loves His creation! He does not desire that any should perish.
He does the unthinkable; He becomes the piece of clay! He enters in, demonstrates the proper way to address the Creator and live for the Creator and then suffers the crushing penalty reserved for vessels of wrath. He then returns from the destruction to proclaim good news- “I offer restoration and forgiveness”.
This sacrifice now allows for the salvation of flawed creatures while, at the same time, still keeps perfect standards of quality and purity. There is now a way that the flawed creatures do not have to be destroyed!
Sadly, most of the creation, it seems, will not accept the correction. They still shake their fist at the maker. This is the great, uncorrectable flaw and rejecting the Son will heap up a fiery furnace of incredible wrath from the Maker. When we turn our backs on the good news, we are rejecting our only chance to survive inspection!
There is precise and perfect quality control from God. He will one day separate the flawed from the unflawed. Those stamped by the Son will be declared perfect. Those who resisted because of pride and sin will be discarded to their shame and misery.
At that point, the factory will once again be perfect to the glory of the Maker. Only now, the creation will see Him in a new light- not only our Maker, but also our sacrificial Lover! To Him Alone Be the Glory!
A final note- we are responsible for our sin.
One of the founders of Princeton, Archibald Alexander summed up judgment day like this:
“The things which shall be brought under the eye of the Judge, and exhibited to the view of the universe, are, all deeds done in the body — whatsoever a man hath done, whether good or bad. Every secret thing. "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14. Every idle word. "I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give a account thereof in the day of judgment." Matthew 12:36. The thoughts of the heart shall also be made manifest. Every unholy desire; every proud, envious, or malicious thought; every secret purpose of iniquity; every unhallowed temper; every rebellious and discontented and ungrateful feeling towards God and his government, will be brought into judgment.
And the inquiry will extend not only to positive acts; but also to omissions of duty. Great as is the number of the acts of wickedness, the catalogue of omissions will be greater, and not less criminal. The first sin of this sort which will claim the attention of the Judge, will be the omission to entertain and cherish right sentiments towards God. No more heavy charge will be brought against any individual on that day, than that he neglected to love the Lord his God with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. This is the total violation of the first and greatest command, and the fountain of all other iniquities. The neglect to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ when he was offered to us a complete Saviour in the gospel, will, to the unfruitful hearers of the word, be an accusation of the highest kind.
O reader, whoever thou art, let me entreat you to inquire without delay, whether you are prepared for the scrutiny and judgment of this coming day. Have you made you peace with God? Have you repented of all your sins? Are you in union with Christ by faith? Have you any clear scriptural evidence that your sins are pardoned? What says conscience to these inquiries? Be assured, if your own heart condemns you, God, who is greater than your heart, and knoweth all things, will much more condemn you. But your situation is not like that of them whose day of grace is ended. You are yet in the place of reconciliation. You have yet a little time before you — God only knows how much. Now, then, hear the voice of warning — hear the voice of mercy. Now "strive to enter in at the strait gate." Now forsake your sins, and live. Accept the offered grace — "lay hold on eternal life.’” (The Day of Judgment, Archibald Alexander)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Freedom and Sovereignty
“Where does free will and God’s sovereignty intersect?”
This is an issue all believers grapple with from time to time. Am I free or am I programmed? Is God fully in control or not in control? If everything is programmed, why work? Why pray? This issue becomes even more problematic when we see evil and suffering? How can a good God who is in control allow evil?
As we look at Scripture, we see truths that cannot be ignored. The Scripture makes frequent references to God’s sovereignty (it would be impossible to list all of those). But scripture also supports humans as volitional beings.
Dr. Robert Peterson at the latest Reformed Men’s Club listed four human freedoms in the Bible. There is ample Biblical support for these.
Freedom #1- Man in the Garden- Man was given responsibility and choice in the garden. This freedom is a beautiful gift that glorifies the Creator. This freedom also allowed the possibility (and I say probability) of evil entering it. Which it did.
Freedom #2- Man After the Fall- The Bible indicates that Adam’s sin was cursed and passed on to humanity. According to many places (Ephesians, for example) we are born dead in trespasses and sin. Our freedom now is a bondage. We are bound to sin. Isn’t it interesting that when we revel in our freedom and rebellion, we actually are chained? We cannot choose God because of our nature. We are inconsistent in good and evil choices.
