Bro. Larry Green, Cumberland Presbyterian Church

In 2 Timothy, chapter 4, Paul writes to Timothy that he (Paul) had fought the good fight and that he had finished the race.

Paul did not know what a football game was, but he knew about athletic events. The Romans were as big on their athletic events as we are about our Friday Night football games. There is nothing that stirs the heart like a Friday Night under the lights in the South.

Football has changed a lot since the days when I was in high school. Way back then, football started in July and ended in October or early November.  After that, the players did some winter workouts but nothing big and major. Today football is a year round sport with only a couple of weeks off for family vacations. It requires constant training. The training may involve weight lifting, running and watching a lot of game film. The quest to be the best never ends.

Football today is probably like the athletic completion that Paul was familiar with. To be a winning racer would require constant year round training. An athlete could not be a part time trainer and expect to win the big race. It required total commitment.

Paul is not talking about athletics as he is writing to Timothy. He is talking about our life as Christians. We are to be in constant training for the work God has called us to engage in. The race is just the event at the end of the training. It is the culmination of all the hard work and at the end of the race someone is going to receive the crown of victory. Because of the race he had run, Paul was convinced he had a crown of righteousness waiting for him. He would have victory because of what Jesus had already done for him and he had been faithful to do what God had asked of him.

The football game on Friday night is the culmination of all the training the players have been going through not only that week but also all the rest of the year. God calls us to train constantly for the race of life. God calls us to prayer, to Bible study, and to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as God guides us through life. Be faithful in our training for God and God will reward us with a crown also.

Tim Woodward, Smithville church of Christ

I can remember playing in the back yard when I was little. The dreams were the same as they are today. It’s the bottom of the ninth, two outs, bases loaded and a full count. The pitch is on the way – I swing – HOME RUN! We win the game by one run. Or, there’s just a few seconds on the clock. The game is tied. The ball is in my hands. I make my move and put up a shot just as the buzzer sounds and swish, right through the net! Or, it’s fourth down with 5 seconds on the clock and my team trails by a few points. It just so happens that I score the winning touchdown as time expires!

What little boy or girl has not had those dreams, being the last second hero that wins the game or even the championship. I became captivated recently with the Little League World Series and watched as Nick Pratto from the California team got the winning hit in the last inning with two outs and the bases loaded. I wondered how many times he had dreamed of that situation.

The older I’ve gotten, though, the more I realize that you have to play the entire game to get to the end and have that chance of being a hero. The person or team who doesn’t give 100% for the entire game will not put itself in a position to win and be successful. How true this is in the game of life as well.

You need to obey the Lord early in life so you can be able to overcome obstacles and temptations along the way. The longer you put it off the less likely you are to do it later on in life. Paul wrote in II Tim. 4:6-8 – “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing.

If you’re not in the game of life as God would have you be, then get off the sidelines and out of the stands and get going so that one day you can have THE WINNING SCORE!

Bro. Jason Groe, pastor of Upper Helton Baptist Church

After hearing the intro music for “Monday Night Football,” one sports reporter commented (in almost a worshipful tone) that, “it was so good to hear those wonderful notes again.”  Football season excites the hearts of many people.  Tailgate parties, road trips, Fantasy leagues, debates over the current BCS system, yelling at the referees, the wearing of favorite team colors and the playing of school bands in the Fall air is the anticipation of many.  For the next four months, football becomes their life!  Ray Stevens wrote a parody called “The Armchair Quarterback.”  In this parody, the “Armchair Quarterback” is likened to an animal which hibernates in a cave during the football season.  He wants his food brought to him.  He does not want any of his televisions to be blocked.  Neither does he want to be bothered with any household chores, errands or other responsibilities.  Football becomes his life.

Why is there such a craze for football?  Where does this magnetism come from?  Why are people ready to spend hard earned money for tickets?  Why will people spend an extra hundred dollars of gas to go on a road trip?  Why will growing boys and grown men put on hot plastic in 100+ degree heat?  Why?

I guess another question needs to be asked.  Am I showing that same type of devotion, commitment, enthusiasm and delight to Jesus?  Jesus has some very strong words to those who claim His name in Colossians 3.  Verse four of that passage states, “When Christ who is our life appears, you also will appear with Him in glory.”  Did you catch that?  When Christ “who is our life”.  Is Christ “your life”?  Can that same devotion, commitment, enthusiasm and delight for football be enjoyed in our Christ relationship?  The answer is a certain and definite “yes”.  Not only can we enjoy that same delight in our relationship with Christ, but the delight provides a deeper and more satisfying fulfillment.  Let me explain.  How can “Christ be my life”?

