Devotional
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August 14, 2013
Set:
I am training for a marathon—a grueling task that is even more difficult because I’m training alone. Some training runs have been up to 18 miles—all on my own. When I run it’s just me, the trail, and my MP3 player. Before I decided to do the marathon I told God I wanted to run for His glory. With a month of training to go, I realized something had become all too familiar to me. Even when I didn’t have on headphones, I was singing in my head. I had been listening to my MP3 so often that the songs were in my mind all the time. When I focused on the words, I realized something was wrong.
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August 13, 2013
Set:
Athletes today have an overwhelming amount of choices in what to drink while they work out. Sports drinks come in multiple brands, colors, and flavors. Water isn’t just water, now it has vitamins, minerals, and other benefits. Hardly anyone drinks plain water because sports drinks are advertised as a way to get an edge on the competition before, during, and after a workout or game.
Water was important to the people of the Old Testament. It was a daily struggle to go to the well and get enough water to cook, clean, drink, and bathe. A refreshing underground spring was a valuable resource. Many had to settle for a “cistern,” which was a hole dug in a rock to catch rainwater.
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August 12, 2013
Set:
NBA Player, Chauncey Billups, said, “To be a good leader, at some point you have to be a good follower. I was always a good follower. I always followed the right people and listened to the right things.
Those helped shape me as a leader.” So, are you a good follower?
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “Are you a leader or a follower?” when I was growing up. A subtle principle was communicated through that question: “be a leader not a follower!”
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August 12, 2013
Set:
Some people say that difficult times develop character. I believe, however, that hard times reveal the character that’s already inside a person.
In Romans 8:18, the Apostle Paul reminded his friends that in times of suffering we have a strong assurance that better things are on the way.
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August 11, 2013
Set:
Everybody knows that WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do.” A couple of years ago the saying swept across America like wildfire, becoming so popular that this witnessing tool also became a fashion statement, even to unbelievers. However, most athletes and coaches, men and women, young and old wore it to share their love for Christ. Even though WWJD is not new, the message is still powerful.
The last thing we need is another acronym, but GGTG is a great reminder for athletes and coaches. It should be the reason why we compete. As competitors, it helps us to focus on the main thing. The message is plain—it is not about us, but about Christ. So what does GGTG stand for? It stands for “Give God The Glory.”
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August 10, 2013
Set:
In the heat of the day, after a drill or competition, athletes crave water. Suddenly the person in demand is the water boy/girl. Being the water boy is not a well-recognized position, but we sure are thankful for their presence.The water boy, managers, or trainers bring relief and refreshment. The thirst of the athlete is quenched and they are able to continue. Without that water, the player’s performance would be weakened.
We are also spiritually thirsty. I’ve noticed a change in people’s attitude toward God, a lack of moral behavior, and a rise in materialism. A lack of love, bad moral choices, and the absence of parental involvement may be part of the problem; but what I believe we need is the nourishment of God’s Spirit.
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August 09, 2013
Set:
The foundation for success in any sport relies primarily on the mastery of fundamentals. Champion athletes spend time perfecting their skills by focusing on fundamentals. At times it may seem trite, but to error fundamentally could produce devastating miscues! It doesn’t matter at what level you compete, ignore the fundamentals and your performance will suffer.
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August 08, 2013
Set:
I’ll never forget attending my first professional basketball game. I sat two rows from the top of the stadium in the “nosebleed” section. Before the game, I went courtside to see the players up close. It was an awesome feeling standing there looking up. I could only imagine what it would be like during the game when those seats were full and the fans were cheering.
The word “clouds” in ancient Greek times referred to the highest seats in a stadium. If you had a ticket for one of those seats, the usher might have said, “Your seat is in the clouds today.”
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August 07, 2013
Set:
One of my favorite Olympic events is the high jump. It is quite simply a thing of beauty to see the competitors in this event propel their bodies over a bar suspended almost eight feet in the air. It seems so effortless. The goal of each jumper is to jump the highest that they can while obtaining a minimal amount of failures.
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August 06, 2013
Set:
As a child, I dealt with the embarrassment of having to wear glasses and braces. And to make matters worse, I had problems with my hearing which required me to wear a hearing aid and affected my speech. You can imagine the name-calling that ensued. I remember one day on the way home from school, I was so frustrated that I took off my hearing aid and threw it into a ditch. Needless to say, my parents weren’t too happy about that.
