Football fanatics are funny...they sit on hard benches in cold breezes or soft cushions on comfy couches and completely lose their composure as a monumental event takes place on the field--or on their TV screens! And this monumental event? Someone is running with a piece of pigskin tucked under his arm, everyone's got their eyes on that million-dollar ball and no one had better steal it--unless, of course, you're cheering for the opposite team!
I'm not a frenzied football fan for real, but I can sure find a devotional sewed inside that pigskin somewhere--so somebody pass me that ball--I'm about to run with it HERE and I hope you'll run with me! You see, we TOO are carrying a ball--we TOO have a crowd cheering--or booing--us on. The game? It's called Christian living. The opposition? Need we spell it out in a cheerleader's call? No--hell's folks and fans, led by Satan himself, have been yelling for years! We're on God's team and they don't like it--listen to the news, read the papers, and know that all hell will come out against God's team and team members every chance it gets! And what to do?
CARRY THE BALL! Don't drop it--we're carrying God's message, the Gospel, down the field, through the enemy's lines and right over that one-yard line! We've been passing it on, generation after generation, since the Early Church first took possession. It's been passed from Peter, Paul and John on to John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Sunday, D. L. Moody, Billy Graham--and so many more. It's now caught by our generation--missionaries, musicians, comedians, preachers, journalists, dramatists, sports personalities--ministry and laity alike of every profession--and we're carrying it around the world.
Run, Christian, run--heed not the frenzied, formidable tactics of an ungodly world but head straight down the field to score for the Lord! Remember, heaven watches--and we score a touchdown for its team--and our Captain--each time a soul is won to the Lord. Now go get on your football gear--the Armor of the Lord--and carry that ball faithfully wherever HE has told you to go. Go in the Name of the Lord--all heaven cheers--believe it and you will have a winning day!
Delight in a Word from the Well--a refreshing in the Water of His Word
Bible Gateway.com - Hebrews 11:1-40 - God's Heroes of Faith
"...let us run with patience...(Hebrews 12:1 KJV)."
Draw from the Well--a prayer for renewing strength for this day
"Lord, I'm running--and whether it's down the track or down the field, it's for YOU. Sometimes I get "weary in well-doing"--tired of carrying the ball--or running the race! I need Your strength, grace--and direction--daily as I press toward the goal. And with Your help, I will run with your Word--wherever You send me this day, In Jesus' Name, Amen."
