June 29, 2020 - Circle Up

Bottom line is that life is hard right now… although some places have opened back up… some opened and then shut again…, the pandemic has been rough on the team… even when we are together it is with the idea of social distancing…

Yesterday our pastor pointed out that to say someone has potential can be a negative comment. Sure, if we say it about a young player it is good in what we the future may hold; but the older one gets, the more that becomes the idea of unreached potential. Think of the athlete that has all the tools for greatness but never does anything with it. “Got potential” can mean that one is lazy or uncaring… unfulfilled expectations.

In the sports world we always encourage finding workout partners to stay accountable… teammates to build up… left to ourselves it is easy to slack off. As humans, we are relational, and need one another to stay motivated.

Yesterday’s sermon brought these things to mind… as the Scriptures tell us encourage one another… to sharpen one another… to assemble together…

Pastor Matt made a good point about why Sundays, in and of themselves (even when meeting without restrictions), can be inadequate in meeting this need. On Sundays we sit in rows, which connect us to the stage but not to one another; whereas Life Groups (personal teams) allow us to “circle up” or “huddle up” and see we are in this thing together.

Do you have a “team” to “circle up” with? To keep you accountable and motivated? To keep accountable and motivated?

When we are commanded to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) it is surrounded by other commands that go with it… in other words it is not just about the assembly, but what we do there…

Hebrews 10:24 tells us to “consider” (fix our eyes/mind upon) our teammates in order to “stir up” (incite or provoke) “love and good works.” Then later in verse 25 it says we assemble for the purpose of “exhorting one another” (carries the ideas of consoling, encouraging, instructing); and this is to increase as we “see the Day approaching.”

You don’t have to listen long to hear folks talk about the idea of us being in the latter times… no matter what you think on that, we are closer today than yesterday! Thus, we need to not just be faithful to find ways to assemble but also to fulfill the reason for the assembling…

When I would yell “circle up” to my team or my campers, it meant that I wanted to share with them (encouragement and/or instruction)… to look them in the eye a little more intently that when they were spread throughout the gym in lines…

Church, Circle Up! We need each other to reach our potential of turning the world upside down… (Thanks, Matt for some good food for thought yesterday.)

June 22, 2020 - Closed Practices

I will be very honest as I start this week’s devo… I’m tired and a bit overwhelmed with stuff I need to get done. In case you didn’t know it, the world is a bit topsy-turvy right now, with a lot of things to draw our attention. On top of that, for me personally, I have a massive amount of irons in the fire (and even had one of those frustrating experiences where many hours of computer work I did on Saturday was lost in a computer update… nowhere to be found in my “history”.) So, planning to be short and to the point today…

When life is feeling this way, I remember what we would do in the sports world to focus in and remove distractions… Closed Practices! Yes, it was common to shut the doors of the gym and not allow in any outside influence, in order to concentrate on the task at hand. Friends in the gym led to horseplay… parents in the gym led to possible voices with a different agenda… etc. Bottom line was that we only had a set amount of time to accomplish our goals… and needed to stay on task!

In the hustle and bustle of life right now there are many voices vying for our attention, and my question is what is actually our task… our agenda? When I look at Scripture, especially the life of Jesus, I really don’t see Him being drawn away to every voice or issue. That is not to say that He didn’t address issues, but that He addressed everything based upon, or out of, love not legislation; based upon this mission statement: “…Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49)

Jesus was not blind to the issues of the day, nor did He ignore them; yet, He answered them in the context of His Father’s business… What is the Father’s business that we need to be focused on… not distracted from?

Fulfilling the Great Commission of evangelism and discipleship, via the Great Commandment of loving God and loving others, according to the Great Game Plan of reaching our community and beyond…

As stated over the past couple of weeks, this is by no means a political post! I have my views on politics… want to be informed… want to exercise my stewardship of voting… etc. BUT, the game plan / purpose of these devotions is to encourage and equip the team… they are “closed practices” based upon staying focused on the team objective… to motivate not legislate… (and to steal the motto of our church)… Love Is Why!

So my challenge to you is to measure the things you are doing against your purpose as a believer… as part of God’s team…

June 15, 2020 - Sacrificing For The Team

The past couple of weeks I have attempted to “stir up love and god works” (Hebrews 10:24) in the midst of these trying times. This week I want to be a bit more direct and ask us each to examine ourselves… our feelings… our motives… what hills we are willing to die on… YET maybe more importantly what we are willing to sacrifice?

I love players that are committed to getting better… YET more importantly those that are committed to making the team better. Often times when the Scriptures talk of the “new man”, they are referring to the new team or body of Christ that is made up from many tribes… with one purpose… “playing the game” of life under the banner of Christ!

