December 28, 2020 - "A Little Help..." (for the 2021 season)

Over the past few weeks, I have been sharing about having a “scoring mentality,” one that has the good of the team at heart… one that is a “triple threat,” (willing to dribble [serve] to create a lane… or to pass [give] to teammate in a better position… or to shoot [share the Gospel] when open)… a mentality that says, “The Gospel is our objective!” 

Now we find ourselves preparing for a new year… often associated with new beginnings and resolutions. So, my question is simple, are you resolved that the Gospel go forth? Are you willing to serve, give, and share this year?

Being the end of the year, it is typically a time we (as a ministry) set plans and count the cost; and a time that is typical used to ask for help… that word help is commonly used in my sports world…

Sometimes it was as simple as being on the playground and the ball rolls away to a neighboring court and you yell, “a little help…” At other times it was in practices when showing players how to play “help defense” (basketball players are right now hearing a voice in their heads shouting, “see man and ball!”)… And then there were the times when on the court and my man would get by me and I would scream, “HELP!” to my teammates…

The same sentiment is true in all team sports… I remember the times when maybe I struck out on the baseball field and had to tell the next guy up to “pick me up.”

Throughout the Scriptures we are told to be givers/helpers… to carry our own load but also to help our brother that has a load too heavy to bear (See Galatians 6:2, 5) And we are told to help further the Gospel and see people commended for being givers. Paul went as far as explaining to the Philippians that he was thankful and reminded them that their gifts were “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.” (4:18)

The Scriptures challenge us to live in a “triple threat” position… and the end of the year provides a time to reflect and to look forward to how to do that! Over the next few days consider how you can be effective in serving, giving, and sharing for the Gospel’s sake… let’s have a great 2021 season!

Yes, InBounds Ministries is yelling, “a little help” to carry out our mission to get to the goal! And there are other missionaries/churches that are legitimate places to consider making a pass to as well…

December 21, 2020 - A Scoring Mentality vs A Scorer's Mentality

Over the past few weeks the idea of being in “Triple Threat Position” has been the theme… the idea of a “Scoring Mentality”… BUT not necessarily of a “Scorer’s Mentality”! So what is the difference?

A “Scorer’s Mentality” belongs to the player that is always thinking shoot first… this type of player typically is very excited to go see the scorebook following a game to see how many points he/she scored. It is often pride-driven. Don’t get me wrong, my philosophy as a coach is that “shooters shoot”; therefore some should take more shots than others… but my mentality stems from a “Scoring Mentality” that looks to what is best for the team’s goals…

We discussed the idea of “dribbling” (serving) to create lanes to the goal… we talked about “passing” (sharing with teammates that are in scoring position) to get to the goal… and this week let’s talk about “taking the shot”…

I was watching a game last week where a player caught a pass in the lane and came to a jump stop… the defender flew by him in a vain block attempt, leaving the player alone right in front of the basket. Let’s pause and ask a question, what is the goal of the team there? Is it safe to say it is to score? Duh!!!

What transpired was that the player had already predetermined that he was going to pass, and he dished to a cutting teammate that had to make a very difficult shot with a defender on him… it turned out fine in that they scored, BUT it could have been so much easier if the player that was open would have just finished the play.

This morning as I met with a good friend that is in ministry, and also loves hoops like me, we discussed the travesty of the modern church’s philosophies of “lifestyle evangelism” or “relational evangelism”; not that these things are bad ideas… our lifestyles/relationships should, like dribbling, create lanes for us to score… BUT make no mistake about it, “scoring” (the goal/OBJECTIVE) for us is the proclamation of the "Gospel, for IT is the power of God unto salvation"! (Romans 1:16)

Evangelism minus proclamation is not evangelism at all… it is dribbling without purpose, without OBJECTIVE, without making it to the goal! Yet we have been programmed to let “shooters shoot” in that we think evangelism is about eventually getting our friends/family/acquaintances to the professional Gospel guns… (even though the vast majority of them aren’t “good shooters”!)

This CHRISTmas, I implore you to not just “dribble” and “pass”, but also to “take the shots” that open up to proclaim that unto us was “born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) Be like the shepherds that met Jesus and “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told to them.” (Luke 2:20) They started making some noise… they started “taking shots”!

Merry CHRISTmas!

December 14, 2020 - DWAP (Dribble With A Purpose!)

“We should enthusiastically be looking for opportunities to ‘get to the goal’!” That has been the theme the last few weeks on our weekly devos… with the understanding that the “goal” (OBJECTIVE) for the believer is sharing the Gospel and teaching the Word! I shared the analogy of being in a “Triple Threat” position… ready to pass, dribble, or shoot… and last week we looked at the importance of being willing to make the pass…

I mentioned the idea last week that a player is known typically as having a “pass-first” or a “shoot-first” mentality… BUT I stated I believe the right mentality is a “score-first” mentality… one that is keyed on the goal (the OBJECTIVE) for the team. So, if a pass is needed to get to the goal then make the pass…

This week I want to talk about “dribbling” from the “triple threat” position. As stated, I believe in a “score-first” mentality… that is our goal (OBJECTIVE) and thus everything should be done with that in mind, including dribbling… dribbling should be a weapon to help set up the team for a score! So, there are two quick points I will make from the basketball world and then apply…

1.       I teach players, when they catch the ball, to not immediately just start dribbling aimlessly… I also teach to take as few of dribbles as needed to get to the goal. The purpose is not to put on a Harlem Globetrotters show… dancing with the ball but going nowhere. I grew up in a very fundamentally based basketball world where any “fancy” dribbling was discouraged… i.e. never taught to go between the legs or behind the back. Yet, even “fancy” dribbling can set up a better angle to score… which is the OBJECTIVE! But the key teaching is “don’t over dribble.”

2.       The other thing that needs to be taught is “don’t under-dribble”… I seldom hear teaching about this, and thus I often see players pick up their dribble way too soon… not in a position to help the team reach the goal… it is like the point guard that brings the ball down the court, gets just over the half-court line, and picks up the ball… that is a wasted dribble. It is a weapon to create angles/lanes to the goal…

I guess the 2 points I just made can be summed up with this basketball bottom line: DWAP (Dribble With A Purpose!)

Now let’s apply it to our lives as believers, where the goal (OBJECTIVE) is the Great Commission… there are often 2 extremes within the church world… and the extremes are “over-dribbling” and “under-dribbling”!