First, he must be SAVED and CHANGED.  Colossians 3:1 puts it this way, “if then you were raised with Christ.”  Paul is speaking of the redeeming work of Christ on the Cross.  Jesus was crucified for our sins.  He died in our place and was buried like a dead man.  However, three days later, according to the Scriptures, He rose from the dead!  Only Jesus can save us and change us.  A man becomes a follower of Christ by “grace through faith in Christ alone”.  Once this confession and profession is made, a change takes place.  Just as the caterpillar enters the cocoon and resurrects a butterfly we are changed by the resurrected Christ.   God does not simply stick wings on a caterpillar and call it a butterfly.  Rather, He changes the caterpillar’s nature and behavior and identity.  Likewise, once Christ is allowed into our life He begins to change our “old caterpillar” identity into His identity.  Our attitudes, behaviors, appetites, thoughts, disposition and every other aspect of our life changes to match the image of His Son.   We are thus SAVED and CHANGED.

Secondly, he must “SEEK and SET” his life TOWARD CHRIST.  Paul goes on to say, “Seek those things which are above.  Set your mind on things above and not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).  The terms, “seek and set,” are interesting terms.  To “seek those things which are above” literally means “to pursue intently after.”  It expresses the direction and intensity of my pursuit.  We are not called to merely follow rules.  But the object of our pursuit is the person of Christ!  I am to seek Christ.  I will find Him through daily and regular contact with the Bible.  I will find Him by praying to Him.  I will find Him as I worship His Name.  I am to seek His person and nothing else.

To “set your mind on things above” literally means to “keep on thinking on the upward things.”  It does matter what we think and we are responsible for our thoughts.  He does not mean we should never think about the things here on earth, but they should not be our aim, our goal, our master.  The Christian has to keep his feet on the earth and his heart and head in the heavens.  He must be heavenly-minded on earth so to help make earth like heaven.

Finally, he must realize the GLORY OF CHRIST is GREATER THAN the GLORY OF MAN.  The last part of this passage states, “When Christ appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:4).  Jesus is returning one day very soon.  With His return, He will escort those who are His genuine followers to His glory—heaven.  His glory will be greater than any glorious moment here on this earth.  There will be no comparison.  Therefore, be careful not to crave the glory of man which is only momentary but rather thirst after the glory to come!

So, “are you ready for some fulfillment?”

Tim Woodward, Smithville church of Christ

Back many years ago when I was playing high school basketball at a very small school in central Kentucky, our coach had a habit of stopping practice when he felt we weren’t giving our all. He would then proceed to try and motivate us to do better and would end with his trademark statement, “You play like you practice!”

To be honest with you, at that age I never gave it a whole lot of thought. But, the older I got, the more I realized what he was saying. And now, I realized that that phrase applies to much more than basketball – it applies to life as well!

The Apostle Paul used this phrase before Coach Shaw ever did, he just used different words. He said in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

Regardless of what sport you play, how do you practice? What percent would you say you give in practice? 50 – 75 – 90 – 100? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “Do I take a play off every now and then in practice?” How about when it’s game time? You’ll be surprised that if you give 100% in practice how much better you will perform in a game.

Likewise, you have to ask yourself what percentage am I giving in day to day life, so that when crunch time comes and it’s all about doing the right thing at the right time, I can perform flawlessly and do what God wants me to do!

Remember, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!

Bro. Jason Groe, pastor of Upper Helton Baptist Church

“Everybody to the weight room,” shouted Coach Rankin after summer morning agilities, “grab your routines and spotters.  Today is a ‘heavy day’.  Work hard and no playing around.”  Coach Rankin, then the head football coach of the Riverdale Warriors, expected his players to be the best conditioned and strongest athletes on the field.  In order to meet those expectations, training was necessary.

The apostle Paul also understood this as he wrote about  “boxing and track”, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27a). Just as it is necessary for athletes to “get into” shape and “stay in” shape, likewise, a Christian is faced with the same demands.  What  bench pressing, squats, power cleans, mile runs, wind sprints are to football players, abiding, Bible reading, prayer, fasting, worship, evangelism are to a believer.   Each one conditions the body for a particular response.  The one difference between athletes and Christians is the “prize”.  For the Christian, the “prize” is not a gold medal or trophy but an imperishable crown given to us by Christ Himself.

Spiritual muscles are developed and maintained through three great exercises: Abiding in Him, Bible intake, and Daily Dying.  First of all, Abiding in Him.  This is our CONNECTION WITH CHRIST.  Staying connected to Him through the spiritual disciplines (prayer, fasting, solitude, etc.) strengthens and develops our spiritual muscles.

Second, Bible Intake is our COMMUNION WITH CHRIST.  The Bible is God’s Word to us.  It is our guide and protector.  The Word adds God’s nutrients into our life.  We are empowered, enlightened, engaged and energized through the Word.

Finally, Daily Dying is our CRUCIFIXION WITH CHRIST.  Jesus said we could not be His disciple without “denying ourself daily and following Him.”  The sinful nature, habits and attitudes died on the cross with Christ.  As we die to ourself, we will begin to live for Him.

Let me modify the words of Coach Rankin, “everyone to the weight room, grab your routines and strengthen those spiritual muscles.”