Yesterday I watched a short video on Julius Erving that highlighted how good he was… (he was my favorite player growing up and I still fly a couple of Dr. J posters…) What jumped out at me was how incredible his stats were in the ABA, but then they dropped a little going to the NBA. One train of thought could be that the NBA was just a harder league; YET “The Doctor” showed he could get those stats whenever needed… YET he had an all-star caliber teammate (George McGinnis) that was also a big stat guy and Julius was willing to share the wealth. (I got the pleasure of seeing that team live against the Indiana Pacers.)  Later on, the team had yet another great player (Moses Malone) that helped them reel in an NBA championship, again with Dr. J willingly sacrificing a bit.

When I am looking at social media I see (“hear”) a lot of squawking about everyone’s rights and opinions. Can I encourage everyone to have a “YET” moment this week?

YIELD to EXAMINE that you are TEAM-oriented… focused on the goals of the team more than your own “stat-line”… focused on fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15) via the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) according to the Great Game Plan (Acts 1:8)!

I intentionally used the word “squawking” as I did see a really nice post from Missionary Flights International, where the guys were checking on a “squawk.” That is something with the plane that is typically minor, but of left unchecked can become very major.  They reminded us to see if we “have any squawks to assess?”

They then gave a great Scriptural reminder for doing this: Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; try me an know my thoughts; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

And while you’re at it… ask Him to search your social media, etc for any “squawks”…

June 8, 2020 - Take A Knee! (A different perspective)

If you opened up this devotion based upon the title, thinking I would be making a political statement about Colin Kaepernick or Drew Brees, you will be disappointed! This has nothing to do with where I stand (or kneel) in that debate…

In youth sports, one of the coolest things to see is the response when a player gets hurt… obviously I am not referring to the hurt player, but instead what is now common practice for the other players to do…

When I was still playing, all I remember was that when someone went down on the other team we were all told to give him room… told to get back… which was good advice; let the ones that can actually help have room to work – we would then end up back in a huddle with the coach getting an unplanned timeout. Not that we did not care about the injured one, but since we weren’t directly involved in treating the injured one, we could stay focused on our game-agenda, which meant that we lost sight of the injured player… (Note: when a player went down on our own team, we would all be concerned about the player.)

But in today’s culture kids from both teams are encouraged to “take a knee” when a player is down… a show of respect and unity… showing that they are in this together… laying aside the game-agenda for a moment…

Last week I reminded us that the Bible encourages us, as believers, to “weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15) This week I am adding just a bit to it…

In the book of John, we see the response of Christ when others were weeping/hurting… knowing fully that He was about to fix things, that He had the answer that was needed, it still records that “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) Emotionally, He took a moment to “take a knee” for those around Him that were hurting…

Last week I encouraged us to “wash feet”… that is hard to do without “taking a knee”… humbling oneself… forgetting one’s personal agenda for a moment! So, even though this is a bit repetitive from last week, I beg of you, if you are a part of Team Jesus, lay aside your game-agenda (answers) for just a moment to “take a knee” in respect of those “injured”… even if they are on a “team” with a different agenda than yours.

In turn, it will open future doors “to make a defense (answers) to everyone who ASKS you to give an acocunt for the HOPE that is in you, yet with GENTLENESS and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15, NASB) I guarantee people will ask what is different about you when your life is characterized by love!

Evangelism notes:

·         It is important to be ready to give answers

·         It is important to live in a way that would cause people to ASK what is different about you

·         The characteristic of GENTLENESS can also be defined as having a “mildness of disposition” – sounds a bit like even evangelism includes having a humble spirit of “taking a knee” to serve…

June 1, 2020 - When a player goes down to injury...

Very short and to the point this week… as I try to put in words some of my thoughts concerning the current unrest from the pandemic to racial tensions…

I wrote one devotion and had it proofread to make sure it came across as a spiritual challenge and not a political statement… and I failed at it. So instead I will make a simple observation/statement and let the living Word of God speak for itself.

One thing that literally makes me sick at my stomach is seeing an athlete blow out a knee. Due to my 4 knee surgeries, and my son’s 3 knee surgeries, it is a very real reminder of pain (both physical and emotional)… and a reminder of the struggles of coming back. My heart truly breaks for the athlete when I see it happen!

People are hurting right now… and no matter where we land politically or philosophically, as part of Team Jesus we are commended the following:

…weep with those that weep.” (Romans 12:15)

What if today we prayed for instead of complained about?

What if today we washed feet instead of watched news feeds? (Jesus even washed the feet of His betrayer…)

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. (John 13:14-15)