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
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