Freedom #3- Man After Conversion- Once the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to our sin and the need of a Savior and respond to His call, we repent and put our faith in Christ. At that point, we have a new freedom, the ability to respond and serve the Creator. I John makes it clear that we are inconsistent in that new freedom. But we now have many helps to follow the path of sanctification.
Freedom #4- Man After Glorification- In heaven, it will all be clear and glorious. God allowed sin and evil to make salvation more glorious, the harder the struggle; the greater the victory. We will say with Joseph, “What was meant for evil, God meant for good.” We will no longer choose evil in light of the gloriousness of God. If sin never happened, we would not know God’s mercy. We would not see God’s sacrifice. We begin to see how truly great God is.
You may hate this answer, but the Bible indicates that God is sovereign and that man makes choices. Our choices do not undermine His plan. He even channels evil intentions to His holy purpose. The clearest example of this is the cross. The Roman soldiers freely chose to hammer the nails, God clearly decreed the exact moment and it was according to His plan put together before the foundation of the world.
This blows our mind. It makes God majestic and mysterious. It keeps us responsible for our choices and keeps us secure in His sovereignty. He is THE LORD!
This is an issue all believers grapple with from time to time. Am I free or am I programmed? Is God fully in control or not in control? If everything is programmed, why work? Why pray? This issue becomes even more problematic when we see evil and suffering? How can a good God who is in control allow evil?
As we look at Scripture, we see truths that cannot be ignored. The Scripture makes frequent references to God’s sovereignty (it would be impossible to list all of those). But scripture also supports humans as volitional beings.
Dr. Robert Peterson at the latest Reformed Men’s Club listed four human freedoms in the Bible. There is ample Biblical support for these.
Freedom #1- Man in the Garden- Man was given responsibility and choice in the garden. This freedom is a beautiful gift that glorifies the Creator. This freedom also allowed the possibility (and I say probability) of evil entering it. Which it did.
Freedom #2- Man After the Fall- The Bible indicates that Adam’s sin was cursed and passed on to humanity. According to many places (Ephesians, for example) we are born dead in trespasses and sin. Our freedom now is a bondage. We are bound to sin. Isn’t it interesting that when we revel in our freedom and rebellion, we actually are chained? We cannot choose God because of our nature. We are inconsistent in good and evil choices.
Freedom #3- Man After Conversion- Once the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to our sin and the need of a Savior and respond to His call, we repent and put our faith in Christ. At that point, we have a new freedom, the ability to respond and serve the Creator. I John makes it clear that we are inconsistent in that new freedom. But we now have many helps to follow the path of sanctification.
Freedom #4- Man After Glorification- In heaven, it will all be clear and glorious. God allowed sin and evil to make salvation more glorious, the harder the struggle; the greater the victory. We will say with Joseph, “What was meant for evil, God meant for good.” We will no longer choose evil in light of the gloriousness of God. If sin never happened, we would not know God’s mercy. We would not see God’s sacrifice. We begin to see how truly great God is.
You may hate this answer, but the Bible indicates that God is sovereign and that man makes choices. Our choices do not undermine His plan. He even channels evil intentions to His holy purpose. The clearest example of this is the cross. The Roman soldiers freely chose to hammer the nails, God clearly decreed the exact moment and it was according to His plan put together before the foundation of the world.
This blows our mind. It makes God majestic and mysterious. It keeps us responsible for our choices and keeps us secure in His sovereignty. He is THE LORD!
Friday, September 21, 2007
What Surprises Me the Most About God
As I have been reading the Bible for over 25 years, there are some of God’s attributes that I have grown to love. I have to start with His compassion, love, and grace. My very breath and life is so grateful in that God forgives me. I am so far from His ways. The fact that I am an adopted son of the Savior is thrilling to me. I also admire His holiness, his omnipotence (space… His creation, by His word, wow), His omniscience… all of that is amazing and adored.
On top of that, though, there are some characteristics that have caught me off guard, but make me more appreciative of how He directs me. The fact that God is surprising should not be surprising. He is God and far beyond my ability to grasp.
