I know all of us have heard about "the story," right? The story of how we are forgiven for all our sins because Jesus came and died for us.

Last weekend I was in Medford playing soccer. In our last game, I was a little too fired up and used some words I don't want to mention again. And before the game I had specifically said, "Lord, I’m playing for You." After the game was over I realized that I had completely gone back on my word. I’d gotten caught up in the competition.

Kobe Bryant said that Karl Malone was like a "big brother — a mentor," as well as a friend to him last year as he played alongside of him as part of the Los Angeles Lakers. This week, their relationship has blown up in front of the whole nation. In response to the fireworks, Charles Barkley said that these two "know better. They know to take care of these things in private and not let it out into the public."

In Matthew, Jesus says that we should approach those who have hurt us first and foremost in private — one on one. We should be honest and try to show them how they've upset us. Chances are we can work it out right then and there, as many conflicts between "brothers" are miscommunications and are readily forgiven.

Whoever said life is a roller coaster must have been a coach. It seems that on a daily basis, the coaching profession can send us rocketing toward glorious, adrenaline-boosted highs. But it can also throw us into a downward spiral with exasperating emotional lows.

I was in graduate school when the dean from a Christian college where I was working asked me to coach the women’s field hockey team (the team’s head coach had fallen ill). Although I loved playing field hockey, I had never considered coaching. But the players were due to arrive in two days, the dean looked desperate, and I didn’t have the heart to say no. I knew the game like a close friend—how hard could it be?

Bobby turned the ball over for the fourth straight possession and the coach called time-out. As Bobby came to the bench his teammates were all over him. Bobby’s response was “Where’s the love guys?” At that moment there was very little love for Bobby or anyone on the team. They allowed the distraction of the turnovers to affect their attitudes toward their teammate.

The key ingredient of any relationship is love—agape love—a love that is self-sacrificing and cares more about the person than any situation. Every gift we have been given by God needs to be exercised in this kind of love—God’s genuine love. What do we do when evil sets in or when we go off on a teammate? We need to cling to what is good.

In the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, sprinter Bob Hayes tied the Olympic record on his way to winning the gold medal in the 100-meter dash. Just a few months later, Hayes was dashing past defensive backs as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. It was a radical idea at the time: taking a world-class sprinter and turning him into a football player. Hayes’s success altered defensive strategy and changed how football was played.

Last weekend's dramatic NCAA Regional Championship games have many of us bursting with anticipation for Saturday night's Final Four match-ups. What started as 64 teams has become four. On Monday night, only one will remain above them all.

“The wait is finally over. The White Sox have won the pennant.” Many people in the organization have had to wait a long time to get to the World Series. Every person on the team and each fan would say it has been worth the wait, but it wasn’t easy in the process. Waiting is one tough job! In sports today, players and teams are waiting … waiting patiently for their time to shine.

In God’s Word, Isaiah wrote in chapter 40 that waiting is a good thing. The word “wait” does not measure time spent, but rather it is a process of strengthening until fulfillment. Let me suggest three reasons why we must wait on the Lord: