January 30, 2023 - Kinda Like Luka

Tonight marks the 1100^th consecutive week of these devos, and I know there have been many times I have started them out saying I planned to make them short and sweet… I’m going to start with that premise again this week, as I am traveling and worn out… still have a plane to catch tomorrow to Budapest Hungary… much of the 2 weeks there will be focused around the International Christian School of Budapest and, even though speaking English, will involve folks from many backgrounds.

I got to thinking about recent reports I have seen where Luka Doncic discussed differences in playing hoops in Europe vs the US… as the games have very different styles according to the region being played. YET, the object of the game is STILL TO GET THE BALL IN THE BASKET! (And Luka is pretty stinking good at doing that wherever he plays!)

Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 9 about the idea that folks are different and there are different styles to reaching them… YET, the object is STILL TO GET TO THE CROSS and RESURRECTION!

20 And to the Jew, I became a Jew…to those under the law, as under the law… 21 to those without law, as without law… 22 to the weak I became as weak… I have become all things to all men, THAT I MAY WIN… THAT I MAY BY ALL MEANS SAVE SOME.

As we embark on our trip to Budapest, or as we each head out the door each day, we should adapt our “game” to the folks we are trying to reach… BUT NEVER ADAPT THE OBJECT OF THE GAME…

23 Now this I do for the Gospel’s sake…

I want to be effective wherever I am… kinda like Luka!

January 23, 2023 - Home vs Away

I remember back in 5^th grade as I tried out for the 6^th grade basketball team, the excitement of not only finding out if I made the team, but also the excitement of if I made the travel team… there were certain criteria put in place to make the travel squad, (if I remember correctly one involved being able to do opposite-hand lay-ups properly), and I was able to meet the criteria. Therefore, I loved when the postings went up (not on a computer screen, but a piece of paper taped to the wall) and I saw my name listed with the 6^th graders… there was just something cool about getting to hop on the bus and then walk into an opposing gym!

If I fast-forward in my mind I think of playing on the road in high school… one night in particular I remember the crowd booing when I would make a basket or cheering when I would miss… The adrenaline was really flowing that night…

Yet as I thought about being on the road, I realized that the vast majority of points I scored… of assists I dished (teammates may be saying, “that wasn’t many”)… of rebounds I grabbed… of picks I set… HAPPENED AT HOME! (Have you ever thought about the fact that the leading all-time scorer in any arena is someone that played for the home team?)

The reason I point this out is that on Friday our team will make its way to southern FL and serve at a church on Sunday before hopping a plane on Tuesday to Budapest to serve there for a couple of weeks. It is exciting to be on the “travel team” BUT sometimes we forget the importance of the “home team.”

[NOTE: when I use the term “serve” as our definition of greatness and our mission… it starts and ends with the Gospel… WHERE CHRIST SERVED US… and when He was instructing His disciples to remember the Gospel, He said that should motivate them/us to serve one another… be some foot-washers… SERVANTHOOD SHOULD NEVER NEGLECT THE GOSPEL MESSAGE… THE GOSPEL IS ONE’S MOST IMPORTANT NEED… AND ONE’S GREATEST MOTIVATION!]

I am so thankful to get the opportunities we have abroad… yet I challenge all of us to remember that most of our serving stats should take place at home!

Be a difference maker in your “Jerusalem” and then to your “Judea/Samaria” and then to the “End of the earth”! (Acts 1:8)

Do pray for our travels…

January 16, 2023 - Your Best Is What's Best For The Team!

Team First! That is a mantra we hear often… one we celebrate… one that fits well with our theme we have been emphasizing for the 2023 season of serving others because the team matters! Last week I made the statement, “It’s time for the team to start showing up again!” Yet I must put an addendum to this… showing up in the right condition…

I often would tell players that they owe it to their teammates to be working out in the off-season… to be eating right… to be getting the proper rest… so they could be their best for the team. (I remember sitting at a coaching clinic led by legendary coach Don Meyer. I loved that guy’s teaching and zeal for the game! I remember him looking at one of the players from the college where the clinic was held that was helping demonstrate drills/concepts; the kid was a skilled player but Meyer looked at him and blurted out, “you owe it to your team to get in shape!” Seems rather harsh, but Meyer believed we owe something to one another… and that is to bring our best so we, as a team, can be our best!

I was reminded of this yesterday as one of our pastors was speaking about the importance of self-care; he had a bottom line that said: “Don’t be selfish. Care for yourself.”

He used the illustration of firefighters staying physically fit, not just so they can look in the mirror, but so they can do their job and help others… he shared a quote that says, “Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.”

The point is that in order to serve, we have to have “the stuff” needed to get the job done!

A great passage he shared is found in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah is running scared… and Elijah then takes a nap and God’s messenger appears:

Vs 5 … “arise and eat”

Vs 6 …he… lay down again

Vs 7 …the angel… a second time… “arise and eat”

Vs 8 …he went in the strength of that food…

Vs 14 … the Lord said to him, “Go… anoint Jehu… and Elisha”

Elijah needed his strength to serve the team!

So during this time where I am urging us all to serve… don’t neglect the fact that we owe it to the team to be in great shape (spiritually, mentally, physically) to do so! This is “the stuff” champions are made of!

YOUR BEST IS WHAT’S BEST FOR THE TEAM!

January 9, 2023 - Will The Team Show Up?

