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March 21, 2010
Set:
Lo-debar was a frontier town east of Jordan that controlled a crucial plateau. Although a remote place, Lo-debar was an important route to the interior of the Bashan-Giliad area. Lo-debar was strategically located but not a desirable place to live. It was a town belonging to the tribe of Gad, a tribe that was committed to aiding the king of Israel whenever he needed help. Lo-debar was the town where the Philistines killed King Saul and his son Jonathan, and it became a Philistine stronghold. Later it became the headquarters of King David during the rebellion of his son Absalom. All things considered, it was not the most desirable place to live.
October 09, 2008
Set:
There’s something about purpose, something about buying into the concept of destiny that inherently evens the odds.
Nowhere will you find more examples of this principle than in the Bible, where unlikely heroes saved entire nations. Moses was a self-conscious exile with a speech problem, yet God used him to free the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. David was an undersized shepherd boy living under the shadow of his strong, able-bodied older brothers; still he was empowered to kill the mammoth Philistine warrior Goliath and rescue his people from certain defeat. Mary was a teenage girl from a nondescript lineage, but God called her to be the mother of Jesus, the Savior of the world.
April 26, 2012
Set:
Imagine running a race with your jeans hanging low or while wearing bagging sweat pants. You'll either wind up tripping or waddling like a penguin. Regardless, you are sure to lose the race. However, if you are serious about winning, you will do all that you can to keep yourself from tripping or being slowed down.
Second Timothy 2:4 says, “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” The Greek word “empleko” refers to a person who is tangled up in his or her garments or caught in some type of vine. This word was used to describe someone who was running and got his clothes entangled in his legs.
October 07, 2005
Set:
Those of us who watch a lot of sports programs on television have probably seen the St. Louis Cardinals’ “blanket” commercial. It begins with a man who wraps a red St. Louis Cardinals’ blanket around himself. As it turns out, the blanket is the one constant in his life as he grows up. As a child, he uses it as a cape when he runs up the steps, and he drapes it over his bed when he studies. It is on the seat when he learns to play the drums as a teenager, in the trunk when he moves out of the house, and around his girlfriend while they watch a movie. The commercial ends with the man wrapping the blanket around his child as these words come on the screen: “Without sports, what would we hold on to?”
April 19, 2009
Set:
In college, my computer teacher taught me the acronym GIGO. It stands for “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” As athletes, we know that this phrase can relate to our bodies. If we fill ourselves with junk, junk will come out in the form of poor performance.
The GIGO acronym is even more powerful when we apply it to our hearts. If we put garbage in our hearts, garbage comes out. Think about this: if a tube of toothpaste is squeezed, what comes out? Mustard? No, toothpaste comes out, because that is what was put in the tube.
December 01, 2008
Set:
By most accounts, Kay Yow shouldn’t be one of the greatest women’s basketball coaches of all time. History alone presents many reasons why her rise to legendary status was improbable at best.
August 10, 2010
Set:
As athletes, we’re likely more skilled in our sport today than when we first started playing. After we initially picked up that ball or held that hockey stick or bat, we made the choice to practice and play and to improve and grow.
As college athletes, my teammates and I chose to work on our individual skills and watch game film to improve and be prepared for upcoming games. We chose to grow every day so that we could continue to help our team be successful.
January 01, 2009
Set:
Trust is a funny thing. It takes years to build but can be destroyed in an instant. Trust requires honesty, communication, loyalty and proven moral integrity. It is one of the foundational elements behind every great team.
Andy Pettitte knows all about the fragile nature of trust. He has spent his entire life building up trustworthy relationships with his family, his friends, his teammates, the baseball community and the public at large. Yet a single seemingly insignificant misstep can open the door for doubt, which often then results in a certain measure of distrust. In today’s society, it doesn’t take much for a cynical public (and an even more cynical media) to question one’s integrity and chip away at that bedrock of trust.
February 15, 2011
Set:
As an athlete, I get hungry after a workout. We all do! If we don't eat, it affects everything we do. We get lazy and don't want to do anything. An average human needs to eat at least every four to five hours.
The same mindset we have for eating actual food should also be the mindset we have for taking in God's Word. His Word has to be honey to our lips and water to our souls. If we go too long without eating spiritual food we will turn to desires of the flesh to satisfy those internal needs.
October 03, 2012
Set:
On Monday we shared the story of Texas Rangers' All-Star Josh Hamilton, whose career was initially derailed by drug and alcohol addiction. After several stints in rehab, he was still unable to escape those vices under his own power. Looking back, he admits he didn’t realize how he was hurting those closest to him as his life revolved around satisfying his craving for more drugs and alcohol. Once he hit bottom at his grandmother’s home in 2005, his heart was opened to God’s love and how much he needed Him to overcome his addictions and heal the brokenness in his life.
September 02, 2009
Set:
As a defensive player in soccer, I often hear the phrase: "When in doubt, kick it out." In soccer, if you mess around with the ball in the back, it can result in a point for the opposing team. And that is bad! So, when a ball comes to those of us on defense and we are unsure whether or not we have time to pass it, we kick it out.
In life, we sometimes have things that we think might be impure, but we are not really sure, so we keep them in our lives. Keeping impure things in our lives, however, separates us from God and hurts our witness.
May 25, 2005
Set:
In working with a college Huddle, I hear many struggles and things that the athletes are going through. The pressures of athletic competition are tough, and many athletes turn to the wrong things. They hide their struggles in various places--the internet, a bottle or other things much worse. But they need to know that there is hope!
