You know them well. They sit in the stands, crowd around the locker rooms after a game, write the articles in the paper, cover the news locally and nationally … Yes, you know them well. I call them the "Joy Killers." They have a mission: to make sure you don't enjoy success. If you win, they will tell you it was by too much. If you have your best night ever, they will tell you someone did it better. If you are breaking every kind of record, they will tell you it was not that big of a deal.
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Devotional
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Passing the Torch
Set:The NBA … it's fantastic. Well, maybe not. But at playoff time it does get pretty exciting. The Indiana Pacers are once again making a push for the coveted title. The Pacers are not being led by the deadly sharp shooting of Reggie Miller this season, but the powerful play of two younger players — Ron Artest and Jermaine O’Neal. Reggie's days are ending, and he is passing the torch to his teammates. He knows he cannot carry the load like in years past. It is time for the younger, more youthful players on his team to step up, take on the responsibility, and lead their team to a championship. Reggie no doubt will do his job, but his best days are behind him now.
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The Squeeze
Set:The life of a coach goes something like this: gets up early, goes to office, teaches class or watches film, meets with other coaches, has a lunch meeting, goes over more film, reviews scouting reports, teaches more class, prepares for team meetings, has team meetings, has team practice, has follow-up meetings with coaches and players, and finally leaves for home. Once they get home, they review homework, chat with their spouse, spend time with kids, read a bedtime story, make a couple of calls, and finally eat dinner.
Obviously, the life of a coach is a busy one — sometimes too busy. But is something missing? How could anything more possibly fit into that busy day? What is missing is vitally important, eternally important. This is where the squeeze comes in.
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The Lost One
Set:Wright College had a football team of 100 players. Every player knew the system, except for one. He was lost. A freshman who had never played football before, and had walked on to the team. He thought it would be fun, but he was lost. Everything seemed foreign to him. On plays, he would go one way, and everyone else another. He was always last in drills and always making his unit run for his struggles. Many players did not like this freshman, but he was still part of the team — the body. Ninety-nine players and one who was lost.
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The King of Kings
Set:They call him a king, yet he is only 19. They say he is the lord of his court, yet he failed to conquer all his foes. They say he will rule over all one day, but I seriously doubt it. Who is this king? King James — LeBron James, that is. Many have labeled him the next Jordan, the next Magic, the next hero of the league. But even though he is very good, LeBron James is NO king. He is one man, not THE man!
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Horse Power
Set:There had not been an undefeated winner in the Kentucky Derby since Seattle Slew did it in 1977. Fans watching the 2004 Derby saw a Pennsylvania-bred horse named Smarty Jones, with a trainer and a jockey who were both Derby rookies, end the 27-year drought by running his record to 7-0. Jockey Stewart Elliott said, "At the three-eighths pole I was biding my time. I knew I had a loaded gun beneath me. He straightened up, switched leads, and I figured it was time to go."
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Deliverance
Set:Southside High had a good baseball team. They were one of the top teams in their conference and area. They had great hitting, fielding and pitching. The Stars (Southside's nickname) were playing in the area tournament. In their first two games they fell behind, caught up, took the lead, and in both games with bases loaded, Coach brought in their closer, Mark, whom everyone called Flick. In both games, Flick came in and brought his team from near defeat to the championship game with his flawless pitching.
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I Am First
Set:Our whole goal in sports is to finish first, to be at the top when the battle is over. We train day after day, sometimes for years to accomplish our goal of being number one. What happens if we don't succeed in reaching our goal? Can we handle the consequences?
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Defining Moment
Set:As the most feared hitter in baseball, there isn't much that San Francisco Giants' slugger, Barry Bonds hasn't accomplished. His six MVP awards and record-setting 73-home run season can attest to that fact. After hitting his 660th home run to tie Willie Mays for third place on the career home run list, Bonds said, "[I] finally feel like I've accomplished something in the game of baseball."
Saul was a man who was a very accomplished leader of the Jewish religion (see Philippians 3:4b-6), but it was an encounter with Jesus that ultimately defined his life. That was the point when everything in his life changed. He became the Apostle Paul and began preaching Christ as forcefully as he once persecuted His followers.
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Chicken Little
Set:The main difference between a good quarterback and a great quarterback is the ability to not panic. The great quarterback knows there is always time to win. A great player pulls the game out of fire with minutes or even seconds left.
The classic story of panic evolves a little guy called Chicken Little. This was an instance when a nut caused a great deal of trouble. The poor little guy was hit with an acorn falling from a tree and believed the sky was falling.
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