In my first year as a football coach, I was unsure of what to expect. But I went into the season with one goal: being satisfied not with producing a winning record, but with producing winning athletes.

Billy Graham once stated that one coach would influence more people in one year than the average person would in a lifetime. This was an idea I took to heart. At the beginning of the season, I had no idea who my players were or what their backgrounds were like, but I did know one thing: while they were on my team they were going to learn not only about football, but about life and God.

How many times do you make a promise and really keep it? Every day, my 7-year-old comes to me with my baseball glove and asks me to play catch. I sometimes catch myself saying, “I promise, in a few minutes.” Then he walks away, and time goes by without me keeping my word. He gets disappointed, and I feel bad for forgetting. I never intend to go back on my word, but it does happen from time to time.

One thing we know from God and His Word is that when He makes a promise, He always follows through. Here is a great definition of a promise: an assurance that God gives His people so that they can walk by faith while they wait for Him to work. Here are four promises that God has given us:

As the time winded down at the end of the Illinois/Louisville game in the 2005 NCAA Final Four, the celebration began. Players began to jump up and down, coaches started to walk towards each other to exchange pleasantries, and one player stood alone. Roger Powell, Jr. stood at the foul line focused on one thing.

Historically, as found throughout scripture, when victory was won in battle the people of God gave praise to the Lord. But many kings and warriors over the years also chose not to give proper praise to God for His goodness in battle. They chose to celebrate how great they were instead of how great God was in the victory. This is still a fault of many today.

When the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens are getting ready to go into battle, the sound system blasts music and the giant screens exhort the team to “Protect this House.” This same scene is replayed week after week in stadiums all around the league. In the history of sports, there has never been a team that has liked losing on their home field. That is why most homecoming games are scheduled against competition that the home team should easily defeat.

God refers to our bodies as His house. Because we are believers, the Holy Spirit actually lives inside of us. And because God lives within us, He expects us to protect His house! This is a high standard, especially since we live in a culture that promotes winning above all else.