“Under-dribbling”: When the church is just focused on teaching and loses sight of the fact that our acts of service are the ways we create lanes/OPPOTUNITIES to fulfill our OBJECTIVE!

“Over-dribbling”: When the church is just focused on acts of service and loses sight of the OBJECTIVE of the Gospel and teaching of the Word!

The bottom line: SWAP (Serve With A Purpose!) Showing the love of Christ is a great way to get an attentive audience to the message of Christ… A person with a growling stomach finds it hard to listen… BUT the adverse, a person with a full stomach is still lost spiritually without hearing the Message/Word!

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

Pray for some kiddos in the Dominican Republic that will be getting a great CHRISTmas dinner (because of many of your gifts) AND will hear the transforming message of the Gospel!

December 7, 2020 - Make the Pass! (If that helps us score)

“We should enthusiastically be looking for OPPORTUNITIES to “get to the goal!” This is a quote from last week’s devotion… This was shared right before our annual post about “Giving Tuesday”… and lets be honest, every time “giving” comes into the equation there is some discomfort, and at times even disgust, as it seems there is always someone asking for something. 

Yet the post I put on about “Giving Tuesday” was a bit different than most… it actually used the concept of the “Triple Threat Position” in basketball… one where a player with the ball is in position to pass, dribble, or shoot… the post asked these questions: “What are you in position to do?” -and- “Are you ready to make a play?”

I often hear players described as either a “shoot-first” or a “pass-first” type of player… I could write a lot on just my thoughts about that type of description but I will keep it succinct… neither one is, in my opinion, the mark of a great player; I believe a great player is one that has a “score-first” mentality. You see the goal, is points for the team… and if the best option for doing that in the situation is to shoot, then by all means take the shot; if the best option is to create space, then by all means dribble; and if the best option is a teammate that is in better position to score, then by all means make the pass!

As stated last week, the same is true for us as the church… to score… the OBJECTIVE is to share the Gospel and teach the Word. And now that I have reviewed a bit, I want to actually share this week’s thought (and yes, I have many times been told I am long-winded… have even had players in the past make fun of me talking too much.) What I plan to do is take the next few weeks to break down the 3 parts of being a “triple threat,” which creates a “score-first” mentality.

This week lets talk passing… which involves not just the player with the ball, but also the teammates. If a player has ball-in-hand and teammates open, a decision must be made about who to pass it to; the answer is to pass to who gives the best OPPORTUNITY to score (which is the goal!) Maybe it is the teammate already set up in position to take the shot… or maybe to the teammate that is in position to create a lane to take the shot… BUT it does no good to pass to teammates that have no desire to get to the goal! (I can’t stand to watch a bunch of needless passes that get the team nowhere!)

So, one of the things I teach in basketball is to make sure you are in a ready position to not only receive a pass, but also to do something with it. There is a common rule of thumb that a shooter does most of his work to prepare for the shot before he ever gets the ball… (ie making the right cut… positioning the feet… etc.)

So, in order to avoid being too long-winded, let me make a couple of key points for the “passing game.”

1.       Be willing to share the ball with teammates that are in a better position to score than you… and there may be more than one option… so you have to choose which you feel gives the team the best chance to score…

2.       Be active in putting yourself in position… in good passing lanes to be able to receive the ball and score…

One more quick story to explain point number 2… I often hear players complain that they were open but not getting the pass. Sometimes that is true due to having a selfish teammate; yet often it is a result of being open but not being the best option. In my daughter’s game the other night she was doing something I have pointed out to her before, she was drifting into an open area that she felt was a good lane to score, yet was not in an available position for her teammates to make the pass. She was open but not visible… she needed to do better work in getting to open “passable” lanes… otherwise her teammates did not have the OPPORTUNITY to make the pass.

I shared that story to not only admonish us to be working to get open, but also to not be frustrated when “teammates” are asking you to “pass the ball.” At this time of year, you will have people “calling for the ball”…

1.       It may by your local church that needs funds to equip (set up) teammates to “score” – yes there are times that the church is the “scoring” option of sharing the Gospel… yet, it should always be the “scoring” option of teaching the Word… as often the Gospel should be handled by the individual team members as they are going through the “game of life”

2.       It may be ministry/missions organizations that “want the ball” (need help) – i.e. we at InBounds work very hard at putting ourselves in position to “score” and I try to make it visible to you, our teammates, to be able to “make a pass” to help… YET, I also know there are others that are positioning themselves to score as well… so as always, I cannot tell you where to “make the pass” but you need to look for what gives “the team” the best option to “score!” After all that is the OBJECTIVE… the GOAL!

This season of giving make sure to assist the team! At InBounds we value your prayers and your resources (if you feel we are the best option to “pass the ball” to!) And we realize that many care, but maybe are not in position to “make the pass”… lack OPPORTUNITY.

Paul said it this way when thanking the Philippians for their renewed giving to his ministry… Philippians 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked OPPORTUNITY.

November 30, 2020 - GOOOAL!

GOOOAL! Just reading the word and I can imagine a Latin American announcer in a soccer game after a score… I’m sure there are other announcers that try to emulate that celebration, but let’s face it Latinos are known for their passion… being all in… and in it is awesome to hear the announcer make the call with so much enthusiasm and excitement!

Yet this week’s devotion is not really about announcers… but more so about scoring the GOOOAL… you see, I am enthusiastic about our GOOOALS and excited when they happen!

GOOOALS are a result of meeting our Objectives… which involves recognizing Opposition… and taking advantage of each Opportunity! I could spend weeks using this theme, but going to try to write a concise overview of my thoughts…

The Objective is to get the ball in the net; yet that is often easier said than done. There will be Opposition… a defense that wants to keep us from reaching the Objective… maybe it even creates a lack of Opportunity to be the one to score the goal… BUT, we can look then to set up a teammate to put it in the net… So, the idea of Opportunity involves our individual and our corporate (team) responsibilities to reach the Objective. In fact, there are some players that are never in a position in the game to make the soring strike on the ball… but still can (and should be) be responsible for setting up the Opportunity!

