H A L L   O F   F A M E

Hebrews 12:1

What is the largest crowd before which you’ve competed?  Was it nearer one hundred, one thousand or ten thousand?  How did that crowd affect you?  Were you inspired or intimidated by it?  There’s a similar picture in the pages of your Bible.

That picture is in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1 where it says, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  Can you see it?  To me, this looks like a great stadium on the day of competition.

The great cloud of witnesses to which the writer refers is the Hall of Famers from the previous chapter.  This stadium is filled with the great heroes of faith throughout history.  The writer’s intention is that such a crowd of spectators serve to inspire and to encourage us, the competitors in the race.

In a similar way, the great competitors that have preceded you in this game and at this institution should serve to inspire, to motivate and to encourage greatness in you.  The crowd observing today’s competition can be your greatest source of strength and inspiration.  Let your vision of them be like the one we read above.  See the seats as being full of Hall of Fame competitors and that each one of them is there to encourage and to cheer you on to success.  Compete like Hall of Famers today.

Bible Reading Plan:
John 8:48-59
II Peter 3:10-18
Job 7

P E A C E

John 6:20-21

Who is the one person in your life that can calm the most fearful situation?  Is it your mom or dad?  Your best friend?  Who is it?  In today’s letter we’ll see who it was for the disciples of Christ.

John records this story in his gospel at chapter 6 and verses 20 and 21, “But He said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’  Then they willing received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where it was going.”

The disciples had been rowing across the Sea of Galilee for three or four hours, in the dark, against very strong winds when they see someone walking across the water toward their boat.  They were scared to death… wouldn’t you be?  When they heard Jesus’ voice and recognized Him, their fear disappeared, they gladly received Him and the situation was immediately resolved.

Jesus’ presence calms fears.  Just hearing His voice brought peace to a fearful situation.  His presence in our lives will bring peace to us as well, if we will do as the disciples did.  They heard His voice and then received Him to themselves.

Your teammates and coaches can likewise calm a chaotic situation or solve a thorny problem for your team.  A calm question or a gentle word of encouragement can be as powerful as Jesus walking onto your storm-tossed boat. 

Receive the counsel and encouragement of your teammates and coaching staff in today’s competition.  They are keys to victory.  Make this a day of greatness. 

Bible Reading Plan:
John 8:31-47
II Peter 3:1-9
Job 6
Ezekiel 17-19

E X P E C T A T I O N S

I Peter 1:13

Upon what are your confident expectations for this season and today’s competition built?  In whom or what do you fully place your hope for something?  Are those people or things fully trustworthy?

Today’s scripture tells us of someone who is completely worthy of our trust.  Peter writes about this at chapter 1 and verse 13 of his first letter, “Therefore prepare your minds for action, be self controlled and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Our athletic hopes are usually resting upon the team’s talent, the coaching staff’s wisdom and insight, and the maturity and teamwork with which we compete.  Those are sometimes very secure, but at other times less than reliable objects of our expectation.  Things like injuries, illness, discouragement, staff transitions and even fear can tear at our hope for success.

A much more secure object of hope is the grace that we receive in Jesus.  Trust the work that he’s doing in you individually and collectively.  Trust Him to do the very best in you everyday.  He’s 100% trustworthy and He will always work to bring about the best in you.  

As you pray in preparation to compete, ask the Lord to give you everything you need to fully contribute to your team’s effort today.  You can trust Him to be a consistent, faithful source of hope.

Bible Reading Plan:
John 8:21-30
II Peter 2:17-22
Ezekiel 16

S E L F – C O N T R O L

I Peter 1:13

What happens when one competes in an out-of-control way?  That person commits foolish fouls, is assessed a technical foul, draws an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty or even gets disqualified.  The value of competing under control is obvious and the penalty for not doing so is immediate.  What value might self control have beyond competition?

Peter wrote to his friends about self control in his first letter at chapter 1 and verse 13 where we read, “Therefore prepare your minds for action, be self controlled and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

After we have done the mental preparation for competition, we must exercise self control in order to execute the game plan and to play at an optimum level.  If we lose control emotionally or lose our focus on the task at hand, we’ll be distracted from the goal and failure will track us down.

In today’s competition and throughout the season, prepare your minds for action and be self controlled.  This will be the key to victory, on and off the field of competition. 

Bible Reading Plan:
John 8:12-20
Job 4
Ezekiel 13-15

P R E P A R A T I O N

I Peter 1:13

What kinds of things do you do in the process of preparing for competition?  Surely you study film, practice, visualize your performance, warm up your muscles and more.  We all know the value of physical preparation, but how important is it to prepare your mind?

Peter mentions this to his friends in his first letter at chapter 1 and verse 13, “Therefore prepare your minds for action, be self controlled and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Today we’ll focus on the first part of that sentence.  Prepare your minds for action.  We’ll think together about the three key words.

Prepare – At this level of play, one can no longer just show up and play.  To succeed we will need to prepare.  The good news is that by game day the preparation is done and we’re ready.

Minds – There is more required than just physical preparation.  We must be fully ready to compete, physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually.  Come to competition 100% prepared and bring your brain with you.

Action – Even if your participation in this competition is rather doubtful, your team needs to have you fully engaged in it.  Your teammates need your encouragement, your insight and your enthusiasm for them to compete at their best.  Everyone must be ready for action, not half for action and the other half for passivity.

Let’s prepare our minds for action and give this competition our best effort of the year.

Bible Reading Plan:
II Peter 2:1-9
Job 3
Ezekiel 9-12

F I N I S H I N G

Philippians 1:6

Have you ever noticed how graduate students approach their papers, like a master’s thesis?  Even at the beginning of the program they know it must be done and it seems for some it’s like giving birth to a baby....labor pains and all.  We see a similar idea in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

In the letter to the church in a town called Philippi, at chapter 1 and verse 6 Paul writes, “...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Paul has confidence that his friends are in the process of being completed.

Like the master’s degree student, God has a work to do and it began at your birth.  His work continues in us until the day we die.  The exciting thing to me is that He’s faithful to complete everything He starts. 

Bible Reading Plan:
John 7:45-53
II Peter 1:12-21
Job 2
Ezekiel 4-8

R E N E W E D   P O W E R

John 5:21

How do we find power and renewed life for our bodies and emotions after the long months of a season?  What can give us renewed vigor and an injection of energy?  Jesus knows where this stuff comes from and He tells us today.

At John chapter 5 and verse 21 we hear His words, “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” 

While none of us are dead, technically, I’m sure some of us feel less than 100%.  Who wouldn’t like to have our legs restored to the way they were in pre-season?  We could all use some resurrection of our energies for this championship game.

Here’s the good news, Jesus says here that just like His Father in heaven can raise the dead, so can He.  Let’s trust Him to breathe life back into our tired lungs, to re-ignite the fire in our souls, to strengthen our formerly lifeless legs.  If He can raise the dead, surely He can empower us to play this game with power, enthusiasm and passion.  Let’s go after this championship like we’ve just been raised from the dead.  We’ll show the crowd a life like they’ve never seen before!

Bible Reading Plan:
Song of Solomon 4:8-16
Jeremiah 52