Devotional
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January 26, 2014
Set:
What’s the secret of an athlete? Speed? Strength? Size? Training? Any of those will provide an edge, but none are the real secret. The most powerful secret of an athlete is actually a spiritual discipline—prayer. When was the last time we really pressed into prayer? Not the prayers that say, “God, help me with the big game today,” or, “Help me to play well.” I’m talking about intense prayer—a time of truly seeking God’s face and asking for His will.
Many athletes may want to pray but simply don’t know how. Here are eight simple tips for praying:
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January 25, 2014
Set:
We live in a performance-driven, presentation-focused, and public-image world. In the sporting world, much emphasis is put on game time. “How do I look?” and “How will I perform?” are questions in the forefront of our minds. We are thinking, lights, camera, action! In athletics, this drive is magnified. We are drawn more to the presentation than we are to the preparation. The reality is that what we do in private affects what we do in public.
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January 24, 2014
Set:
What does it take to be the coach of the number one football team in the nation? Most people are under the assumption that one must neglect his family and everything else that is important and spend every waking moment preparing his team for success. What does Bob Stoops, head coach of the 2000 national champion Oklahoma Sooners, do? He and his staff start their day at 8:45 a.m., usually end in time to be home for dinner, and have Wednesday night family gatherings with their wives and children. It appears that Stoops has set some priorities in his life and has a good handle on the often-difficult task of balancing family and career.
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January 23, 2014
Set:
As a young athlete, I thought winning was everything. The competitive juices would always flow through me. I wanted to win every time I competed. Whether it was a big high school game against our rivals or just a pick-up basketball game against my brothers, I wanted to win. For me, there was nothing more important than a good win! One of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, Vincent Lombardi, once said, "Winning isn't everything. Wanting to win is." As an athlete, I had a lot of wanting, even though I didn't win every time.
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January 22, 2014
Set:
Most of us have heard a coach tell an athlete to “take a knee.” When this happens, we can usually count on two things: all physical activities will cease and communication is about to start. Any good coach needs to spend some time giving his team a game plan, and any good team has to take a knee to receive that plan.
Jesus modeled how to properly “take a knee” while He walked the earth. He prayed daily and would often withdraw from everyone, even His disciples, to be alone with God. He understood the value of communicating with the Father. He understood that prayer was necessary to receive God’s game plan. Jesus knew exactly what He was doing and how to be at His best when the game was on the line.
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January 21, 2014
Set:
As Christian competitors, we realize that God has called us to serve, but do we understand that we should be consumed to serve? Is there a consuming fire that burns in us to serve others around us who are hurting and to help those who need to experience the love of Christ through us? We serve because the ultimate purpose of serving is to glorify Christ. Rick Warren said, “We serve God by serving others. The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. In our self-serving culture with its ‘me first’ mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept.” In the athletic world, everyone struggles to some degree with the “me first” mentality.
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January 20, 2014
Set:
“Too small…too short…can’t play…can’t survive…can’t make it in the NFL.” Who were the so-called experts talking about? It was Buffalo Bills quarterback, Doug Flute. He was too small in the estimation of many NFL scouts. Yet, in the Canadian Football League, Doug Flute is considered to be the best player in CFL history, winner of six Most Outstanding Player awards in eight years, quarterback of three Gray Cup champions, holder of most of the league’s passing records (41,355 career passing yards and 270 passing touchdowns).
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January 19, 2014
Set:
I love coaching. I love it so much that I could spend all of my waking hours at it. This all-consuming nature of my sport means that most coaches’ spouses are basically single parents. Too many end up divorced. My wife, Kim, would probably have left me if I had been a coach before now.
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January 18, 2014
Set:
Coach Peacock’s team had just won a state championship. They were celebrating in the locker room, and Coach was hugging his players right and left. As the congratulations continued, the coach noticed one player in particular sitting alone on a bench, watching him. Coach Peacock knew that the young man’s mother and father were divorced, that his dad was also an alcoholic who never attended any of his son’s games. So he walked over to the player and asked if he was okay. The young man responded, “Yes, Coach, but I was just wondering. Could I have another hug?”
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January 17, 2014
Set:
When you’re in the midst of a situation that seems hopeless in sports or in life, how do you respond to your doubts and frustrations? As Christians, we all tend to think that doubt should never come to our minds. I mean, we believe that God can do anything, right?
First, let’s all step back and realize that we will constantly deal with the doubts in our human nature, but it’s how we respond to them that makes the difference. In Luke 5:8, Simon Peter responds to Jesus with a tone of frustration and doubt. Jesus had asked him to let down his fishing nets into deep water, but Peter responded by stating they’d already worked hard all night and hadn’t caught a thing.