Surprise #1- God Loves Competition
Our God is a warrior God who seems to relish competition. We pick up some of this in Job where God welcomes Satan’s challenge. We also see it in Revelation and OT references to battles. God is not removed from competition; He puts Himself right in the middle of the battle. We see it in more personal detail when He wrestles Jacob. Christ also shows incredible competitive ability against Satan, flipping the tables and enduring the cross. As a coach, this is encouraging as I seek to teach young men how to compete. Some Christians over the years have challenged me on this (“should Christian schools have football?”) and I have always believed that the natural tendency to shrink from a hard competition does not glorify the Lord. We must, at times, step up and compete! The main attribute missing is us in intensity.
Surprise #2- God Ordains Defeat as a Part of His Ultimate Glory
I hate losing. But I am convinced that God has ordained my defeat at times to show our opponents how we are supposed to be in the loss. I don’t think He favors us over other teams because we are a Christian school. There are believers at the other schools and sometimes a greater blessing is to lose. Who can understand the myriad of His purposes? When I pray, I ask for a win, but there are times when I know He has said ‘No’. It hurts, but I know I am to shake the opponent’s hand, offer congrats, and seek opportunities to still honor my Savior. These defeats teach us humility and keep us from loving the world. Dealing with pain is a part of the ministry of football. Undefeated seasons are special, but persevering in hard times may be more beneficial. It does not give us an excuse to not compete. These defeats go beyond football- Death, tragedy, broken relationships, betrayal, unfair treatment, are all channeled by Him in my life for my good and His glory.
Surprise #3 God Loves to Play the Hero- Showing Up When All Seems Lost
Is there anything more dramatic than a last second win or a comeback? The Lord is the king of comebacks! If history is “his story”, it is a story of awesome drama! The resurrection and many other great Bible stories are winning against all odds. Of course, the Lord is the ultimate hero with every quality admirable one could wish for! Those attributes are ingrained in us as we have His imprint on our hearts.
Our God is full of surprise- it is what will make eternity unbelievably exciting!
On top of that, though, there are some characteristics that have caught me off guard, but make me more appreciative of how He directs me. The fact that God is surprising should not be surprising. He is God and far beyond my ability to grasp.
Surprise #1- God Loves Competition
Our God is a warrior God who seems to relish competition. We pick up some of this in Job where God welcomes Satan’s challenge. We also see it in Revelation and OT references to battles. God is not removed from competition; He puts Himself right in the middle of the battle. We see it in more personal detail when He wrestles Jacob. Christ also shows incredible competitive ability against Satan, flipping the tables and enduring the cross. As a coach, this is encouraging as I seek to teach young men how to compete. Some Christians over the years have challenged me on this (“should Christian schools have football?”) and I have always believed that the natural tendency to shrink from a hard competition does not glorify the Lord. We must, at times, step up and compete! The main attribute missing is us in intensity.
Surprise #2- God Ordains Defeat as a Part of His Ultimate Glory
I hate losing. But I am convinced that God has ordained my defeat at times to show our opponents how we are supposed to be in the loss. I don’t think He favors us over other teams because we are a Christian school. There are believers at the other schools and sometimes a greater blessing is to lose. Who can understand the myriad of His purposes? When I pray, I ask for a win, but there are times when I know He has said ‘No’. It hurts, but I know I am to shake the opponent’s hand, offer congrats, and seek opportunities to still honor my Savior. These defeats teach us humility and keep us from loving the world. Dealing with pain is a part of the ministry of football. Undefeated seasons are special, but persevering in hard times may be more beneficial. It does not give us an excuse to not compete. These defeats go beyond football- Death, tragedy, broken relationships, betrayal, unfair treatment, are all channeled by Him in my life for my good and His glory.
Surprise #3 God Loves to Play the Hero- Showing Up When All Seems Lost
Is there anything more dramatic than a last second win or a comeback? The Lord is the king of comebacks! If history is “his story”, it is a story of awesome drama! The resurrection and many other great Bible stories are winning against all odds. Of course, the Lord is the ultimate hero with every quality admirable one could wish for! Those attributes are ingrained in us as we have His imprint on our hearts.
Our God is full of surprise- it is what will make eternity unbelievably exciting!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
My Apologies?
Apologetics is the discipline that deals with a rational defense of Christian faith. It comes from the Greek word ‘apologia’ which means to give a reason or defense.
We are reminded of I Peter 3:15, which says, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
One of the biggest issues in apologetics is the futility of reasoned arguments to non-believers. I Corinthians 2: 14 says, “ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
This leads us to some important foundations of defending our faith.
