July 30, 2018 - All Show... No Go!!!!

I have witnessed many athletes that were really good at skills and drills; we live in a modern culture where players are in the gym more than ever… camps/personal trainers/etc. Yet, what I don’t see is kids just learning to play the game…

I’ve written in the past about times I’d witness a guy in the shooting lines before a game that looked incredible… great form… draining shots; only to watch him fold under game pressure… or even at times to be shocked that he didn’t even make it off the bench.

All show… no go!!!

I preached yesterday from 1 Peter. What I saw was a reminder that we need to be focused on being active in the game… making a difference. Peter reminds us that we are given a new identity and that should be exhibited not just by what we avoid or how we look, but also in what “noise” we are making.

I love players that make some noise; you can’t do that much from the warm-up lines, no stats are kept there; or from the bench where no shots are taken…

1 Peter 2:9-10 (The Message): 9-10 But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.

Do you see that we are called to be used by God… telling or proclaiming His graciousness! Verse 12 goes on to talk about showing out in the game… it states that we should be so active “AMONG” non-believers that they ask about what makes us different… and are left giving the glory to God…

I emphasize the word AMONG to remind us that we can’t make a difference from the bench… or even from the training situations… no matter how many shots you make in practice or warm-ups. They count zero in the game!

I often see people that look great in church… even spend a lot of time there… yet are not making a difference AMONG the world. All show… no go!

1 Peter 3:15 (The Message): “Be ready to speak up and tell everyone why you are living the way you are, and always with the most courtesy.”

July 23, 2018 - God's Fitness Center

I saw a Facebook post today that read: “I can’t believe I forgot to go the gym today. That’s seven years in a row.”

The reality is that most of us avoid anything that seems like it will be unpleasant; yet those that are committed to fitness have a different perspective. They view the discomfort of workouts as a necessary evil… in order to achieve their goals. In fact, many get to the point that they look forward to “the burn’”

One article I read was on a blog called “Refine the Mind”; the title of the post was “How to Love Exercise: The Crucial Mindset Shift” by Jordan Bates. In the blog he talks of the fact that if one is exercising just to enhance physical appearance, it probably won’t last. He goes on to list good reasons for why one should exercise… (and by the way, it is amazing how the benefits of physical exercise help combat many mental and emotional struggles that are epidemic in our society… i.e. anxiety, depression, self-image, motivation, etc.)

Yet, although I hope this week’s devotion encourages each to get in better physical shape, mostly I hope it reminds us of the importance of spiritual shape!

The blogger stated that there has to be a paradigm shift to the way one views fitness… stating that if it is viewed as “optional, pretty soon it will be absent.” I believe that is accurate from a spiritual mindset as well. Christian growth/fitness is based upon renewing one’s mind… a paradigm shift in how we think. (See Romans 12:2)

 

One of the big areas we must change our view (thinking) is in how we approach adversity / trials / “storms” in life. Each of those descriptors carry the idea of something unpleasant; they are things that we spend much energy, and here much teaching / preaching on, trying to avoid…

Recently I wrote about my new fascination for the buffalo; the fact that a buffalo will run into a storm, not away from it. If we are going to grow… become more spiritually fit… we must decide to go to God’s Fitness Center!

God’s Fitness Center, according to Scripture, is adversity / trials / “storms.” We should not be dismayed when life hits hard… that is the equivalent of sticking to a fitness plan… with God as your personal trainer!

Get out your “Playbook” and read: James 1:2-4!

While you have it open read: Romans 5:1-5

On another blog (called “Biblical Fitness”) it stated this: “Do you struggle to view difficult times and daily inconveniences as something that God can use for good? I know that I often do. We should humbly ask God to change our mindset towards difficulties in our lives, including our attitude towards the hard work of disciplining our bodies.”

July 16, 2018 - Coach, I'm Ready!

I always love to check out players that are on the bench during a game; and as a coach I always told my players that they needed to stay alert when on the bench. In other words, know what is going on in the game, so if their number is called they are ready to immediately get into the flow of the game… they will know what we are running and what the opponent is doing…

Every once in a while, you get the players that simply are not in tune… no clue what is going on. And then you get the opposite at times and get the player that makes sure he/she is always filling the closest possible seat they can get to the coach; the body language is screaming “put me in coach, I’m ready to play!”