If heading toward the goal, one of the key things to recognize is what the Opposition is… which determines where opportunity lies… Often the job of the one with the ball is to draw the defense toward him, in order to create an open lane for a teammate to score when the ball is passed to him. Yet, if there is an open net, the one with the ball should not pass but instead should shoot! (When teaching defense, I teach that the number one rule is to “stop the ball”; because the only one in the game that can score is the one with the ball…)

As believers, our “score” (Objective) is to fulfill the Great Commission of sharing the Gospel and teaching the Word… and do that via the Great Commandment of loving God and loving others… and do this according to the Great Game Plan to reach our local, national, and internationally communities. So, the question becomes quite simple, are you, am I, passionate about those things taking place… are we “all in” to the point we look to execute the plan and to celebrate when it happens?

Sometimes we are in position to be the ones that “take the shot” and other times we are in position to be the one to “set up the shot.” We live in a church culture that for far too long has insinuated that it is the job of the church professionals to handle the sharing of the Gospel. When in fact, we should enthusiastically be looking for Opportunities to “get to the goal!”

Yet sometimes we are not in position to “score” but faced with an Opportunity to “assist” a teammate in doing so… we can all help obviously pray for those in “scoring position” and some of us are in a position to “assist” materially through finances, supplies, etc.

The key is that we are in different “positions”… I love what John Wooden said: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” The Apostle Paul stated it this way (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit): “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12)

So, this week, (and especially with tomorrow being Giving Tuesday… and end-of-year giving coming up), I have two admonitions for each of us:

1.       If there is an Opportunity to score in your life, then take the shot! Share the Gospel when you have an open lane!

2.       If there is Opposition to you taking the shot, find a way to make a pass (assist) a teammate in doing so!

Do what you can, when you can… and together we can yell, GOOOAL!

Side note: I ain’t gonna lie, InBounds is in some great lanes to score… but we need an assist. Please pray for us… and about possibly giving to help us Make A Difference…

InBounds Ministries, PO Box 981, Troutman, NC 28166

Paypal.me/goMADmoney

November 23, 2020 - One Option

Well here we are at another Thanksgiving week… (yet, technically we are told to have Thanksgiving Day… daily… 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you…)

So this week I am going to share a very familiar thought from over the years, and hopefully stick to the original plan of the devotions being a quick “timeout” to help adjust our time “on the court” during the week…

So, my Thanksgiving declaration is that I am thankful for the Gospel being clear and simple! Let me explain…

Yesterday I was doing some follow-up research on basketball shooting techniques as I prepared for some of our Total Player Academy training sessions. Growing up playing and coaching in Indiana was basically being a basketball fundamentalist… we (I) hung our hats on the strict adherence to certain rules of shooting on the methods to obtain success. Yet, if we put side-by-side video of the greatest shooters in the game, we will find variances (options) in the placement of their feet… in their load or set point… in their shot pocket… in their hand placement… etc. In fact, I looked at comparisons between Steph Curry and Klay Thompson… to find many variances in their methodology… (This is a “fundamentalist” nightmare… realizing there is not one set method of shooting…) But what was consistent was at the finish, with the shooting hand finding its way behind the ball and following through. The one thing that has to happen, in order to be a good shooter, is the ball must go straight!

It was amazing as I did a short experiment and typed into a search: Basketball Shooting Technique Video… in 0.35 seconds there were almost 70,000,000 hits… how many folks think they are experts on teaching shooting??? Bottom line is that is a challenge to get players lined up straight in their shooting.

All of that intro to remind us that there are over 4000 known religions of people trying to be experts on what God (or in some folks’ mindset… gods) expects to get right or straight for being on the “team.” Religion is simply man trying to get lined up (or to shoot straight) in pleasing God.

Now to my basic Thanksgiving declaration… God has spoken clearly and simply within His Word. (And yes, I write under the belief that the Bible is God’s inspired “playbook”!) In the Scripture we get to good news via the path of bad news…

The bad news is that God says we are not good enough to be on His team… none of us always shoot straight… we miss… we sin. Therefore, God sent Jesus to be our Substitute via His perfect life and sacrificial death… then resurrecting to offer us a place on the team… new life found only in Him!

The reason I want us to celebrate the clarity and simplicity of the Gospel is that it truly requires no methodology on our part to get it right… but instead the (methodology) is the execution of Jesus on the cross… Jesus executed a perfect game plan on earth, thus qualifying Him to be executed in our place… in essence God executed the plan of execution…

Let’s not only state that we are thankful that salvation is based upon the work Christ for us… (we simply receive the Gift…) but let’s also show our gratitude by sharing this gift with others and honoring God with our lives!

God didn’t require us to maneuver through a lot things to get it right… HE MADE IT RIGHT! He gave us only one option! I’m so thankful I don’t have to wade through 70,000,000 videos… or through 4000 religious opinions/options… but have a clear path outlined to God through the cross!

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him! 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 6:47

There is only one set way (option) of salvation!

November 16, 2020 - Victory in Defeat (A Great Testimony)

As a coach and an AD I loved to play against tough competition… not just those we could have a good battle with, but also those that I knew were going to beat the crud out of us; in fact, I much preferred that to playing teams we would beat the crud out of. Simply put, from a coaching standpoint there was more to learn against the strong competition; and weak competition typically created poor habits because we could be successful on the scoreboard without being sharp… and even at times it created bad habits that wouldn’t work against the better competition.

The reason most people like to play the “creampuffs” is because of the false belief that the scoreboard is the measure of success. And in the spiritual world. We tend to have the same thought process… that blessings and success are only when we are in victorious situations.

Yet I believe that there is something to be said about finding victory in defeat… that one’s posture is more important than one’s place or position in the standings. In fact, I think one of the greatest ways the world can see God’s grace in our lives, is how we handle adversity.

I can remember telling one of my teams that was truly outmatched in many of our conference games, that we wanted to walk tall in defeat… to make sure the other team had respect for us even if we had taken a beating on the scoreboard. (One of my biggest frustrations is seeing athletes give up…)

Most of the time when I talk about this topic I talk about Paul. I love that he maintained his passion and purpose even in prison. Even when his chains were broken, he stayed in a bad place/position in order to make a difference… it is amazing that the other prisoners and jailers heard singing and rejoicing... attitudes (POSTURE) of trust in God’s plan over circumstances… One of my favorite quotes I have used over the years was from Phillip Yancey, who stated: “God and life are not synonyms!”

