July 29, 2019 - Thankful for Teammates / FANS

Last week I wrote about how much I love being a part of the team… and it leads me to a very logical and basic devotion this week… being thankful for teammates…


It doesn’t matter how good we think we are as individuals, we need good teammates. As I stood by a fire last night, my buddy and I were discussing great players and we concluded that all had something in common when it came to winning… great teammates.


Scripturally we are admonished to understand the body… the team… and that the beauty and mystery of what Christ did was in bringing together very different people into one body… with different functions (gifts.)


I am currently on our ministry’s Wake Up and Worship Tour… sitting in Livermore CO… having covered 4500 miles so far. I am touring with the Next Man Up team that is based upon the idea of people filling needs. We have incredible music being shared… a phenomenal outpouring of a spoken word that is rocking people’s worlds… and the opportunities to share God’s truth… love… peace… hope… and His GRACE!


But the team doesn’t stop there… we are being surrounded by folks at each stop that want to serve us… in spite of the fact that we went on the road to serve them… We are able to travel and cover expenses because other teammates/FANS (Fill A Need Supporters) saw fit to be a part of the tour financially and by providing transportation. Other teammates/FANS have been faithfully praying for our journey.


So, this week my mind is drawn to the team and how thankful I am for each of you. Philippians 1:3 says, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”


Any great player ultimately realizes he didn’t make it on his own! We are having a great tour because of the teammates/FANS that are playing their parts…


So not a long devotion; more of a thank you letter… but hopefully it will cause each of you to look around you and be thankful for your teammates!


(This is also fairly short because I am tired! Keep us lifted up, 1 week to go!)

July 22, 2019 - I LOVE BEING A PART OF THIS TEAM!!!

As I was sitting here prepping for this week’s devo it was a bit bittersweet… I thought back to an exciting time in my oldest son’s life. Clay was 15 years old and had not been able to play travel ball up to that point; we simply couldn’t afford it (financially and due to time constraints.) Yet I knew for his potential college recruitment he would need to play at that level; therefore, I told him to start looking for teams to try-out for (and to pray for a sponsored team to ease the costs.)


Shortly thereafter I got a call from Clay asking if I could take him to a try-out that afternoon. It was for a Jordan brand sponsored team… coached by MJ’s brother. So we cleared the schedule to head to the try-out…


I dropped Clay off and took the rest of the family shopping while he was at the gym. When I returned to pick him up I was greeted by another one of the parents that stated, “There’s no doubt that Clay will make the team, he lit up the gym!” Needless to say, we were very optimistic and very excited. In very short time we received a call extending an invitation for Clay to be a part of the Carolina Surge; and the excitement just grew as uniforms came in (especially those Jordan kicks which we still have.)


There was incredible joy in being a part of that team… along with great expectations and responsibilities. (The bittersweet feelings are due to the fact that he tore his ACL in just their 3^rd tourney of the year and didn’t get to fully enjoy his time on the team.


This came up in my mind as I was reviewing notes from teaching on Romans 6 this past weekend. I was at The Bold Grace Summit and being reminded of the joy of being a part of God’s team… a part of the body… a part of the “one new man” of both Jew and Gentile being together…


I could go on a long time on this but the basic idea that prompted my thinking is found in Romans 6:11, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”


Coaches spend a lot of time reminding players to play for the name on the front of their jerseys… the team they belong to. Paul, here in Romans, is emphasizing the privilege and responsibility of being a part of “the team.” And he reminds us of a couple of things…

1.       To reckon (consider, meditate on, take account, calculate) our need to be “dead to” or to avoid sin that tears us down… but instead to be active (“alive”) in the game of life

2.       To realize our new identity as part of God’s family… he states that we are “in Christ Jesus our Lord”  - the preposition “in” denotes a “fixed position” – in other words, we belong to God!!!

It may sound silly to some, but when we designed the silhouette of Christ logo for InBounds it was with idea of “branding”; our way of telling the world we are a Jesus-brand ministry… I guess that is why I so often am found in one of our ministry shirts… I love celebrating being a part of the team!!!

July 15, 2019 - More Makes than Misses!

I’ve loved seeing my buddy Jason Otter’s media posts the last couple years as he has had an increase in numbers of young players training in his basketball camps. It is truly amazing to see how progressed some of these kids are in their ball handling skills. It reminded me of when I was doing more clinics and the satisfaction that came with seeing a kid improving. (Jason sees that more often than I did because he’s a much better trainer…) Yet I also have seen many kids that struggled with the required motor skills to feel successful in the camp/clinic setting. The kids that struggled couldn’t wait for breaks or for the camp to end…


I started changing my approach to training a bit, (and my approach to giving parents counsel.) When dealing with young players, I am not as concerned with form as I am with “success.” If a kid has to use two hands to get it to the goal or has to shoot it granny-style (underhanded), I don’t care. When the kid sees the ball go in, he gets excited and starts to have fun… starts to love the game… and in turn is more apt to stick with the game. (I find as a coach you have to tweak shooting form constantly anyway as the kids get stronger. (Obviously there are the exceptions to the rule, that even when young can use proper form, etc.; but most need to learn to have fun playing the game!)


From a basketball perspective I thought of this through not only observation, but also hearing Pete Maravich interviewed about his practice habits. He stated that when taking shooting practice, he always wanted to be above 50%; therefore, when he would fall below that mark, he would move in and do some lay-ups to bump his numbers back up. He said there was something emotionally/mentally that would take place as long as he felt he was being more successful… making more than he was missing! And once his mind was right, he was more relaxed and would get back to shooting better from a distance.


