“The difference between champions and near champions is the ability to play for something outside of self.” – Lou Holtz, Hall of Fame football coach

What comes first, success or confidence? For most of us, we are confident when we are successful, but how do we get that initial confidence? Can we be confident without the evidence of success? It’s like the old question: “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” We want to believe we can succeed, but we need proof. We think we have to actually see David defeat Goliath before we believe it’s possible.

Very few people know what it’s like to play in the NFL. Even fewer know what it’s like to play in a Super Bowl. Only one knows what it is like to be the starting quarterback in four consecutive.

His name is Jim Kelly, and he is a football legend. From 1986 to 1996, as the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills, Kelly led his team to four consecutive Super Bowls, was selected to five Pro Bowls and passed for more than 35,000 career yards. Years before he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, his poster graced the bedroom walls of kids nationwide, and his football cards were placed carefully into thousands of collectors’ albums.

Matt Holliday has been around the block. As a 7-year major league veteran, he knows that the season is long and that patience is required. When the 2010 season didn’t start out as planned for the Cardinals outfielder widely known for swinging a hefty bat, he didn’t panic. In the face of low offensive numbers, Holliday stayed focused, kept working with his hitting coach (a fairly well-known former hitter named Mark McGwire), and, by mid-June, his perseverance was paying dividends. The three-time All-Star was again posting giant numbers at the plate. He slammed enough home runs and RBIs to earn his seventh NL Player of the Week award on June 21 and, in the process, earned a spot on his fourth MLB All-Star roster.

The single most foundational truth of the Christian faith is what the Bible refers to as the gospel; that is the good news of Jesus Christ.  It is quite possibly the most overlooked part of our relationship to God, or lack there of, yet is absolutely the most essential aspect of knowing and connecting with Him. 

Without the good news of Jesus the Bible has no validity.  Without the good news of Jesus our faith is worthless. Without the good news of Jesus we have absolutely no hope of ever entering God's kingdom, learning His ways, knowing Him, going to heaven, or enjoying the life God intends for us to have.  (1 Corinthians 15:12-28; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12).