This all came to mind for me last week as my pastor was teaching on Joseph… this guy is one of the most celebrated men of the Old Testament… finding great success… yet his success was not always on the “scoreboard.” Genesis 39 tell us that “he was a successful man.” (verse 2) And later in the chapter it says that “whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.” (verse 23)

In verse 2 Joseph is a SUCCESFUL SLAVE and in verse 39 he is a PROSPEROUS PRISONER. Joseph’s PLACE/POSITION were not the indicators… it was his POSTURE. Joseph continued to trust and honor the Lord and in each of these situations it states “the Lord was with him.” (verses 2 and 23)

Joseph, like Paul, stayed focused on his PURPOSE and stood tall (POSTURE) for/with the Lord! This is victory even when the scoreboard says defeat…

November 9, 2020 - Vision and Visibility

This past week I had the privilege of sharing in an online revival series that was set up by one of my dear friends/co-laborers (and former student.) His heart was to have messages for a week leading up to Election Day and then there was a prayer service. When I was preparing the message, I was drawn to something that was a big mantra at the first of the year… that this would be a year of vision… 2020 vision… clarity… Yet, then the year started playing itself out and we have found ourselves in the midst of uncertainty… confusion… chaos… and, instead of clarity, it seems like we are in a fog.

You see vision is the ability to see… but that is not the same thing as visibility. Visibility is the distance in which one can see; and is affected by light and conditions. You can have 2020 vision with what is right in front of you, but it is not necessarily helpful when trying to travel in the fog.

I have often written over the years about handling pressure on the basketball court… about being able to make a play even though the defense is trying to cause confusion… chaos… and lack of clarity. When teaching how to do this on the basketball court I run players through drills to teach how to make passes that take advantage of “hot spots” on the opponents and make it harder for them to deflect or steal the ball… I also use the drills to show where and how I want teammates to cut… (ie on a break when the player with the ball gets it to the middle, he/she should know and trust that teammates are filling the lanes on a straight cut from free throw line extended to the box… and if you have played for me, you can probably hear me screaming, “no banana cuts!”)

If you are not a basketball player, you may be wondering what any of this has to do with vision or visibility or the Word of God… I believe the Scriptures are what give us proper vision and, even when there is confusion and chaos, clear visibility that cuts through the conditions.

Psalm 119:105 calls the Word a Lamp and a Light; It illuminates where we are… and where we are going! Therefore, I do not believe that we can effectively navigate the times/conditions we are in apart from truly hiding God’s Word in our hearts! (Psalm 119:11)

Throughout the Scriptures we see the clear directive to use the Word to navigate through life! I think we can even go as far as to say we will live in a fog apart from the Word.

One of the most common phrases we hear in today’s church world is that we are called to be “Christ followers.” It is a concept Jesus Himself used several times when calling us to follow. Yet that leaves the question of what it really means and how to do it.

The easiest assumption to make is to say following means go and do what He did (i.e. follow in footsteps.) And when He was here on earth in earthly form, there was some validity to that thought… go where He was going and then do what He was doing… which I have often said was the best discipleship program available.

I believe the idea of following/discipleship is 100% rooted in taking in the Word… the Light that was given to us. After all, the claim of Jesus is that He was the Word made flesh… the “Logos.” In other words, Jesus, was God incarnate (in the flesh)… the fullness of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

In the book of John, Jesus describes Himself as “the Light”, the same description as what is given to the Word: John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Jesus promises vision and visibility to those that “follow” Him. The Word follow, in context, is not as much about what we do, but more about how we think (which in turn affects what we do.) Jesus was speaking to the crowd as a teacher and the word He used for “follow” is one that literally means one that would be a disciple or side with one’s party… (sounds like a good election week term)… one that would ascribe or buy into the other’s platform. We follow Jesus by ascribing to His teachings… allowing them to “transform” how we think, and thus how we live.

Even in the confusion and chaos, we can have clarity and know where and what we need to be doing!

November 2, 2020 - Elections (Try-outs)

Well here we are facing another Election Day… faced with choices… much like in coaching when holding tryouts…

Back in the day, when there was a such things as “cuts” in try-outs, it was a coaching staff’s duty to evaluate players and determine who would make the team. It is still true in determining who to draft… or who to offer a scholarship to. 

Over the years I have shared stories of these things in our weekly devotions… 

I remember sharing about one of my personal college try-outs when I simply didn’t perform the way the coach was hoping; I tried to show my passing skills and he was looking for a scorer…

I remember sharing about a college try-out where I played incredible, only to find that the coach only had 1 scholarship to offer and he needed a “Big” not a guard…

I’ve written about a hero of mine, Tony Dungy, where he had a DNDC policy… Do Not Draft due to Character issues…

All of these scenarios have something in common… not measuring up! They are legitimate ways to determine an athletic team… and even a political election… as we evaluate candidates based upon their performance, based upon what we think the “team” needs, and even based upon what we perceive in their character. 

Well if you are reading this because you think I was going to all the sudden become political in these posts, you were wrong. I am writing this week’s devotion to CELEBRATE how God determined who would be on His team… our VICTORY party!

In eternity past God, who is All-Knowing, looked into the future of His creation and saw the Fall of mankind… He saw that all humans would “fall short” (Romans 3:23) in conduct and character… none would measure up…

Therefore, He made the plan to put on a Team Human uniform/flesh (John 1:14) and “play a perfect game” on earth… thus qualifying as a Substitute for fallen man. When Jesus hung on the cross, it was in our stead… when He rose again it was an offer to be on God’s team!

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him! (2 Corinthians 5:21)

God, looking at humanity, found no one worthy, so in turn decided He would choose those that would put their faith in the finished work of Christ… God chose not the biggest, brightest, or best… He chose BELIEVERS for His team! (I’m not qualified to make the cut… BUT Jesus is!!!)

I’m not flying banners in this devotion for a political candidate… but CELEBRATING VICTORY IN JESUS!

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes… (Romans 1:16)

October 26, 2020 - Take the RIGHT Shot!

Often over the years I have taught, written, remarked about the “Burger King-microwave-culture” we live in. It is the “have it your way” and “have it now” culture. We are a culture that is seduced by the end result as being the only proof of success… I know some of you will bring out phrases like, “it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” But let’s be honest, we only say that when we know we are “losers”… 

It’s why coaches/recruiters will cheat… it’s why athlete’s will use performance enhancing drugs in spite of the potential side effects…

I often write about John Wooden and his days at UCLA (10 national championships in a 12 year span) and wonder if he would have been fired before that in today’s culture? You see he had coached as UCLA for 15 years prior to that first championship… 

Basically, because we look at end results as the proof, we neglect to consider the path to get there…

It carries over to our church culture as well… as growing in numbers often outweighs growing in mind/spirit… I remember hearing one preacher say, “if numbers are proof of God’s blessing, He is all over Disney World!” 