#1 The goal of a Biblical apologetic is not to win arguments, but be used of God to present the claims of Christ and His wonderful gospel. Evangelism and apologetics are very close.
#2 Reasoned arguments alone will not talk anyone into accepting the message of faith. We do offer answers for our hope, but we will not get discouraged if these answers are found to be unacceptable in the world’s eyes.
May the Lord of Glory open the eyes of your heart to His existence and His truth. In Him is life, true freedom, and peace!
We are reminded of I Peter 3:15, which says, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
One of the biggest issues in apologetics is the futility of reasoned arguments to non-believers. I Corinthians 2: 14 says, “ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
This leads us to some important foundations of defending our faith.
#1 The goal of a Biblical apologetic is not to win arguments, but be used of God to present the claims of Christ and His wonderful gospel. Evangelism and apologetics are very close.
#2 Reasoned arguments alone will not talk anyone into accepting the message of faith. We do offer answers for our hope, but we will not get discouraged if these answers are found to be unacceptable in the world’s eyes.
May the Lord of Glory open the eyes of your heart to His existence and His truth. In Him is life, true freedom, and peace!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Intelligent Design and the New Discrimination
Google “Intelligent Design” and you will see an amazing battle being fought today in the context of academic institutions. If you are a professor in most colleges and universities and even hint of a favorable attitude toward intelligent design and you will be blacklisted and viciously attacked by peers and media.
What is the problem? There is a world-view battle raging between Neo-Darwinists and Theists over the boundaries of science and what should be allowed in the context of debate.
Is it a fair fight? The answer is “NO”- the Darwinists pull a great sleight of hand in the debate. Their basic premise is that evolution is science and ID proponents are theologians. Evolution is good science while I.D.’s (or they like to call them “creationists”) lack any scientific credibility.
What is the trick? Well, evolution is not exactly what they purport it to be. No one debates micro-evolution. It is accepted and proven that species do successfully adapt to environmental changes. But that is where the science ends and “speculation” begins.
There is no consensus that “macro-evolution” is proven. Macro-evolution extrapolates the concept of micro-evolution in theorizing that , over time, these slight, successful variations produce new species.
So when Darwinists say evolution is science and intelligent design is not, it is an unfair comparison. Both materialists and theists accept evolution, but both differ as to what the universe is telling us about origin and diversity.
Is it random chance or intelligence? There is good and reasoned debate on both sides.
There needs to be a legitimate debate about the theories of origins and there needs to be respectful hearing of both sides.
Isn’t it ironic how history has flipped? The famous Scopes trial was about the unwillingness of conservative Christians to include evolutionary theory in the classroom. In the famous portrayal, Inherit the Wind (more drama that truth), the Christians are shown to be bigoted and mean. The hero is the lone science teacher who just wants a fair debate in the classroom.
Looking at the trail of fine scientists who have been villainized over mentioning design including denial of tenure and media attacks- the question is “Who are the bigots now?”.
What is the problem? There is a world-view battle raging between Neo-Darwinists and Theists over the boundaries of science and what should be allowed in the context of debate.
Is it a fair fight? The answer is “NO”- the Darwinists pull a great sleight of hand in the debate. Their basic premise is that evolution is science and ID proponents are theologians. Evolution is good science while I.D.’s (or they like to call them “creationists”) lack any scientific credibility.
What is the trick? Well, evolution is not exactly what they purport it to be. No one debates micro-evolution. It is accepted and proven that species do successfully adapt to environmental changes. But that is where the science ends and “speculation” begins.
There is no consensus that “macro-evolution” is proven. Macro-evolution extrapolates the concept of micro-evolution in theorizing that , over time, these slight, successful variations produce new species.
So when Darwinists say evolution is science and intelligent design is not, it is an unfair comparison. Both materialists and theists accept evolution, but both differ as to what the universe is telling us about origin and diversity.
Is it random chance or intelligence? There is good and reasoned debate on both sides.
There needs to be a legitimate debate about the theories of origins and there needs to be respectful hearing of both sides.
Isn’t it ironic how history has flipped? The famous Scopes trial was about the unwillingness of conservative Christians to include evolutionary theory in the classroom. In the famous portrayal, Inherit the Wind (more drama that truth), the Christians are shown to be bigoted and mean. The hero is the lone science teacher who just wants a fair debate in the classroom.