I love players that want to play! Yesterday at church I was reminded of this with the message our pastor brought (Thanks, Matt!) In Luke chapter 12 Jesus is teaching and says that the servant that is watching for the master and stays ready is blessed! I love the way it is stated in the ESV in verse 35, “Stay dressed for action…”; and then in verse 37 when He says, “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes…”

In other words, Jesus is reminding us to stay busy (faithful) as though He is returning at any moment! And to take that a bit farther, I believe it is reminding us to be ready whenever He calls our number in the game of life… not to put off the opportunities we have to reach/serve others!!!

July 9, 2018 - Benefits of a Coach That Played

Here we are in the middle of summer and there is still a lot of talk about NBA basketball… with which player is going where. Yet there were also many coaching positions filled in May and June that will greatly affect how teams play… in fact I think there were 8 new head coaches added.

So, what makes a great coach? What all seem to agree on is that communication and motivation are the keys… But for some they prefer to have a coach that was a former player; or as one NBA veteran put it, coaches that understand the grind of an 82-game season… “have been in the trenches… They know the game a little bit more because they have been in your shoes.” (Marreese Speights, Orlando Magic)

 It is comforting to know that the one you are following has been where you are and understands the struggles. The Scriptures remind us that we have such a leader in Christ; “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) This verse followed the charge for us to “hold fast” and reminded us that our Savior has “gone through the grind… been through the trenches.”

That in turn, gives us the confidence to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find help in time of need.” (verse 16)

Although I know there are some coaches that are successful that have not played, I agree with Mo Speights in that I prefer the comfort of knowing my Leader fully understands what I am going through!

The thoughts today were spurred by a book Lisa is reading. She told me about a chapter that made the following observation… when watching a great movie, one gets caught up in the characters, not the author of the story; we connect to the hero and find ourselves emotionally connected to the outcome. So why bring this up in the devotion? The book went on to remind us that sometimes we tend to just think of God as the author and forget He is all the principal character… the hero of the story! He not only entered the story physically through Christ, He also remains active in it. We can go to Him in our story! We can boldly approach Him! When we talk to Him, He hears us….

Spend time with The Coach today… and every day; His office door is always open because He understands and cares about what we are going through!

(Lisa is reading the book The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge)

July 2, 2018 - Excited To Join A New Team!

Well obviously, the big new this week in sports involves LeBron James deciding to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers… and everyone seems to have an opinion about it. Each time LeBron has made a choice of where to play the critics have come out of the woodworks… and of course his fans have been ecstatic.

Here is a post I saw today from one of my dear friends on Instagram, “To sacrifice, work, dream so hard that you become one of the best of your industry… good enough to write your own ticket and work where you want? Big time to me. I’d be proud if he was my kid. Congrats Mr. James. Continue to inspire young and old. I’ll definitely watch more Laker games with my notebook ready.” (Terry Primm… college basketball coach)

Staying on the positive side, Lakers fans are super excited… and the Lakers gained a lot of fans that love LeBron! It is a Laker party! In today’s professional sports world, players are rewarded with opportunities to make some choices on where they play and who they play with… LeBron decide he wanted to be a part of the Laker legacy. (I know the LeBron-haters are screaming that their heroes of old never had to get different teammates… all I’ll say… remember those guys already had incredible talent around them or didn’t win until they did -and- it’s simply a different world due to travel ball, etc.)

I am simply today wondering what it must be like in Heaven each time someone comes to know the Lord. In Luke 15 Jesus was hearing from His distractors… and said this, “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…” (vs 7) In other words, there is a party in heaven when someone joins the team!

We have a picture in the parable Jesus was sharing of a shepherd finding a lost sheep… It reminds me of a couple things:

1.       The shepherd pursued the lost… How does God pursue the lost? That is done through His people sharing the Gospel… (Romans 1:16 = the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation / Romans 10:14 = how can sinners hear without a preacher?) – therefore as believers we need to be faithful to witness / evangelize!!!

2.       The idea of the sinner “repenting” is the simple truth of the Scriptures… (Romans 10:14 = how can the believe in Him of whom they have not heard?) – the word repent means to “change one’s mind” –a sinner has to change his mind about who Jesus is and what He has done through the death and resurrection in order to believe in Him – we need to be sharing this truth!

I want to cause a party in Heaven! And I wonder if we get as excited as we should about seeing people get saved? That should be way more exciting than hearing what team LeBron is going to play for!