Don’t read me wrong here, I am not opposed to being culturally attractive in outreach. In fact, I often teach that our “methods are ever-changing” and the “anything short of sin is fair game.” Yet I also teach that our “message is never-changing” and that we must adhere to the Biblical mandate of sharing Christ as our Substitute (see Mark 16:15… 1 Corinthians 15:3-4) or the Playbook as the foundation for how we play the game (see Matthew 28:18-20)!

Cultural attractiveness minus the Message is simply fluff and the crowds it will bring do not indicate success. Cultural attractiveness plus the Message is a brilliant strategy that we “might win the weak… might by all means save some!” (1 Corinthians 9:22)

The “path of success” for the believer, is one of obedience… which is simply one of walking by faith (trusting) in how God said to do things… even if we don’t immediately see the results. We stick to the game plan! As we have been studying the “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11) on Sunday mornings at our church, it was pointed out again yesterday that the whole lot of these Biblical heroes were commended or approved not because of their results but because of their faith!

Hebrews 11:2 For by it (faith) the men of old gained approval. (NASB) 

“God doesn’t commend based upon results…” (Matt Brooks, LifePoint Church)

“God is not concerned if you hit the shot… He’s concerned if you take the right shot!” (Coach Burden, InBounds)

October 19, 2020 - Leaking Power

As I was preparing for messages, I preached the last couple of Sundays, I was reminded of a great quote from John Wooden: “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”

During the messages, I have been keying on the idea of “stewardship,” and let’s be honest that most of the time the word stewardship makes us think of what/how we are spending financially,... yet in my messges I was emphasizing the importance of using our time, talents, and treasure wisely…

And as I thought about Wooden’s quote about attention to details, I was reminded of his process of even teaching his players how to wear their socks properly and lace their shoes to avoid blisters that would slow them down. Which got me thinking that stewardship is not just how we spend, but also the wisdom in what to avoid.

A word that I think could describe what good stewardship looks like is “efficiency.” Being efficient is not just having maximum results, but doing it with minimum wasted effort or expense.

I have often mentioned my dear friend Jason Otter in these weekly devotions. Jason is the best basketball trainer I have ever seen; based upon this idea of playing efficiently, he trains players to get the most out of their play by maintaining proper positioning and limiting wasted movement…

Another example of this concept of efficiency, or stewarding one’s effort happened last week as my daughter Faith was doing an evaluation with another dear friend, Brian Creel of AthElite Nation in Boaz, AL. Like Jason when it comes to hoops, Brian is the best I know at training power and speed. As he put Faith through the evals, he timed her in running the 40. While doing this he filmed the dash and went back to the film to show Faith some of his observations…

Faith ran a very respectable time, but Brian pointed out that she had some issues not only with how her feet were landing… but also with how she was using her arms. In essence, her feet were landing with too much time spent on the ground… het arms were crossing in front of her body a bit creating a slight “falling off-line.” And the basic premise is the quickest distance between two points is a straight line, therefore when “falling off-line” it was causing her to “leak power.” I love that description… she wasn’t breaking rules… just not being as efficient as possible… and thus wasting some time (or she could have had a GREAT time instead of just a respectable time. (Remember efficiency results in MAXIMUM results.)

So, this week it is a familiar challenge… if we took video of your life, how efficient would it look spiritually… in serving God by stewarding your time, talent, and treasure? Are there things that are throwing you “off-line” resulting in less-than-best results? Hebrews 12:1 tells us to not only get rid of sin in our lives but also the “weight” that can cause us to “leak power”!

Ephesians 5:16 exhorts us to “redeem the time,” or to make the most of our time… in essence running straight spiritually in all we do’

Do some self-evaluation of your life and determine if there is “weight” or “sin” that is causing you to “leak power” and be inefficient…

Ephesians 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise…

October 12, 2020 - At The Catch...

We have had these devotions going now for almost 19 full years… (this week is #980)… and I have talked often of coachability… teamwork… trust in the game plan… commitment… humility… etc. And I have used many different sports as examples to teach us these lessons. This week, while prepping for a message, I came across a word in the text that brought a new “sport” or “exercise” to mind… ROWING. In the English it is a very common word we find in the Scriptures… the word Servant; in fact, we find the word servant almost 900 times. Yet, in the original language there are a few of the times where the word that was translated servant is different… one that can carry the idea of being an officer or assistant to the king… but has the concept of being part of the “rowing team”!

As I studied the word a bit, I came across the following article and decided to simply share its content with you this week… in hopes of reminding us to listen to the Captain (Coach)… and to go shoulder to shoulder with one another in a common goal, working together! So, without further ado… “At the catch…” (Command to tell the rowers to put their oars in water in preparation to start rowing.)

The Work of an Under-Rower

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 / OMAR C. GARCIA

HUPERETES

The word huperetes is one of the more unusual words for servant in the Greek language. The word huperetes means under-rower. The word originally referred to a rower on board a trireme or a war-galley. It later came to refer to someone who performed hard labor. Paul used this particular word when he wrote to the Corinthian believers.

“So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God” (1 Cor. 4:1).

5 Aspects of an under-rower’s work.

• An under-rower had to row to the captain’s beat.
• The under-rowers had to row together.
• An under-rower had to trust the captain.
• An under-rower was committed for life.
• An under-rower received no honor.

Paul modeled the attitude of an under-rower.

• He was submissive because he rowed to the captain’s beat.
• He was sensitive because he rowed in harmony with others.
   There are 35 “one another” passages in the New Testament.
• He was trusting because he didn’t care where he labored.
• He was dedicated because he was willing to die at his post.
• He was humble because he wanted no glory for himself, only for his captain.

We should adopt the attitude of an under-rower.

• Obey our master. Order our steps according to his cadence.
• Cooperate with our fellow servants. Sail with the fleet.
• Trust the Lord to guide us. Put His preferences above our own.
• Remain in service for a lifetime.
• Give Christ all the glory.