Looking at the trail of fine scientists who have been villainized over mentioning design including denial of tenure and media attacks- the question is “Who are the bigots now?”.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Standing on the Promise Alone
“There can be no doubt whatsoever that all the troubles in the Church to-day, and most of the troubles in the world, are due to a departure from the authority of the Bible. And, alas, it was the Church herself that led in the so-called Higher Criticism that came from Germany just over a hundred years ago. Human philosophy took the place of revelation, man's opinions were exalted and Church leaders talked about 'the advance of knowledge and science', and 'the assured results' of such knowledge. The Bible then became a book just like any other book, out-of-date in certain respects, wrong in other respects, and so on. It was no longer a book on which you could rely implicitly.”
The Authority of Scripture - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
This past Sunday evening, we had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Robert Peterson, a distinguished Bible professor from Covenant Theological Seminary.
As I sat and listened to him, I was impressed with his precision perfect handling of the Word of God. He said what it said. He did not editorialize, he did not justify- he did no philosophical maneuvering.
He paused and allowed for questions. I raised my hand and asked a question that had popped in my mind during his discourse. He answered that the scriptures did not contain an answer to my question. I brought up that John Milton had thought about my subject and explored it in Paradise Lost. Dr. Peterson looked at me and said somewhat sternly, ‘Nice literature, but it is not God’s Word.” I took the criticism well.
We all tend to add things in the gaps where the God’s word is silent. Sometimes we feel a need to justify God or play philosophy over the “whys”. But Dr. Peterson is the most correct- Stand on the WORD! Let is say what it says. That is exactly what Jesus did when He was face to face with the Tempter.
Thank-you Dr. P- that was an admonishment I needed.
II Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
This Sunday we have a new room- we will meet in the choir practice room behind the sanctuary. Our topic will be “Sola Scrpitura” Scripture Alone. My prayer is that it will always be our only rule of faith and practice!
The Authority of Scripture - Martyn Lloyd-Jones
This past Sunday evening, we had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Robert Peterson, a distinguished Bible professor from Covenant Theological Seminary.
As I sat and listened to him, I was impressed with his precision perfect handling of the Word of God. He said what it said. He did not editorialize, he did not justify- he did no philosophical maneuvering.
He paused and allowed for questions. I raised my hand and asked a question that had popped in my mind during his discourse. He answered that the scriptures did not contain an answer to my question. I brought up that John Milton had thought about my subject and explored it in Paradise Lost. Dr. Peterson looked at me and said somewhat sternly, ‘Nice literature, but it is not God’s Word.” I took the criticism well.
We all tend to add things in the gaps where the God’s word is silent. Sometimes we feel a need to justify God or play philosophy over the “whys”. But Dr. Peterson is the most correct- Stand on the WORD! Let is say what it says. That is exactly what Jesus did when He was face to face with the Tempter.
Thank-you Dr. P- that was an admonishment I needed.
II Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
This Sunday we have a new room- we will meet in the choir practice room behind the sanctuary. Our topic will be “Sola Scrpitura” Scripture Alone. My prayer is that it will always be our only rule of faith and practice!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Miracle of Death
My wife Lisa used a phrase last night that has left me stunned. I cannot get it off my mind. She said that she experienced her father’s death as a miracle. Miracle?
It can’t be a miracle can it? Death is an enemy. It is what we fight against and what we fear. It can encompass more pain and agony than life can seem to bear.
Birth is a miracle. Death is a disaster. Right?
She said to her it seems like birth is God exhaling life. He breathes the life giving force on the jar of clay.
As she was with her sweet dad, a hero of life and faith, she watched God…inhale.
He was absent from the body and present with the Lord. She said it was a miracle.
We had all prayed for his healing. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. We all were hurt. This man was a husband of 53 years, the father of 6 wonderful children, and 17 beautiful grandchildren.
God responded to our prayers with another 10 years. They were tough years, especially at the end. But they were special. Life is special, regardless of the toil.
Then, as an 81 year-old hero who fought death to the bitter end, it was time to move on. Our prayers were answered fully as he was now eternally healed! Oh the hurt! To love much is to hurt much.
My wife was blessed to be there. She watched God inhale. And His sweet breath translated this man of a deep faith in Christ into paradise. He was loved by Jesus and reunited with his spiritual family.
