Devotional
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July 27, 2010
Set:
My youngest daughter and I recently ventured out on a three-day backpacking trip. Our biggest concern was finding water on our second day. We had a water-purifying pump with us, but if we didn't find any water, the pump would be useless.
Days before the trip, I had prayed that we would find enough water to get us through. When we made it to our camping area, we found a water hole that was 2'x1' with about eight inches of water in it. We had enough water for the evening, but we weren't sure we’d have enough for the next day. That night we were hit with a thunderstorm, and it rained through the night. The next morning, we found that our water hole had become a raging brook. We even had a hard time crossing it!
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July 26, 2010
Set:
Death is always a difficult topic to grasp. Whenever someone dies we always wonder, where was God when they died, and why did He let it happen to them? From movie stars, professional athletes, and other celebrities to firefighters, police officers, and loved ones; our hearts are filled with grief and for a while everything pales in comparison to our loss.
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July 26, 2010
Set:
David believed in both personal and corporate worship, and therefore his public life reflected his private life. In fact, David’s love for God affected the worship of an entire nation. We read in 1 Chronicles 16 how the nation of Israel brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, and as a result, David called upon key worship leaders to sing and make music to the Lord. “On that day David decreed for the first time that thanks be given to the LORD by Asaph and his relaives” (1 Ch 16:7). Given that David was a musician and songwriter and Asaph was a worship leader, the psalm in 1 Chronicles 16 is filled with praise and thanksgiving. It was set to music and sung before the people.
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July 26, 2010
Set:
One of the greatest things I have experienced as an athlete and now as a coach is the development of a team by the groups that have truly understood this concept. A true team does not happen simply because a group of players are organized into a unit. The true team consists of individuals who take ownership of their responsibility to work together and strive for the same goals. In this situation, individuals place the team above their individual aspirations.
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July 25, 2010
Set:
The 1920 Olympic sprinter, Charles Paddock, was speaking at a school one day and said to the students, “Right in this school we may have a future Olympic champ.” Afterwards, a skinny little boy came up to him and said, “I want to be a champion runner some day.” Paddock replied, “You can if you’ll make it your dream and give it your all.”
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July 23, 2010
Set:
The Hall of Fame football coach of the Green Bay Packers once said, “Once a man has made a commitment to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It’s something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success.” Many times I have looked at overwhelming obstacles in my life and have felt like there was no chance of victory. However, I have learned that no matter how big an obstacle is, I serve a God who gives me victory in spite of overwhelming odds. Caleb and Joshua wanted to conquer the people of Jericho when the rest of Israel was afraid.
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July 22, 2010
Set:
In sixteen years as the coach of the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach guided his team to nine NBA championships. He retired after the 1966 season as the winningest coach in NBA history with 938 wins. While his teams had some great players, they were characterized more by their team play, which included a new concept of using role players. According to Auerback, a role player is one who “willingly undertakes the thankless job that has to be done in order to make the whole package fly.”
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July 20, 2010
Set:
“In the beginning, God created…” These are familiar words to most people. We know the conclusion of this verse refers to the creation of the world.
Sometime in a humorous vein, those of us who love baseball will try to identify the Creator with our game by quoting the above as “In the big inning…” I believe there is an important lesson to be learned from the first five words in the Bible, one that relates more to those of us who live on the earth than to the earth itself.
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July 19, 2010
Set:
“Back in ’82, I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile. How much you want to make a bet I can throw a football over them mountains? Yeah. If coach would've put me in fourth quarter... We'd have been state champions, no doubt. No doubt in my mind. You better believe things would have been different. I'd have gone pro...in a heartbeat. I'd be makin' millions of dollars and...livin' in a... big ol' mansion somewhere.” - Uncle Rico, “Napoleon Dynamite”