October 5, 2020 - SPACING (Part2)

Last week we began talking about “spacing” and the need to avoid the traps of the enemy… simply put, we need to “Resist him”! (The enemy) [1Peter 5:9] I stated that this week we would key on a different aspect of spacing… not what to avid but what to pursue…

As a coach I consistently found myself talking to my teams about proper spacing on the floor to create opportunities. In fact, when it came to that, I regularly talked about not being right on top of one another. (Picture a little kids’ game where all the offensive players are bunched up begging for the ball.) I regularly would teach that movement/passes need to be made to improve our ability to get to the goal, not to stay in the same place…

But ultimately, in our Christian lives we need to ask what the goal is… if you have been reading these devotions for long, or sat under my teaching in any capacity, you know that my focus is most often on fulfilling the Great Commission via the Great Commandment according to the Great Game Plan… evangelism and discipleship, packaged in love, shared at home and abroad…

Yet ultimately those things will happen if we truly get our “spacing” right… or as I put it last week, helps us understand what The Coach desires of us.

Ephesians 5:17 tells us to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” So how do we do that? SPACING!

In the message that prompted me to think about “spacing” the pastor spoke about Enoch, and what made him special to God… so special that Enoch didn’t taste death but just went on to be with the Lord after 365 years of life… (See Genesis 5:21-24) This same Enoch is listed in the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11… Yet, we don’t see any grand exploits about Enoch, simply that “Enoch walked with God.” (Genesis 5:24) This idea of “walking” carries the idea that Enoch was shoulder-to-shoulder with God throughout his life… SPACING!

James 4:7-8 Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…

SPACING… last week we talked about avoiding the enemy… this week we talk about shouldering up to The Coach and His will! Last week we talked about evaluating the court (life) and staying away from the traps… this week… are you truly leaning into (walking) with God?

We “shoulder up” with The Coach, according to Ephesians 5, by understanding what His will is… intently listening in the huddle (being in the Word) and intentionally executing it in the game… when we get in God’s huddle of His Word, it will transform how we think and how we play the game!

Make it a priority to shoulder up (walk) with God by allowing Him/His Word to transform your game (life)!

September 28, 2020 - SPACING (Part 1)

Well I find myself again drawing from the well of Sunday messages… it just seems that each week during the message something sparks ideas, much like reading about or watching games does…

This time the idea of “SPACING” came to mind… whenever teaching basketball it is imperative to teach spacing… typically it involves creating space (looking for openings) and/or owning space (getting to one’s spot)… but it is always intentional or deliberate…

When evaluating the defense, it is important to avoid traps. Every defensive scheme is designed to try to cut off the offense’s openings, and often designed to lead the players into situations with seemingly no way out… traps! Thus, great players read and avoid those situations via change of direction, passes, etc.

Spiritually, the enemy wants to lure us into traps… he is deceptive and the master of making things look like “openings’ only to pounce on us. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to “be sober, be vigilant” because our enemy is “seeking whom he may devour.”

The word “sober” has the idea of being calm and collected… The word “vigilant” means to be alert and cautious… In other words, like a great player, we need to look ahead at potential “traps” and act accordingly. Interestingly, the word “devour” has the idea of swallowing up something… sounds like a suffocating trap to me… Therefore, 1 Peter 5:9 starts by admonishing us to “Resist him”!

I plan to share a bit from the positive side of “spacing” next week… what to pursue, more than what to avoid. Yet, wisdom calls for us to evaluate things in our lives to see what is luring us away from God’s desired plan for our lives. And I am not speaking of special callings of times and places, but His desired will for how we conduct our day to day affairs. God’s Word has clear instruction… reminds me of the acronym B.I.B.L.E. = Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth…

Here is the way Paul admonished us to “create space” in our lives: Ephesians 5:15-17 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is…

Bottom line this week: Survey the floor (your life) and avoid the traps of the enemy…

Next week: Let’s look at spacing that helps us understand what The Coach desires for us…

September 21, 2020 - Move Your Feet

I often talk with church folk and hear the same sentiment… that they are ready and willing to do what the Lord asks… a mentality that says one is willing to follow the direction of God when “called”… a mindset that waits for one’s number to be called in a play designed for him… It is typically an approach that thinks of grandiose plans for projects or the mission field.

Don’t get me wrong, I, as a player, loved to have my number called… for the coach to design a play for me. I have used that analogy in the past pointing out that God calls plays for us to perform “good works… that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) When teaching about that verse I typically liken it unto players that see the play drawn up in the huddle and then return to the bench instead of taking the floor…

Earlier I saw a Facebook memory pop up from a friend’s page and it stated, “Don’t ask God to guide your footsteps if you’re not willing to move your feet!”

I thought of the prophet Isaiah saying, “Here I am Lord, send me” (Isaiah 6:8) and his willingness to go; he heard clear direction from the Lord! This is typically a verse used to encourage the mission filed or the pastorate… some grandiose scoring play, BUT…

I got to thinking, as I began writing today, that as a coach, I didn’t call the number of players that didn’t first show a willingness to “move their feet” in just the basic expectations. In other words, calling a player’s number for a grandiose play was predicated upon the player being committed or obedient to the basic structures of the game. Every player on my bench was willing to have a play designed for them, but bottom line is I didn’t trust doing that for every player on our bench.

What if we first gauged our “willingness” not on the grandiose ideas of ministry, and instead on the basic tenets of the Word, which is in fact the biggest part of how God has chosen to give us direction… Afterall Jesus stated it this way:

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much… Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? (Luke 16:10-11)

Jesus also states that doing the things He says makes one wise, and not doing them foolish… (Matthew 7:24, 26)

And James warns us to not just be “hearers” of the Word but also “doers”… (James 1:22)

I know you may be willing to have your number called… but are you faithful to the basic tenets of “the game”? MOVE YOUR FEET on the basics, the grandiose stuff will come after one is found faithful!

September 14, 2020 - Pace and Purpose

“Game management” is important in every sport… you think of it with football and the 2-minute offenses, or in hoops with if a team should slow things down or get out on the break, or just an individual player determining what “gear” to be in to set up his move…

I was already planning to deal with this topic, and then I saw an article tonight about the Los Angeles Clippers blowing big leads in their last couple of games; their coach, Doc Rivers, stated that he knew the problem… once they got up on the scoreboard, they stopped playing with pace and purpose…

When teams stop playing with pace and purpose it is often stated that it was like someone “took the air out of the  ball…”; guys start standing still and not cutting hard to the basket… the game tends to become “East-West” (side to side) instead of “North-South” (getting to the goal.)