John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
One day we will join them. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
It can’t be a miracle can it? Death is an enemy. It is what we fight against and what we fear. It can encompass more pain and agony than life can seem to bear.
Birth is a miracle. Death is a disaster. Right?
She said to her it seems like birth is God exhaling life. He breathes the life giving force on the jar of clay.
As she was with her sweet dad, a hero of life and faith, she watched God…inhale.
He was absent from the body and present with the Lord. She said it was a miracle.
We had all prayed for his healing. He was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. We all were hurt. This man was a husband of 53 years, the father of 6 wonderful children, and 17 beautiful grandchildren.
God responded to our prayers with another 10 years. They were tough years, especially at the end. But they were special. Life is special, regardless of the toil.
Then, as an 81 year-old hero who fought death to the bitter end, it was time to move on. Our prayers were answered fully as he was now eternally healed! Oh the hurt! To love much is to hurt much.
My wife was blessed to be there. She watched God inhale. And His sweet breath translated this man of a deep faith in Christ into paradise. He was loved by Jesus and reunited with his spiritual family.
John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
One day we will join them. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
PERSEVERENCE
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him:
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out--
God knows what He's about.
--Author Unknown
Seeing the whole story from beginning to end gives ample evidence that God is great and that He is good.
But what about the middle? Think about those long, dark nights. Imagine all the hauntings and accusations Scott must have felt. Is God there? Does He care? Why don’t you answer me God? Am I being punished? HELP!
“God will not give us grace for our vain imaginings. It is when we are actually
in the time of trial that the grace is given.”
(Dr. Lane Adams, former pastor, Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis)
“If you want a comfortable religion, do not pick Christianity” CS Lewis, God in Dock
Aragorn in “Lord of the Rings”
"Hold your ground! Hold your ground my brothers,
I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.
An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down,
but it is not this day!
This day we fight!!"
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And with every purpose fuses him:
By every act induces him
To try his splendor out--
God knows what He's about.
--Author Unknown
Seeing the whole story from beginning to end gives ample evidence that God is great and that He is good.
But what about the middle? Think about those long, dark nights. Imagine all the hauntings and accusations Scott must have felt. Is God there? Does He care? Why don’t you answer me God? Am I being punished? HELP!
“God will not give us grace for our vain imaginings. It is when we are actually
in the time of trial that the grace is given.”
(Dr. Lane Adams, former pastor, Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis)
“If you want a comfortable religion, do not pick Christianity” CS Lewis, God in Dock
Aragorn in “Lord of the Rings”
"Hold your ground! Hold your ground my brothers,
I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.
An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down,
but it is not this day!
This day we fight!!"
Thursday, August 09, 2007
NFL Hall of Fame
Did you see the National Football Hall of Fame enshrinement speeches? I know, I know… old men in yellow jackets, sweating profusely, and giving speeches is not a stop the channel surfing moment.
But I am always riveted by what these men say. These men represent the best of the best. They are the elite in a sport that requires a warrior like spirit and an incredible will to win. Most of these men play from 8 to 15 years in the league. I cannot imagine what that is like on the human body.
What they say is always inspiring. Hall of Famers have talent, but talent alone does not get you into Canton. These men have leadership skills and character. Here are quotes that are more common than rare:
Roger Wehrli (Cornerback, St Louis Cardianls)- “Finally, many of you know me as a man of faith. I believe that God has guided each and every move I've made. He's put the right people in the right places to bring me here, and I thank Him with all my heart for taking a little guy from a little town with little dreams and making me fit to wear the title of Hall of Famer.”
Bruce Matthews (Off. Line, Tenn Titans) I'd first like to say how honored and blessed I am to be here. If someone had told me when I was a kid that one day I would play in the NFL and let alone be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I wouldn't have believed them. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be standing up here today, and I'd like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for blessing me and my family so much…I've never been more aware of how much the Lord Jesus Christ has blessed me and loves me than at this very moment, and I want to thank Him again because that is where the credit is due. Thank you all for this amazing honor. Thank you.
Thurman Thomas (RB, Buffalo Bills) “To my wife Patti, what a design only God could have planned. I was a senior at Oklahoma State when I met a freshman golfer from Buffalo, New York. We dated my senior year. I got drafted to her hometown of Buffalo, New York. That's been almost 20 years. I sit here today and I say thank you, Patti, my friend, my wife, my mother, mother of my kids. It's been 20 years since we've been together, and I would like to take this time and this opportunity to let it be another 20 years we can spend together, but also with the plan of asking you, Will you marry me again? I love you.”
Rayfield Wright (2006 inductee, Dallas Cowboys) “First of all, I’d like to give praise and thanks to our father in heaven and through his son Jesus Christ that has given me the ability to play sports.”
If you read the transcript of the entire speeches, you will see that these are not token mentions.
These men have inspirational stories of family and faith.
The point: Jesus Christ makes a difference. He not only saves, He changes men. If you looked at Hall of Famers in all walks of life, you will see that Christ produces champions.
Let us allow Him to make champions out of us!
But I am always riveted by what these men say. These men represent the best of the best. They are the elite in a sport that requires a warrior like spirit and an incredible will to win. Most of these men play from 8 to 15 years in the league. I cannot imagine what that is like on the human body.
What they say is always inspiring. Hall of Famers have talent, but talent alone does not get you into Canton. These men have leadership skills and character. Here are quotes that are more common than rare:
Roger Wehrli (Cornerback, St Louis Cardianls)- “Finally, many of you know me as a man of faith. I believe that God has guided each and every move I've made. He's put the right people in the right places to bring me here, and I thank Him with all my heart for taking a little guy from a little town with little dreams and making me fit to wear the title of Hall of Famer.”
Bruce Matthews (Off. Line, Tenn Titans) I'd first like to say how honored and blessed I am to be here. If someone had told me when I was a kid that one day I would play in the NFL and let alone be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I wouldn't have believed them. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be standing up here today, and I'd like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for blessing me and my family so much…I've never been more aware of how much the Lord Jesus Christ has blessed me and loves me than at this very moment, and I want to thank Him again because that is where the credit is due. Thank you all for this amazing honor. Thank you.
Thurman Thomas (RB, Buffalo Bills) “To my wife Patti, what a design only God could have planned. I was a senior at Oklahoma State when I met a freshman golfer from Buffalo, New York. We dated my senior year. I got drafted to her hometown of Buffalo, New York. That's been almost 20 years. I sit here today and I say thank you, Patti, my friend, my wife, my mother, mother of my kids. It's been 20 years since we've been together, and I would like to take this time and this opportunity to let it be another 20 years we can spend together, but also with the plan of asking you, Will you marry me again? I love you.”
Rayfield Wright (2006 inductee, Dallas Cowboys) “First of all, I’d like to give praise and thanks to our father in heaven and through his son Jesus Christ that has given me the ability to play sports.”
If you read the transcript of the entire speeches, you will see that these are not token mentions.
These men have inspirational stories of family and faith.
The point: Jesus Christ makes a difference. He not only saves, He changes men. If you looked at Hall of Famers in all walks of life, you will see that Christ produces champions.
Let us allow Him to make champions out of us!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
A Creed to Live By
The 2007 football seniors met for a leadership retreat at the beginning of the season. We worked through expectations, goals, and requirements for this season. In the six sessions, each senior was asked to consider what it meant to be a leader and a Biblical man.
One of our activities was to begin writing a CPA football creed. This was based on the inspiring “Commodore Creed” that Coach Bobby Johnson uses at Vanderbilt. We have challenged the seniors to work with the coaches to come up with a creed that expresses the special process of CPA football and include our Christian distinctive.
I split the seniors into three groups and made it a competition to see which group could come up with the best “creed”.
Here are some of their individual lines within the results:
“Alone you will fail, together we will succeed”
“We suffer together so that we can persevere together”
“Be bold to stand against culture”
“Train and play like a champion”
“Live with humility”
“Honor your brothers”
“Christ, Brothers, Soldiers”
The coaches and seniors will work on this throughout the season and present our results at the football banquet in January. I know this will be a great process and these seniors will write a great creed. They have Christ as their example and God’s word as the standard.
Football is a special game. The pressure of competition and the physical contact creates a need for “brothers”. The heat and humidity of tough two-a-days and the soreness of a body from intense hitting forges a relationship that is very hard to communicate. It is the hard work and sacrifice that makes “Friday Night Lights” a significant rite of passage for millions of young men in our culture every year.
I am also confident that this process will be more than words. These guys are writing a creed that they will live by.
