St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Matt Holliday has learned a lot in his seven years as a major league outfielder, including many valuable lessons about what it means to compete for Christ. Today, we’re starting a four-part video devotion series based on Holliday’s recent interview with FCA’s Sharing the Victory magazine.

To access the video, click the link below to watch or download the clip. After you’ve watched the short video, take time to answer the questions below. Finish by reading the related Scripture and asking God to work in your heart as a result of what you’ve learned.

VIDEO LINK:

Former Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne said, “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” Maybe when it comes to football, big players do make the difference in prayer. In the game of life, I’ve discovered the bottom line to getting prayers answered. As I look back on the times God has answered my prayers, I know why I got the answer. It was because I prayed the right prayer. I was specific with God when I prayed.

In Malachi 3:10 the Lord says, “Test Me in this way…See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” Here we see the power of God to provide when we test Him. The way to test God is to be specific.

After having a fairly rough day teaching, my wife calmly reminded me that I must see the children in the same light as God sees me. He is patient and loving with me, even though I am underserving of His favor. I must continuously remind myself that the children I teach and coach should be shown that same favor from me.

There are times that I simply want to lose all my cool and let those who are around me simply know how frustrated I am with them and how pitiful I feel they are. Does God feel that way towards me? I feel God is the most patient, forgiving, gracious being as He showed through Jesus Christ. Forgive them seven times? "Forgive them seventy times seven" Jesus says.

I pray I have that strength to be as patient and forgiving as He.

When do we feel like our bodies are wasting away and our strength is drying up? Maybe it’s at the end of practice, halfway through preseason, or with one week to go in a long difficult season. How can we have our hearts renewed and find the strength to press through such feelings? Second Corinthians 4:16 gives us such encouragement. Paul was aware of his friends’ perilous times and the physical toll it was taking on them. He identified with their plight.

It’s the nature of competition and long seasons to wear down our bodies. We can identify with these people and the outward wasting away of their bodies. The wisest among us also know how to be inwardly strengthened, day by day, in our hearts.

Hockey Chat:  Regardless of who your favorite team is throughout the year, if you’re a hockey fan you’ll tune into the excitement of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  It’s the one time when hockey fans come together and follow the games that have become the icon of the ice hockey.

The see-saw battle between the Patriots and the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII came down to one play with 0:09 left in the game and the score knotted at 29. Patriots place kicker Adam Vinatieri came onto the field to try a 41-yard field goal to win the game. Earlier in the game he had missed a 31-yard chip shot and had another attempt blocked. Vinatieri was given an opportunity to redeem himself and this time he was right on target, giving the Patriots their second Super Bowl victory in three years.

As coaches and athletes, we face adversity every day. Specifically for coaches, this adversity seems to come not just from the opponents on our schedules, but from a variety of sources. And whether we are dealing with players’ circumstances, injuries, parental issues, or whatever, we all need to have some reassurance or confirmation that we are doing a good job.

I once heard of a man named Scott who calls himself a professional gate-crasher—and with good reason. He claimed to have attended 300 sporting events and concerts, including 25 World Series baseball games, all without paying a single penny. In fact, he wrote a book that describes 50 ways to sneak into concerts and sporting events.

Scott’s gate-crashing raises all sorts of ethical questions, but let’s talk, instead, about a higher issue. Think about what it takes to get into Heaven. Jesus said there was only one way to get in: through Him (John 14:6). The “ticket” is having a personal faith in Jesus as your Savior, believing that He paid the penalty for your sin and accepting His offer of forgiveness as a gift (John 3:16; Romans 6:23).

The University of Colorado has stiffened its recruiting guidelines for the school's football program amidst allegations of rape and other inappropriate activities during recruiting visits. When asked if the tougher guidelines would hurt recruiting, school chancellor Richard Byyny said, "It really doesn't matter. We want to have a model program. We want to make sure students understand they are here first for an education."

Putting stricter recruiting guidelines on the football team could cost the program and the school many rewards, as well as the financial incentives that come with them. Despite the potential cost, the university should be commended for implementing restrictions to try to restore some integrity to the program and the school.

Earlier this season, I took my middle school baseball team to practice with the high school varsity. It was good for my kids to practice on a higher level and to see how high school differs from middle school. At the end of practice the varsity coach gave them a "pep talk" about life and baseball using five key points of competition. While I had used some of the same points in my own speeches, I found that they captured my attention in a new way when I heard them from another coach and saw how they got the attention of the kids. The points that this coach made would work for any sport, and they also translate well to our spiritual lives.

In 2008, I made my first U.S. Olympic Soccer Team. I was still in college, and I was one of the youngest players on the roster. I was also replacing star player Abby Wambach who couldn’t compete due to an injury.

Then in 2012, I was chosen for the Olympic squad again, but this time I was considered a veteran with several major matches under my belt, including the 2008 Olympic gold medal game and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While both situations were very different, they were also very much the same. There was a great deal of pressure that came with the job.

During a vacation trip to the beach this summer I went out for an early morning run. In the distance I caught sight of a young lady running the opposite direction about 20 feet from the shore. As she neared, I noticed she was an experienced runner as evidenced by her performance apparel, sleek figure and toned muscles. She was trudging through the soft “fluffy” white sand with strenuous effort. Her legs were literally bounding off the sand, but due to the inconsistency of the terrain, she was running shockingly slow. She was soaked in sweat, red-faced and labored in breathing. As I continued to run effortlessly on the wet, flat, firmer sand I thought about all the extra effort she was exerting by choosing to run on the distinctly opposite sand.