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What should we do when our friends repeatedly make the same sinful mistakes? Some would say, “I cannot change them.” Others would say, “That’s just who they are,” and even, “They will never listen to me.” However, if these friends are followers of Christ, we need to hold them to the commitments they made in Christ. They need to hold us to the same standard as well. We all need accountability. When someone feels he/she does not need it, that is the beginning of great trials ahead.
Chosen Attribute: Passion
Dictionary definition: “Any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling.”
My definition: “A strong desire or emotion that extends far beyond normal feelings and expectations.”
Webb Simpson's U.S. Open Championship trophy may tarnish with time, but his Savior's offer of salvation will forever be secure.
There is a lot of information to be digested in this lesson. Take your time to discuss the points where needed. Let the Spirit of God speak to your heart. Practically, it may be best to read the chapter first. Then, use the bullet points for clarification and discussion.
God Provides an Answer to the Vision
Read Daniel 11:2-12:13. The prophecy in this chapter is very detailed about events in the future. The accuracy and fulfillment of these events have led many skeptics to believe that this portion of Daniel was written by someone else after all the events occurred, but I am not a skeptic!
Here are some thoughts on the historical fulfillment of this vision:
If God’s will is a highway, Russ Ortiz doesn’t want to spend anymore time on the side roads.
After tearing through his first seven seasons in the majors with outstanding numbers, Ortiz found himself in unfamiliar territory in 2005. Not only did he make his first trip to the disabled list with a stress fracture in his ribs, he also experienced his first losing season at the major-league level. As a result, Ortiz, who came to Christ at an FCA Huddle meeting at the University of Oklahoma, found himself struggling with new challenges and frustrations. And what he learned was that God’s way is always better than man’s way.
Last December, STV asked Leah Rush, starting power forward of the nationally ranked University of Oklahoma women’s basketball team, to give readers a peek into her daily routine by logging a game-day journal.
Rush agreed and kept a dairy on Dec. 20, the day of the Sooners’ homecourt showdown with Ohio State, which was then a match-up between the third- and eighth-ranked teams in the country. To that point, the Sooners were undefeated on the season, but the Buckeyes stunned OU that night with a 74-67 upset. Certainly this journal looks different than Rush expected, but that’s life — a day in the life of a college athlete.
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The world’s definition of excellence is just based on performance. As soon as you’re not performing, no one in the media wants to talk to you anymore, and it’s easy to get down on yourself. It’s all wrapped up in performance. It’s like building your house on the sand. It’s very changing and fleeting, and eventually it’s going to be gone because no one is always on top of his or her game. When you find your identity in Christ and in what He’s done for you, it’s the unchanging, sturdy rock that you can always stand on. You can have a much healthier perspective on yourself and in life in general and in where your hope lies. When I’m not performing well, I lose my hope. I lose my joy. I get down. I get depressed.
The runners slipped past me one by one. When I looked behind me, I didn’t see anyone left. Denial set in. I couldn’t possibly be in last place, could I? It had felt like I was running right on pace!
I cranked my neck around—something our coach had told us never to do—and, in a panic, again, I saw no one. I couldn’t reconcile myself to the thought of finishing in last place. No runner who competes at state their freshman year could possibly finish last at the district meet in their sophomore year.
I knew I had to make the decision whether or not to finish the race. The thought crossed my mind that if I dropped out, I wouldn’t finish last, but something in my heart told me that that’s not what was supposed to happen.
Following the commonly traveled player-turned-coach path, Lebanon Valley women’s lacrosse coach Jackie Dando has gone from executing game plans to creating them. In her first year as head coach, the West Chester, Pa., native is drawing from her past experiences—and her faith—to lead the Dutchmen lacrosse program and help athletes develop as self-confident women away from the game.
This summer, thousands of world-class athletes will descend upon London to represent their countries at the Olympic Games. Among them will be a group of believers who will also be representing Jesus Christ as they square off in competition. some of these Christian athletes shared what it means to compete for Christ on the world’s greatest athletic stage.
FCA encourages donors to consider other unique giving opportunities beyond cash as a means to impact the ministry. Much of the world’s wealth is tied up in assets rather than available in cash. Donors can be good stewards and leave a legacy through estate planning and the donation of non-cash assets.
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Key Verse:
So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.
Genesis 1:27
We have all had bad days—days when we wondered what we were doing with our lives. For me, a bad day is when I feel I don’t want to be principal any more…a day when I say to God, “Remember me? I’m one of your boys—the coach. I’m the guy who wrote the books—the devotionals. Lord, is this supposed to be happening?” We’ve all wondered why Christians have to go through the storms of life. If we’re honest, we have a tendency to think that maybe some other folks in the world deserve tough times more than we do.
Marquette’s football team was 10–0 heading into the final game of the season, facing the possibility of the program’s first championship. But a few days before the game, the coach received a call: sixteen of his starters had been arrested for underage drinking! Team rules dictated alcohol use as punishable by suspension. The next week the coach watched his team’s hopes evaporate into a 63–0 loss while sixteen regular starters stood on the sidelines.
If you think about it, the idea of lifting weights seems like an odd concept. “You want me to do what to my body? Why would I intentionally hurt myself? That doesn’t make any sense.” But we all know that even though our bodies are initially torn up they rebuild themselves to become much stronger and tougher.
I will never forget playing basketball my freshman year of college. I had just graduated from a Christian high school and was ready to impact all of my fellow teammates. While on road trips, I would have to stay in a room with two other teammates. During every trip, I would deliberately take out my Bible at night and do a quiet time, thinking that if my teammates saw me reading the Bible, they would ask questions. I thought by doing this, I was being a leader.
At the same time I was doing quiet times, I was struggling with sinful language. During practices, games, or just walking around campus with my teammates, profanity was always coming out of my mouth. I felt I had to be that way to get respect from my teammates and to be taken seriously.
A Christian athlete speaks throughout the community about his faith and then gets arrested for drug use. A Christian coach prays with his team before every game and then it is discovered that he has been illegally recruiting players for years. A pastor builds a church from 200 to 2,000 members and then leaves his wife and children to run off with the church secretary.
Goal
Most memorable classic victories involve a last-second heroic goal, a fourth-quarter interception at the goal line or a game seven, three-point jumper at the buzzer. Is this type of victory exciting? Yes. But certain? Probably not. Those kinds of victories rely on variables of chance in order to record the win. In our Christian experience, Jesus our Champion has already defeated our foe.
The creek behind our backyard in Lexington, Ky., was where my older brother and I spent most of our time growing up. Our family of four did a lot together, and it was usually outdoors—playing sports, camping, boating and much more. My parents also took us to church, and when I was 12 years old I accepted Christ. Looking back, though, I didn’t live a life that professed Christ. What I said or did wasn’t always what my heart told me I should be saying or doing.
A while ago, I spent a long time recovering from a torn calf muscle. As a cross country and track coach, and as a runner myself, I had been very frustrated and annoyed by this injury. Not being able to run was a huge challenge. I couldn’t show my athletes the steps I wanted them to take. I couldn’t even jog a step without pain shooting through my leg. On top of that I found myself in a bad place mentally.
I love coaching. I love it so much that I could spend all of my waking hours at it. This all-consuming nature of my sport means that most coaches’ spouses are basically single parents. Too many end up divorced. My wife, Kim, would probably have left me if I had been a coach before now.
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