Obviously the “pace” of 2020 was brought to a standstill back in March when the quarantines started hitting; we could truly say the “air was taken out of the ball.” As a result life became very much just idly standing around and not “playing” with any pace or purpose.

Yet 1 Corinthians 15:58 says we should be “always abounding in the work of the Lord”! And 1 Peter 4:10 states this: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Playing with Pace and Purpose involves: Not standing around but actually “abounding”… actively “ministering to one another”… “as good stewards”…

A steward is one that has been charged with managing a household or land or financial affairs… it is a superintendent of sorts. We are commissioned to manage our gifts and our time properly… with Pace and Purpose! Stop standing around… make a move… cut to the basket… you get the picture!

September 7, 2020 - Live To Play Another Day

Heard a great message this weekend from my friend Todd Oldham (one of the pastors on staff at LifePoint Church in Albertville AL.) The church is in a series called “Inside My Head” where the pastors have been dealing with emotions that can take us captive.,. most of which have negative connotations; but Todd got to share about happiness… something we all long for. Yet an honest look at happiness has to include the reality that we are not always happy… (for example: I typed in “happiness is fleeting quote” and had over 3 million hits come back…) To teach about happiness in 2020 is even more challenging, with anxiety and depression at all-time highs.

Life is hard! We are either facing troubles or will face troubles… and there have been other times in history when things seemed really bleak. Todd took us back to Habakkuk around 600BC. Habakkuk, a prophet, is talking of how bad things are about to get… no crops… no herds… kind of like grocery stores with empty shelves… they may have even had a toilet paper shortage…

Let me shift gears for a moment. Back when I was coaching, we faced some incredibly talented teams. One, which I have written about before, had around 6 or 7 future D1 basketball players on the roster. They were taller than us, faster than us, and more skilled than us; not a good recipe for success. In fact, when in the locker room I told the players, “We are about to get the crap beat out of us…” At this point some of you will think I sound like a horrible coach, but then I reminded my guys of a few things. First and foremost, I asked “What are you scared of?”, we were playing basketball, not going into a knife fight; we would live to play another day. I then also reminded them that the scoreboard is not the determining factor in success; but that effort and attitude were the important things. I encouraged my guys to make sure the other team had to earn their victory, and thus we would earn some respect. I then told them to have fun, as they would be seeing these guys on TV in the near future. My guys played loose, had fun, and we got the crud kicked out of us! Yet it made us stronger for the next team we would face!

Back to our story from Habakkuk… he admits that he is distressed over the coming troubles, to the point of trembling (3:16.) But then he makes what would seem to be an odd statement:

18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

I think the key to Habakkuk’s moments of happiness, even in the midst of distress, came from a great life lesson he had discovered; one which the Apostle Paul quotes him on in three of his epistles…

Habakkuk 2:4 …the just shall live by faith.

If we go back to Habakkuk 3:17, he states that “though” things are about to get ugly, 19 “the Lord God is my strength…” Faith equals trusting God!

He didn’t sing “Don’t worry be happy” as though life was going to easy; he would have sang “Great is Thy faithfulness” knowing he could trust the ending! (Verses 17-19 truly are a hymn of faith… what God has said is true!)

Because of the faithfulness and sufficiency of Christ we can know what the future holds… we win! No matter how hard it might be… we keep playing!

August 31, 2020 - Examine Your Game

What a series from Luka Doncic! I wrote about him a little bit last week as he was putting up huge numbers in their playoff series, which he continued to do in spite of the Dallas Mavericks eventually losing the series. But even in loss, there is huge praise following those hug numbers… even the coach and players from the other team are talking about how tough and good he is.

As a 21-yr-old young man, it would be very easy for Luka to go into the off-season feeling really good about himself and basking in the praise. Yet, the bottom lie for him is that he is in the off-season and not in round 2! I don’t know Doncic, and I am sure he probably has a bit of an ego… what young man wouldn’t get a bit of a swollen head with the basketball world singing his praises; BUT I do love the response he gave immediately after the series ended:

“There’s a lot of things to improve on. You can’t work on just one thing, you’ve got to work on everything. But I’ll especially work on my shooting. That’s my key.”

That response reminded me of a passage I in Galatians… one that is extremely fitting for a quarantine, when there is time to think (like the off-season.)

Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

Translation: in spite of a good performance, losing in round 1 was not the goal…

Galatians 6:4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

Translation: you are responsible for you… take an honest look at your “game”!

We each need to regularly take inventory of where we can improve!

Disclaimer: the difference is we are not “performing to win” but out of gratitude for the “performance” of Christ for our victory… we should be motivated to share that truth with a lost world!

August 24, 2020 - Luka and Playoff P

Being in the midst of the NBA playoffs, there is a lot of chatter about the guys that are lighting it up… and the guys that are stinking it up…

From the positive side I just saw an article on Luka Doncic talking about how he is built to handle the pressure… thrives in it; on the negative, and in the same series, I am seeing many writing/commenting about Paul George who has not played well at all on the offensive end.

Paul George is an NBA superstar and is typically referred to as PG13… yet in past years, at playoff time, has been labeled “Playoff P” for his great play… now this year I am seeing headlines like “Playoff P is Missing in Action!”

The reality is that Paul George may simply be in a shooting slump, and he does typically affect the game positively in many other ways; or maybe there is some different type of pressure now? You see this year, beyond any other in his career, he is with a team with the highest expectations. They have been predicted by many to win it all, yet currently are in a really tight battle just to get through the first round.

I’m not writing this to write off Paul George; he may bounce backs with huge games to carry his team through… BUT so far his play has reminded me of a verse found in Proverbs 24:

10 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

The Message says it this way: 10 If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.

Times are difficult right now… we are facing many crises in our culture, and they may have led to personal crises of health or finances or… I know I am personally facing a lot of struggles. So how do we keep from fainting or falling to pieces?

The logical spiritual answer is to trust God; yet in our humanity it is easy to allow our brains to swim around in the negative circumstances… trying to figure things out… and face “paralysis by analysis.” But the Biblical formula I see for fighting through and showing strength is to focus on meeting the needs of others…

I have written in the past about how the Apostle Paul found joy in the midst of struggles by serving and praying for others needs instead of focusing on his personal needs. And as I was prepping for this devotion the next verse in Proverbs 24 jumped out:

11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to slaughter.

The Message starts the verse this way: 11-12 Rescue the perishing; don’t hesitate to step in and help. If you say, “Hey, that’s none of my business,” will that get you off the hook? Someone is watching you closely, you know--- someone not impressed with weak excuses.