One of our activities was to begin writing a CPA football creed. This was based on the inspiring “Commodore Creed” that Coach Bobby Johnson uses at Vanderbilt. We have challenged the seniors to work with the coaches to come up with a creed that expresses the special process of CPA football and include our Christian distinctive.
I split the seniors into three groups and made it a competition to see which group could come up with the best “creed”.
Here are some of their individual lines within the results:
“Alone you will fail, together we will succeed”
“We suffer together so that we can persevere together”
“Be bold to stand against culture”
“Train and play like a champion”
“Live with humility”
“Honor your brothers”
“Christ, Brothers, Soldiers”
The coaches and seniors will work on this throughout the season and present our results at the football banquet in January. I know this will be a great process and these seniors will write a great creed. They have Christ as their example and God’s word as the standard.
Football is a special game. The pressure of competition and the physical contact creates a need for “brothers”. The heat and humidity of tough two-a-days and the soreness of a body from intense hitting forges a relationship that is very hard to communicate. It is the hard work and sacrifice that makes “Friday Night Lights” a significant rite of passage for millions of young men in our culture every year.
I am also confident that this process will be more than words. These guys are writing a creed that they will live by.
My Creedo- FOOTBALL
I believe in football- a special gift from God.
It is more than a game. It is a mirror of my soul and a molder of men.
It has taught me that a team is better than a man.
That service is better than selfishness.
That sweat and tears and toil is the path to victory.
That respect is earned and “free and easy” is cheap.
One day my journey will end.
The “two – a – days” I hated will be gone.
The sound of contact will only be an echo.
The hours of weight lifting and running- no longer required.
No more film, no more practice, no more ice bags.
Gone too will be the glory-
The thrill of Friday night and heartbeat of anxious moments
Singing silly songs of victory in the locker room
Experiencing quiet pleasures of a job well done
But for everyday I breathe on this planet
I will never forget
That I am a Lion
My Savior is the King
And my brothers are with me every step along the way.
Soli Deo Gloria
It is more than a game. It is a mirror of my soul and a molder of men.
It has taught me that a team is better than a man.
That service is better than selfishness.
That sweat and tears and toil is the path to victory.
That respect is earned and “free and easy” is cheap.
One day my journey will end.
The “two – a – days” I hated will be gone.
The sound of contact will only be an echo.
The hours of weight lifting and running- no longer required.
No more film, no more practice, no more ice bags.
Gone too will be the glory-
The thrill of Friday night and heartbeat of anxious moments
Singing silly songs of victory in the locker room
Experiencing quiet pleasures of a job well done
But for everyday I breathe on this planet
I will never forget
That I am a Lion
My Savior is the King
And my brothers are with me every step along the way.
Soli Deo Gloria
John Wayne Speaks Truth
“Everyone wants to feel useful in this old world, To hit a lick for
what’s right and say a word against what’s wrong even if you get
walloped for saying that word. Now I may sound like a Bible
beater yelling up a revival at a river camp crossing meeting, but
that don’t change the truth none. You do the one or the other. You
do the one and you’re living, the other and you’re dead on your
feet.”
John Wayne, The Alamo
I have been thinking about this classic quote all week. Jo House did a nice job
of showing two things- culture has changed, but even the “oasis of
civilization” without Christ doesn’t solve the problem of sin.
Our HERO is even better than John Wayne. True grit on the cross and he rose
from the dead to boot.
How tough and tender was our Lord! Have you ever thought about the fact
that Jesus kept His scars? Those scars were proof of the battle He had
endured. We often want the easy road. But the hard road offers the greatest
rewards.
what’s right and say a word against what’s wrong even if you get
walloped for saying that word. Now I may sound like a Bible
beater yelling up a revival at a river camp crossing meeting, but
that don’t change the truth none. You do the one or the other. You
do the one and you’re living, the other and you’re dead on your
feet.”
John Wayne, The Alamo
I have been thinking about this classic quote all week. Jo House did a nice job
of showing two things- culture has changed, but even the “oasis of
civilization” without Christ doesn’t solve the problem of sin.
Our HERO is even better than John Wayne. True grit on the cross and he rose
from the dead to boot.
How tough and tender was our Lord! Have you ever thought about the fact
that Jesus kept His scars? Those scars were proof of the battle He had
endured. We often want the easy road. But the hard road offers the greatest
rewards.
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