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Three empty crosses lay grotesquely across Golgotha’s barren and desolate knoll. The sun-dried blood, the convulsed earth, the litter of a mob all told the gruesome story of crucifixion. They had deserted Him, later found His tomb empty, and were now cowering in a house with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. In this house Jesus appeared to them.
As coaches and athletes, we put all of our hearts, bodies, and emotions into our endeavors. We’re instructed to “give it all we’ve got,” and as we do, we begin to understand what Paul was saying to the Colossian Christians.
Last week’s NCAA National Championship game between Duke and Butler was a classic and will be remembered for years to come. Regardless of who won (Duke, for anyone who missed it), the match displayed two well-coached teams, two well-devised game plans, and a match that was not decided until AFTER the final second ticked off the clock. Both coaches did their homework. They scouted their opponents and gleaned through every bit of information and video footage they could get their hands on. The players were well-informed, and everyone went forth with confidence that their plan would succeed.
I was listening to a song the other day. It's called "Give It All" by the band Rise Against. I usually listen to it for my warm-ups in sports. Everytime I listen to it, I get in my head, I'm going to give my all on this match, game, run, or whatever. But I got to thinking the other day, do we really give it OUR all?
Each new season starts out with a team meeting. The coach gives the team rules and goes over the expectations for the upcoming season. The coach makes sure that there is no question about what will be expected out of the athletes.
God is the ultimate head coach. Just as a good earthly coach goes over the rules, so does He. God gave His “team rules” to the Israelites through Moses, and He expected them to be followed.
When our earthly head coaches expect us to follow the team rules, they generally set out a reward. The reward might be a letterman’s patch or pin, or it could be lessened conditioning in practice. Whatever it is, the head coach makes sure that we know the rewards for following the team rules.
Larry Bird and Magic Johnson received plenty of coverage on last night’s NCAA Championship game with the anniversary of their classic game. Recently, I saw an interview where Magic Johnson was talking with LeBron James about the young man’s success in the league. The conversation eventually turned to former players who did so well in competition that they were simply known by one name or nickname. Athletes like MJ, Tiger, Junior, Kobe, Sweetness, Shaq, Magic, Dr. J, and now LeBron. James was honored to be considered part of such high athletic royalty, and he hopes that he will be around to see the next one-named guy come on the scene.
Paul writes in Romans and Jesus says in John that we are not to be of "this world" and in effort to doing so University of Mary FCA is taking on the BIG Challenge. I know what most of you are thinking... what is this BIG Challenge?
One of the highest viewed tv shows in America is called "Biggest Loser" which if you didn't know deals with people losing the most weight. Doctors have been telling us time and time again that being BIG is not a good thing, but here at UMary we think the opposite. BIG stands for Bring Incredible Glory, and that we what we are striving to do... not alone, but together in Christ. Which is where our verse of the year comes into play, "
As an English teacher, I instruct my students to look for symbols in literature. As a basketball coach, I often use symbols from literature to teach my players, such as in Genesis 3:11 where God asks Adam and Eve if they have eaten the forbidden fruit. Instead of telling the truth and asking for forgiveness, Adam blamed both God and Eve. When God asked Eve the same question, she blamed the snake. Since then, mankind has been pointing fingers and playing the blame game.
A few days ago I went to the funeral of a huge sports fan whose love for life was evident to all. His name was Mike. His father had worked for FCA for several years and was responsible for getting FCA started in the SEC schools in the 60s and 70s. Mike’s life was full of joy, but it ended tragically with a sudden heart attack. He left this life way too early in my opinion, but his legacy will live on. His life was based on hope in Christ.
In the 24th mile of the 2009 New York City Marathon, as the lead pack entered Central Park, Meb Keflezighi pulled away from four-time Boston Marathon champion Robert Cheruiyot. He floated over the final two miles, and, as he neared the finish, the crowd roared in approval. Meb pointed to the U.S.A. on his singlet, crossed the line, crossed his chest, kissed the ground and pointed to the sky. His time was a personal best 2:09:15, and he became the first American to win the race since Alberto Salazar in 1982. The next night, Meb appeared on Letterman and delivered “The Late Show’s” Top Ten.
Teresa L. Phillips is a sports pioneer. A former Vanderbilt basketball player, Phillips spent time as the head women’s basketball coach at Fisk University (Tenn.) and Tennessee State University for a number of years before becoming the first woman to coach a Division I men’s basketball team, which she took over at TSU for a short time in 2003. Now the TSU athletic director, Phillips was named one of the 101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated and Tennessee’s second-most influential sportswoman by The Tennessean—all this while becoming just one of a handful of female athletic directors in the country.
Deuteronomy 5 gives the account of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments from God. At the time, the commandments were given to protect God’s chosen people and bring life to the community, but, ultimately, all of the law was given to expose human sin and our need for a Savior.
Like many young kids, I had dreams of playing professional baseball. As I grew up, I began to realize that wasn’t going to happen overnight and that I’d have to work hard to get there.
As March Madness winds down, we can clearly see the parity that exists at the highest level of college basketball. It’s been excited to watch the thrilling overtime victories and the games that have been decided by three points or less. Teams have matched up toe-to-toe, scraped, hustled and competed to extend their seasons for one more game. At the end of every game, one team has been left celebrating while the other has left empty-handed, perhaps stunned, that the game got away in the final ticks of the clock.
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