A few years ago we instituted a new outreach in InBounds called Next Man Up. The idea is taken from the sports world of when a player goes down or is unavailable, the next guy on the bench has to be ready to step in and do the job. We utilize it with our worship team, as we have numerous folks we call on to fill out the roster for any given scenario… this creates an understanding and opportunity for each member of the team to be an integral part… WE NEED EACH OTHER!

This idea of serving the team fits well with our beginning of the ‘23 season where we are emphasizing the greatness found in serving… and I was reminded of these truths in a couple of ways this past week. As we arrived back home last week, on Monday we found a major issue taking place at my in-law’s home… one where pipes had burst, no one was home, and water destroyed a large amount of their home after running for what is guesstimated to be at least a week. Needless to say, I was exhausted and pre-occupied! Immediately upon hearing the news Coach Thomas “THendy” Henderson offered to be the Next Man Up and write last week’s Game Plan for Life. I immediately felt some weight lifted and was able to focus on the task at hand. So first, THANKS THENDY!

The second time the Next Man Up idea came to mind is during the process of gutting the destroyed home. It hit me that in the midst of this commercialized world, how the church has lost some of its Next Man Up mentality… Years ago, if someone’s home was destroyed, immediately the local church body would have deployed to the property and got to work. Yet, in today’s culture we awaited insurance answers, meeting with commercial businesses, and ended up with just some immediate family members spending MANY hours moving things, throwing things in the trash, cutting out wet carpets, etc. It broke my heart that there was no one from the local church there; not because I was angry, (folks from the church would have been assuming it was all be taken care of), but was sad… because a Next Man Up shoulder-to-shoulder approach builds a feeling of team… a feeling of belonging. This was pounded home to me as my brother-in-law mentioned that in spite of his fatigue and the emotional strain of the situation, he loved that he and his sisters got to hang out together… I watched as 3 of my children got to work together and laugh, even in the midst of tragedy. (I think the Amish still have a good idea when they get together for a work “party” and will, as a team/community, build a barn in a day… it used to be common to help plant and harvest… it used to be common to simply meet one another’s needs…)

So this week, while still VERY TIRED and still VERY MUCH to do… let me remind us of a Biblical team-mandate: Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, AND SO FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST.

The word “law” there could simply be translated “command”; and doesn’t that fit with Jesus’ words in John 13:15, after serving the Apostles, “For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

NEXT MAN UP PLEASE! It's time for the team to start showing up again... or forfeit the opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder?

January 2, 2023 - Attitude of Greatness

This new season -2023- brings about our new theme of G.O.A.T. Status... we will be emphasizing how Jesus defines greatness. Yet we will also be keying on the coaching/mentoring focus God has given us in not only Equipping, but also Engaging those we work with in ministry. Today I had a lot of things going on... I was fatigued from pulling a 22-hour day yesterday of travel and preaching, and then got hit with an emergency here on the home front that required my attention... leaving rolling in late tonight for posting this week's devo. BUT InBounds has been blessed over the past 15 years with great coaches; one of which is Thomas "THendy" Henderson. Thomas heard how my day was unfolding and stepped up to the plate and hit a home run... Check out this week's great game plan!

This past Sunday, Coach Todd preached a message at a church that focused on how greatness is defined in our culture. When you talk to people in the sports world, they will often refer to their favorite player as the G.O.A.T. (The Greatest of All Time). One of the biggest debates in basketball is comparing Michael Jordan to Lebron James and how their skill sets match up against each other to determine the G.O.A.T of the NBA. As a disclaimer, I am NOT a basketball guru, so I will not dare to put in my two cents on which player is “better” regarding their skills and achievements! I think both men are worthy based on what they have to offer to the game of basketball, but I think there is something that we can learn from this matter...

It’s our human nature to compare our worth to other people to see how we measure up in terms of greatness. As a musician, I always catch myself being envious of other guitar or keyboard playing wishing that I was just as good as them. If you’re a fitness enthusiast, you may compare your athleticism and body composition to someone you may follow online to see how you measure up to a complete stranger. If you’re like me, sometimes we see our best as not good enough when we compare it to what we deem to be the “gold standard.”

We are certainly no different than the disciples! In Luke 22, they argued with each other about who they considered the greatest among themselves. Jesus (The Great Teacher) was quick to correct them by saying “the one who is the greatest among you must be like the youngest [and least privileged], and the [one who is the] leader, like the servant” (Luke 22:26 AMP).

If anyone in that room had the right to boast, it was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

When we read the Scripture, Jesus demonstrated his greatness by becoming like a servant. He had every right to pull out his heavenly trophies and golden crown to prove he was the G.O.A.T.!

However, Jesus took off his outer garment, wrapped a towel around his waist, kneeled down, and washed his disciples’ feet. Christ’s ministry was focused on serving others. Most Importantly, He demonstrated the ultimate act of servanthood by taking the curse of sin off of us and putting it upon Himself:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21 NIV)

If we ever had to prove our greatness to God through our own efforts, then we would be in big trouble! There is no good work or deed that we can do on our own to find favor with God.

But thank God that Christ gave us HIS greatness (his righteousness) so that we can stand before our Heavenly Father being forgiven of all sins and adopted as children into His kingdom! All we have to do is believe and trust in who Jesus is and what He has done for us!

Out of gratitude for His grace, how should we, as believers, respond to the G.O.A.T for the salvation we have received? I think the Apostle Paul has a great answer for this in his letter to the Philippians:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11 NASB)

When we take the focus off of ourselves and point others to the greatness of Jesus, then God is truly honored and glorified! As believers, let us strive to do WORTHY WORK for the kingdom of God!