February 21, 2005
Set:
Colin Falls of Notre Dame had his day in the limelight. Not only did he score 23 points by hitting seven 3's, but he saved the game by taking a charge in the last 20 seconds of the game. Falls understood his role for the game against Boston College and helped to knock them from the ranks of the undefeated.
Paul was one believer who knew his role with Christ. Though he could have boasted about the great things he was doing for Christ, he understood his place. He knew it was by grace that he was saved and that it wasn't anything that he did to bring glory to himself. He was honored to do his part in building God's kingdom. Paul did what it took to get God's word to the people who needed to hear the message. He knew his role.
January 01, 2009
Set:
When Steve Fitzhugh picks his friends, he does so very methodically, carefully and selectively. There are certain qualities he looks for in people, and he takes an almost formulaic approach to all potential relationships. And he teaches others to do the same.
For instance, Fitzhugh says the primary quality of a close friend is that he or she is like-minded in his or her faith. The individual must have accepted Jesus as his or her Savior and must have made a long-term commitment to following Him. But that’s just the beginning of Fitzhugh’s laundry list, which also includes trust, confidence and character.
December 23, 2010
Set:
Several years ago, I was given a North Face-brand fleece and coat as a Christmas gift. Most people are familiar with the North Face brand and know that it’s top-of-the-line and made to last a lifetime. In fact, the company backs up its products with a guarantee to make repairs or replace the item at no cost.
May 05, 2010
Set:
Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Ben Zobrist wasn’t drafted by Major League Baseball out of high school. In fact, he wasn’t even offered a baseball scholarship to play in college. Yet, after attending a skills showcase the summer after his senior year, one college coach saw potential in Zobrist and offered him a position on the team.
Now one of the brightest young infielders in the game, Zobrist has experienced a divine path to success—both on the field and off. Just before the start of the 2010 season, Zobrist sat down with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine to talk about that career, his family and, most importantly, his faith in Jesus Christ.
December 01, 2008
Set:
Mixing faith and athletics has always been a tricky proposition. Some believe the two are inseparable, while others don’t think God has—or even cares to have—a place in the sports world.
In 2001, the folks at Catholic Supply decided to throw their opinion into the public arena by releasing a series of statuettes that depict Jesus playing various sports (baseball, golf, tennis, hockey, and so forth) with adolescents. These figurines quickly became a big hit but also took plenty of shots from the media and the entertainment world—in particular from Conan O’Brien, who regularly included them in innocuous comedy bits on his late-night talk show.
November 29, 2010
Set:
Andrew had an interesting season. He started as the back-up quarterback, and then after four games he became the starter for four games, and then he was moved to receiver where he played the final four games as a receiver/quarterback. His team did not finish as they would have liked and missed a bowl game. During the season, the team suffered through a six-game losing streak. As each week went by with loss after loss, you could see it wearing on most of the team. But Andrew had more on his mind than worrying about the previous week's loss.
July 29, 2010
Set:
I play softball for my high school, and I love it. The game, the fans, my fellow athletes—everything about the whole experience. I love it all! Every now and then in a game I am faced with a situation in which I need to take one for the team. Whether that is allowing myself to be hit by an inside pitch to get to first base, or trying to hit a grand slam to get more runs, or sitting on the bench so that another player can play. There are many chances for me to do whatever I need to in order to help the team.
August 31, 2006
Set:
Competitive toughness is something all athletes strive for. Tennis legend Chris Evert once said, "Competitive toughness is an acquired skill, not an inherited gift." The ability to be tough mentally and physically in sports today is something that athletes have to work for daily. For example, just because your parents may have been great athletes does not mean it will come to you, as well. You have to work on it.
June 30, 2010
Set:
Mephibosheth had lived in Lo-debar since the death of his father, Jonathan, and his grandfather, King Saul. He desperately wanted to leave the forsaken town that was a constant reminder of his father and grandfather’s deaths. He was faced with the constant threat that the Philistines would kill him as well. As a cripple, he had trouble traveling and feared returning to Jerusalem, since it was customary for a new king to eliminate all members of the former royal family to prevent retaliation to the throne. Mephibosheth must have yearned for a better life.
October 07, 2005
Set:
We’ve all said it: The secret to success is practice, practice, practice. Sometimes we’ll put the word “perfect” in front of all of those “practices” to nail down an even more effective plan. We all know that without practice we’ll never reach the level of play that we desire.
When I was in high school, I trusted my coaches completely, so I practiced whatever they told me to. I desired success, which helped me to listen to them and heed their advice. In the same way, when we read that Paul urges us to “do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me,” we would be wise to heed his advice. A quick scan of the context reveals some of what Paul would want us to put into practice:
September 03, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Hockey takes a lot of strength. There are all kinds of ways to build muscle and work on our cardio. Everything from weights to treadmills. They all help prepare us physically. But to win the game you have to not only be able to play it, you have to know it. NHLr’s get head strong by watching hours of film and studying the game to learn the game with their mind to go along with their body. They strengthen both.
May 17, 2011
Set:
I once overheard of a group of coaches discussing what they were going to do with a certain player who had problems following the team rules. He’d had plenty of issues, but the final straw came when they found out he was caught up in drugs. Some of the coaches wanted to kick the young man off the team, but the head coach did not. He justified keeping the young man on the team by telling this story…
October 07, 2005
Set:
In 1982, the Miami Dolphins football team faced the New England Patriots at Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Snow began to fall during the game, and by the fourth quarter the wintry conditions had contributed to a scoreless tie. But late in the game, the Patriots drove down the field and came within field-goal range, where a successful kick would likely win the game. The New England coach ordered a snowplow to clear a spot for the kicking team, enabling the kicker to set his foot firmly on the turf. As a result, he kicked the game-winning field goal.
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