Devotional
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September 26, 2012
Set:
As a basketball coach, I’ve always put a big emphasis on communication among our team during practice on the court because, without it, players seem lost. It’s frustrating as a coach to watch mistakes occur when all it takes is a little talking to one another to get things corrected. I sometimes stop practice and ask the kids why they can get in trouble for talking in class, or how they can talk for hours on their cell phones, but when it comes to communicating on the court, they just won’t do it.
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September 25, 2012
Set:
Recently, I was reminded of a football game my younger brother played years ago. It was a classic Friday-night match-up between the top two teams in the conference. Both teams were highly rated for both their dominant defense and offensive efficiency. Each entered the battlefield with spotless conference records and brought bus-loads of fans to the game. The atmosphere was thick with pressure.
As in any such classic battle, the game was well-played on both sides, and it all came down to the last stand. My brother’s team was down by four. They had the ball on the one-yard line and four full downs to get into the end zone.
“Defense!” was the cry from across the field. “Stand firm!”
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September 24, 2012
Set:
It was the biggest decision of my life: What was I going to be when I grew up? I was a junior in high school, and I felt like I had to decide what college to attend and what my major would be. And to those pressure-packed questions I added the anxiety of getting a high score on my ACTs. I remember thinking, "How can I make such big decisions? There are so many choices! How will I know what to choose?"
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September 19, 2012
Set:
High school football season is in full swing, so it’s a good time for me as a coach to do some evaluating by asking what kind of effort we are giving in order to make our team successful. As I’ve been examining the effort of our team, I’ve thought a lot about spiritual matters, as well.
Many coaches and athletes will give maximum effort in order to be a winning team. There is great satisfaction in giving your all and having it pay off. And when November arrives, some of these teams will have secured playoff berths and won championships. They will feel rewarded for their efforts.
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September 18, 2012
Set:
There’s a scene in the Disney movie “Aladdin” in which Jasmine is out on the balcony of her palace and Aladdin is on his magic carpet trying to get her to come with him and go explore “A Whole New World.” The key line in the scene is when Aladdin says to Jasmine, “Do you trust me?” Jasmine agrees to trust Aladdin and is taken on the ride of her life!
That same type of trust is required from us as Christians when we decide to follow God. With God, belief alone is not enough; we must trust Him with our lives. Just believing in God is no good to us. We need to have faith in Him, and trust is the next step from faith.
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September 17, 2012
Set:
It seems like, in this day and age of the free agent, the pressure on our coaches to win is heavier than ever. Everyone is chasing the brass ring. More and more coaches just want to land that next big job. They are constantly looking at the green grass on the other side of the fence. Don’t get me wrong, I am an extremely competitive person, myself. I can’t stand to lose! It seems, however, that just like everything else, we have taken the “win at all cost” mentality to a very dangerous level.
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September 14, 2012
Set:
Basketball has brought me so much in my life, and I have such a passion for the game. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through it is one that I learned during my college career. I learned that my love and passion for the game does not come from my own ability but from the love that Jesus has for me. It is the gift He’s given me that brings out joy when I compete on the court.
When it came time to choose a career, I knew that I wanted to teach the game of basketball and develop athletes not only as players but as people. So, what profession do you think I went into after graduation? The wonderful world of collegiate coaching, of course!
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September 13, 2012
Set:
Something I recently learned has come from watching cross country. My daughter started competing in the sport for the first time, and it’s been amazing to see the gifts God has given some of these teens to be able to run with such speed and just awesome talent.
The thing I have really come to love is watching the runners at the back of the pack—the ones who have to struggle and fight and overcome so many obstacles just to be out there to run. They fight just to finish as their teammates cheer them on. They are the ones who put me in awe and make my heart burst with pride.
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September 12, 2012
Set:
When God transforms a person’s life, it always leads people to realize His glory. In cases of true transformation at the work of His Holy Spirit, the power of God will be what is most noticed, not the power or personal glory of the individual whose life was changed.
There is a natural tendency in all of us to replace the word “God” with the word “me” when we read the verse above from Galatians 1:24. But there is incredible power in a life that shuns the pursuit of self and surrenders everything for the pursuit of God.
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September 11, 2012
Set:
What are athletes without goals? Goals are obstacles that help us reach higher levels of ability. In Philippians 3:14, Paul says we should keep running for the goal God has for us. In doing this, we all have to lean on the Lord to know where we are going.
