Let’s consider the most reckless, dangerous, and risky thing we’ve each done. (Please don’t answer out loud.) If we said it was love our family, friends, and teammates, we’re thinking like Jesus. In John’s gospel we read these challenging words, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.”

These words are remarkable for more than one reason. First, Jesus said them while Judas, who would betray Him that very evening, was in the room. He also said these words to His disciples—His teammates—who, within hours, would go into hiding or deny knowing Him. His love was rather risky, but very deep.

Psalm 37 was written for competitive people. It will help any athlete stay focused on the big picture and release them to perform better. There is a fine line between being worried and prepared; but to “fret” will only weaken us. Fretting is a warning that we want our own way more than God’s. It has been a custom around the world for years to rattle off the Lord’s Prayer before competition. Do the athletes really mean, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” or “my kingdom come, my will be done”?

We have all seen the shirts that say “Football is life, the rest is just details.” I used to own one of those shirts a long time ago. And football wasn’t the only sport they made into these shirts. I have seen basketball, golf, fishing and so on.

As a Christians and athletes, our shirts should say “Jesus is life, the rest is just details.” In Matthew 24:35, He says that Heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not. This means EVERYTHING: massive stadiums, gyms, buildings, earth, etc. Jesus and His Kingdom are the only things that will remain. 

As a University of Kansas Jayhawk, it’s hard for me to admit this. But this morning I was totally proud of Missouri men’s basketball coach Frank Haith. With the big KU-MU rivalry game coming up this weekend, there’s a lot of trash-talking going on between the schools, and in one of the most brutal rivalries in the country, it can get pretty nasty.

With the game being hosted at Missouri, Coach Haith issued a charge to the Mizzou fans to, instead of jeering KU, focus on cheering FOR Mizzou. In essence, don’t worry about trashing the opponent; concentrate on cheering for and supporting your home team. Now that was a classy move.

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.

Coach Buckley’s football practices were brutal. I was only 11, but I still remember them to be grueling, agonizing and dreadful. The trademarked practices had tons of running and repetitive drills, all without scrimmaging! Many players wouldn’t make it through the practices without losing their lunch, and many of them quit. Even my best friend had his parents pull him from the team. But, even though the sacrifice was great, the return that season was sweet. We earned a perfect record and no team even scored on us! Our team, the Braddock Road Sharks, brought fear to all 11-year-olds who dared to play football.

You will find them on fields and in arenas, flying high to represent honor, pride and love. What could I be talking about but those huge banners and school flags that are so visible in sports today? These banners are flown proud and freely as if to say, "This is our team and our house. Much is at stake." These truly are a sight to see.