I’m not Paul George’s shooting coach, but I know when a player is slumping, it is often hard to come out of it because doubts (hesitation) set in… thus messing up the shooting rhythm.

I don’t know what you are facing today, and I am speaking heavily to myself, but we can’t hesitate to serve others because of our personal adversity. Let’s Go MAD (Make A Difference) in someone else’s life today… in turn it will Make A Difference in our personal lives!

August 17, 2020 - Getting Even!

Have a very basic truth this week that I want to share…

Growing up I would often hear, and I am sure stated many times, “I don’t get mad… I get even!” First of all, that was not true… I would get mad, really mad… so mad that when I was really young my older brother and his friends thought it was fun to get me going and then see who could stay up the longest as I tried to plow them over. As I got a bit older, and potentially could do some harm, my brother would simply lock himself in a room until I calmed down, so he didn’t have to beat me up to stop me. Point was, I had no desire to get even, I wanted to get ahead (a head)!

Same is true in hoops… I never played for a tie (getting even); when down, the goal was to not just catch up, but to get ahead!

Yesterday in church, my friend Nick taught on the problems we face with anger… he had some great points about how it can control us and lead us down the wrong path. He quoted a friend that had told him, “if you can’t say it in love, you can’t say it!”  Nick shared the following verses from James 1:

19-20 …everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

Nick then made the following statement: “When you act out in anger, it is never right.” And to be perfectly honest, I initially bristled at the statement as I thought about all the times growing up I heard preachers talk about “righteous anger” and using the example of Jesus overturning tables in the temple… Therefore, I started looking up verses, word meanings, etc; what Nick was saying sounded wrong but also sounded right… and the verses from James seem very clear.

Then I got to thinking about a theme I have shared many times through my ministry… one that filters all Biblical mandates (law) through Jesus’ words that it all has to be subject to loving God and loving others (the Great Commandment)…

I then read the verses in James through that lens and it popped out that the “anger OF MAN” does not seek or show the heart of God… it seeks to get even or get ahead! It is selfishly motivated and causes us to fight for vindication instead of restoration. We end up more concerned with making ourselves right instead of making God right…

Ephesians 4:26 tells us to “Be angry, and yet do not sin…”

What is interesting is that the word for “angry” in this verse is a different form of the word for “anger” in James… this one actually means that we can be provoked to anger (a legitimate feeling) and yet not sin… it is based in the new mindset that is talked about a few verses earlier…

Ephesians 4:23-24 …and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

I love that… the “likeness of God”… a God that loves in spite of opposition… I think of Philippians 2 where we are told to have a mind like Christ… one that gives in spite of…

The theme at our church right now is “Love is Why”; and I remind us all of the way services are typically closed, “we love you and there’s nothing you can do about!”

Today, don’t worry about shining the light on yourself… your rightness… but instead on Jesus and His rightness! Don’t strive to get even or ahead, but to share the love of Christ in every circumstance!

Side note: you will seldom win an argument (especially on social media); BUT God's word/truth does transform lives!

August 10 2020 - The Foundation of a TEAM (Fellowship)

I’ve been working on some ideas for a new ministry project and my studies have been looking at what a fellowship (being a team) looks like… and in the process regularly see news about off the court/field issues between teammates. 

Building a true team concept involves some key things… being on the same page philosophically… being committed the good days and the bad… picking one another up when needed… etc.

As I study the idea of fellowship, it is rooted in these same concepts. We see in Scripture that it involves “considering one another”, “stirring up love and good works”, and “exhorting one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25); we see that it involves “restoring” and “bearing one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:1-2)… yet we also find a very foundational truth to fellowship (being a true team):

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

In order to truly have fellowship it is required that we “walk in the light.” This is a mandate that we must have the same philosophy… be on the same page… we must be trusting the direction the Coach is giving! “Light” has the idea of truth and its knowledge… of mind and reason. In other words, we cannot truly function as a “team” without an agreement to our foundational truths…

Our “game plan” must be established in God’s truths/philosophies for life! Let’s win in life together…

Proverbs 10:25 When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked: good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed. (The Message)

August 3, 2020 - Play Loose

With the re-start of the NBA games in the Orlando-bubble there have already been some disappointing performances and also have been some incredible breakout games as well… (shoutout to TJ Warren dropping 53 and 34 in his first couple bubble-games!)

But one player that stood out to me for this week’s devo is Michael Porter Jr.  Apparently, he had a lackluster outing a couple days ago, one that had his coach frustrated; and I’m sure Michael as well. He is a very talented young man that battled injury in his lone college season (playing in barely over a game’s worth of minutes and scoring just 30 collegiate points total; yet he was chosen high in the draft and then was held out due to the injury his first year after being drafted… so this year is considered his rookie season. He has been given a chance to start with some of his teammates out and apparently the 1^st game back left him frustrated and worried on how his coach would respond…

An article I read on ESPN stated: "Michael Porter Jr. texted Michael Malone three times over the past few days, telling him he can do better and pleading with the Denver Nuggets coach to stick with the talented rookie."

I didn’t watch the game, but reading what transpired afterwards, it is clear that he was a bit lethargic and maybe playing tight… which happens often when a player is pushing too hard to impress the coach… maybe not sure where he stands with the coach. And I LOVE the response he got from his coach…

"I said, 'Michael, I'm not going anywhere,'" Malone texted back. "I'm gonna stay with you."

In today’s game Porter Jr responded by playing a much more complete game… dropping 37 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Quite a performance for the young man! So what was the difference?

As a coach I realized that my players were much “looser” when they knew I was on their side… knew they had some freedom to just play without worrying about being “yanked” for every mistake. Coach Malone empowered his player by giving him some security and freedom…

All of that to point out a really cool word study I did for a message a couple of weeks ago. As I prepared to teach about why we can trust God (that He is on our side and has given us security and freedom), I shared a very familiar passage from Proverbs 3:5, which tells us to “TRUST in he Lord…”

When we listen to God, we can do so with a TRUST… that word literally has the idea of “with confidence… being secure… feeling safe… being carefree…

Just “get in the game and play”… do what He has said, and realize that even though we may blow it sometimes, we are safe and can “play with confidence”… which in turn allows us to “play to our potential.”

God is literally saying to you, “I’m not going anywhere… I’m gonna stay with you!”