I feel a bit like I am babbling tonight… but simply getting to the point that in order to want to be on the court in the game… to love the game, one has to feel a sense of success.


Many struggle with the Christian life… feeling like failures… feeling as though they miss more than they make…


I’m preparing to be one of the presenters at a conference this coming weekend called the Bold Grace Summitt. We are going through the book of Romans and emphasizing the amazing motivating power of grace… I am teaching from Romans 6 which has much to say about how we should “play the game on the court” of life.


There is so much in this chapter! Yet for the sake of the weekly devotion I want to point out something I shared last night with a group…


6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.


That caused me to take a look at what Scripture records about Jesus after the resurrection (since we get to be in that likeness.) What I found was that yes, He gave us some very clear “plays to run” called the Great Commission. Yet, He also gave a clear indicator that He wants us to feel good about being “on the court”!


John 20 records what Jesus says to His disciples that were hiding in a room… Jesus has just risen from the dead… one would think He would be rebuking them for hiding in a room… or telling them what they should and shouldn’t do… Instead, He states to them “Peace be with you” (vs 19) and “Peace to you” (vs 21); then 8 days later when Thomas joins them, “Peace to you.”(vs 26)


So how could they live the resurrected life of peace? By knowing that because of Jesus we win! Jesus’s resurrection brought them a mindset that there was truly nothing to fear… they could be at peace… they could face persecution and even death because the victory is won!


Feel like I should do more teaching of what I mean here, but bottom line is that whatever you may be going through, if you are a believer in the finished work of Christ on your behalf for salvation, remember it is finished work! “Play the game” with confidence… love being “on the court”… play in peace!

July 8, 2019 - What's On Your Playlist?

Last week I shared that we are prepping for our Wake Up and Worship Tour… I used text from Ephesians 5 to “awake” and to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” I used Proverbs 1 to remind us to “attain wise counsel.”


We leave on Friday and this particular ROCK’em Road Trip is a bit different than some I have led for our ministry. In the past we often took athletes on the road to train and use sport for outreach… this trip is geared more to the music side of things. One might ask what music has to do with athletics (since this devotion site is geared toward sports-related devotions.) But it doesn’t take long in watching sports to see that next to the equipment needed to play, headphones might be the next most common thing that is seen.


Music plays a huge part in preparation and in motivation… you can pull up a “playlist” for just about anything you are doing… I thought about times that music enhanced my sports life…


I think of the organist at the Evansville Triplets AAA baseball games as he would get the crowd going…

I think of the song Another One Bites the Dust playing as I warmed up to face the New Harmony Rappites in high school hoops…

I think of the song The Eye of the Tiger playing as I dropped down and did one-armed push-ups in the theater parking lot…

I think about choosing the warm-up playlist for teams I was coaching to get the guys pumped up…

I think of plugging in my tunes on one of our road trips and blaring Give ‘em the Rock and Get Schooled Now by Bishop Chase (the theme songs he produced for our ministry…)


Bottom line is that music and sports go hand in hand… music and life go hand in hand… music is a big and important part of the Scriptures.


I am not one that necessarily believes there is a such thing as “Christian” music… music, like anything else, either honors and glorifies God or it doesn’t… it either speaks truth or lies… it either promotes righteousness or things that Scripture calls “darkness” or things done “in secret.”


With that said, I believe it is of utmost importance that we find motivation in the game of life through a good playlist… “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord…” (Ephesians 5:19)


I believe that walking in the Spirit is enhanced by and will result in a new playlist… in fact Psalm 40:3 says, “He has put a new song in my mouth – praise to our God.”


Or as The Message puts it, “He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God.”


What’s on your playlist?

July 1, 2019 - Finding Answers

We, (InBounds Ministries), are preparing for a summer tour that will take us on the road for over 3 weeks… it is called the Wake Up and Worship Tour. It is going to be a great time of ministering in many places (traveling around 7000 miles.) The theme comes from the simple command to “awake” that is given in Ephesians 5. Within the context it then goes on to tell us to “not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (5:17)


Most Christians have questioned God’s will for their lives… when ultimately it is clearly spelled out in the Scriptures. God’s will is that we live soberly… making right choices… doing right things… serving one another… THAT WE PLAY THE GAME THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE PLAYED!


The will of God is more about daily decisions than big decisions. I am not discounting that there are special times that God “calls” us to a specific place or a specific job… but in the meantime I believe it is clearly spelled out in Scripture that we should “bloom where we are planted!” (Thank you, Freddie Coile for telling me that years ago…)


Right now, is the Free Agent period for the NBA. Many players are eligible to be sign contracts with other teams… go to a new specific place or job. And the better they have “bloomed where they were planted” the bigger their options are.


The biggest question still remaining about Free Agency is who Kawhi Leonard will end up playing for… Kawhi has a history of success wherever he has played. He busts his tail to be a complete player offensively and defensively; and he just led his team to the NBA championship. (The second team he has won a championship with.)


Kawhi should lay down and sleep well at night knowing he plays the game the right way… yet now he has some of those big decisions to make. So how should he go about making those decisions?


Or more importantly, how should we go about seeking God’s will in making big decisions?


Those “special calls” on our lives that I referred to earlier, do not tend to be written in the clouds… God doesn’t send emails or texts… and the Scripture gives principles for life, not specific orders. And although I do believe there are times of specific visions and dreams that lead people, most of the time I believe we find answers to the big questions by following the aforementioned principles of Scripture.


I would tell Kawhi the same thing I am telling you when looking at major decisions, make sure you have trusted advisers to help guide you. (Which I think he is doing.) The Scripture gives great weight to getting good counsel…


As I read in the Proverbs earlier, I was reminded of this truth…


Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel… 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.