Devotional
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December 13, 2009
Set:
Recently I was in a rough part of the world leading girls basketball clinics. I traveled by myself to work with some local believers. The word spread about the clinics and soon there was a lot of media coverage, including the national television station. I began to worry, as I did not want the whole country to know I was there. The next day a suicide bomb killed 20 people in the city where I was. Then my picture showed up on the cover of their newspaper for the work I was doing. I received a phone call from staff in the States advising that I get on the next flight out, but first to talk with my hosts and pray.
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December 09, 2009
Set:
We, as athletes do not wish for weakness, nor want anyone to see weakness in us. But weaknesses are instruments that can be used to make us stronger, if we have the courage to face them. In dealing with weaknesses, we must learn to surrender—to admit we have a shortcoming, then be willing to work on it. Sometimes it can be corrected; sometimes it must be accepted. Either way, surrendering will lead to the success of our team and produce maturity in us.
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December 07, 2009
Set:
At the beginning of this soccer season, we had a good combination of experienced/inexperienced starters and substitutes. I thought we were right where we needed to be. We jumped out to a 3-0 record. But then we lost a key forward due to a broken leg, and, two weeks later, our leading scorer broke his ankle. Fortunately, my players took it upon themselves to step it up. The bad thing was that each player did what he thought the team needed. They stopped listening to coaching instruction, stopped playing as a team and relied on their own individual talents. The season started to fall apart, and they found themselves at 3-4. It was time to rally the troops!
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December 06, 2009
Set:
I love sports movies, but my all-time favorite is "Hoosiers." It might have something to do with my being a former Indiana high school basketball player, and the movie was filmed in the 80's when I was in college. One scene stood out in the movie to me. In one game, Hickory (the high school) was in need of a sub, and the coach didn't have anyone to put in the game except Ollie the manager. So coach put him in late in the game, and Ollie got fouled and had to go to the line for two free throws. The crowd was yelling, the opposing team was taunting, and Ollie's knees were shaking as he stepped to the line.
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December 02, 2009
Set:
A recent study reports that only six percent of teens today believe that moral truth is absolute. Not good. Young people basically see life as a sliding scale. Truth has become relative, depending on the situation. In athletics, there are many truths that cannot be relative. Imagine if every athlete defined winning differently—one by score, one by hustle, one by the best fans, and so on. It would be chaos! Fortunately, or unfortunately, winning is defined by the scoreboard. Life without absolutes and boundaries leads to chaos.
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November 29, 2009
Set:
King Josiah was just eight years old when he began to change his world. Even at such a young age he decided to live in the ways of the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. I wonder if we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord at our age.
God asks us to change our lives—our worlds. If we think about it, our personal lives are pretty much our world. We feel like the world is falling apart when we are having difficulties. We do have the power to change a world—our world—when we rely on Christ, “not turn[ing] to the right or to the left.” And I believe that we can have an impact on others as well when we do “what is right in the Lord’s sight.” Don’t just read it!
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November 28, 2009
Set:
Wicked people live life with their heads on a swivel—looking for anybody or anything that might be after them. They might even sleep with one eye open! They live restlessly and peace is a foreign object. On the outside, these people may look like they have it all together, but inside their lives are complete messes. They only know wickedness, so they suspect everybody is just like them. Hence, they run even when no one is pursuing them.
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November 25, 2009
Set:
Moses warned the Israelites against failing to serve God. We should take this warning to heart. Jesus tells us, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me” (Matthew 25:40b). When serving God, we cannot help but serve others; and in serving others, we serve God.
Sports like tennis and volleyball require serving the ball. In an article, “Six Steps to a Better Serve,” the author wrote, “Serving is a skill that takes years of practice to master, and something that you can always improve upon. . . . Keep at it, take your time, and practice lots.” This applies to serving others as well.
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November 24, 2009
Set:
Hockey Chat: The Stanley Cup is the only trophy in professional sports that has the names of winning players, coaches, management and club staff engraved and passed to the new winner year after year.
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November 23, 2009
Set:
Mike was a great athlete. He could play almost any sport with ease. He was popular, and everyone wanted to follow his example. Mike had given his heart to Christ and had begun following God's plan, but his old friends and old ways resurfaced often. So, when he was approached recently by his friends who were going out to party and wanted him to attend, Mike had to make a choice.
