Together for the Gospel

Last week I had the privilege of attending a conference called "Together for the Gospel" in Louisville, KY. Over 5500 pastors and laymen assembled together under the banner of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to hear preaching, worship through song, and fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Preachers such as John MacArthur, John Piper, CJ Mahaney, RC Sproul, and Al Mohler delivered Gospel-centered and Christ-exalting sermons.

Check out their website here where you can stream or download each of the messages from the conference.

Jude 1:3 reminds us to "contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints". Our faith is rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whereby a holy and just God can justify the wicked through the death and resurrection of His Son. There is no greater truth in all the universe than the gospel!

Josh Reynolds
Central-Northeast Nebraska FCA

Confidence Anyone?

If you spend time with me it won’t take long to discover that the Cleveland Indians are a hot topic in my life. You can also draw the conclusion that it pains me deeply to watch the ace of the Tribe, CC Sabathia, struggle mightily to kick off this season. He still has all the tools to be the best pitcher in the majors, but right now he seems lost out on the mound. It comes down to one word: confidence.

Confidence either makes or breaks athletes. The world says that confidence comes from seeing results. What about the player who never sees results? Can they ever be confident?

As a former athlete I found myself on a roller coaster ride of emotions. If I struck out the first batter then I would have 10 strikeouts. If I hit my first three pointer then I would hit 5 threes. Early results would dictate how I played the rest of the game.

This was a very man centered attitude. I either trusted in myself or didn’t. It was all about me. The Bible is very contrary to this thought. Proverbs 3:26 says, “the Lord will be your confidence.” When the Lord is your source of confidence, then circumstances or results won’t drive your play. If the cross is your motivating factor and the finished work of Christ is your confidence, then you can compete freely. So where is your confidence? It’s not about you. It’s not even about results. It’s all about Christ.

Game Time!

"...As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." - Joshua 1:5

It is amazing to watch the athletes I coach in practice begin to really understand what it is they are being taught. It is really cool when you see the ball come off their racquet with increased speed and accuracy that certainly was not there before.

Now remember, that was practice. Now we transition to the game. It is more amazing to see what an opponent on the otherside of the net and a score will do to these same athletes. All of a sudden every ball is "patty caked" into the middle of the court just to be sure they do not miss.

If anyone must have been afraid to "whiff" in scripture it must have been Joshua. Moses has just died and now God was appointing Joshua to lead the Isrealites to the promised land. It is apparent that Joshua must have been experiencing fear of messing this up because God told him three times in the first nine verses of the book of Joshua to be strong and courageous.

It is really cool to see Joshua understand God's command to lead His people. What is even better is seeing the wisdom Joshua had to believe that God was in control as long as He followed Him. As a christian athlete, God is always with us as He has been with all of His people for thousands of years. So let's freely glorify Him with our gifts and talents without hesitation that comes from the fear of circumstances such as an opponent and a score. Let us be solely concerned with giving Him everything we have for His glory...because he is worthy.

Nate Lewis
Area Representative
Western Nebraska

Don't Quit!!

Romans 5:3-4 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

I often have athletes come to me who are having a tough time adjusting to collegiate athletics and are thinking about quitting. They tell me that they aren't having fun anymore because of the level of competition, the lack of playing time, the difficulty of training and so on.

Now there are times when the Lord is moving us to another place in life and it makes sense to turn the page and leave the game behind. But I usually tell athletes that quitting because it's not fun anymore and the level of adversity has increased lacks wisdom. According to Romans 5:3-4, there are valuable lessons to be learned in the midst of adversity.

God's plan is good even if the road is tough. Quitting in the midst of adversity means that you miss out on the life-lessons that can only be found by persevering through that adversity. Sports, like life, is not always fun. It's about growing in likeness to Jesus Christ, and that often comes most powerfully and clearly through adversity.

In fact, Philippians 3:10 tells us that there is a special fellowship with Christ that is found in suffering. So don't quit in the midst of adversity (like a losing season, a difficult conditioning drill, injury or lost playing time). You may be missing out on intimacy with Christ and a valuable life-lesson if you do.

Chris Bubak FCA-Nebraska State Director

Are You Officially Entered?

Romans 4:12 “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

It’s that time of year --- after battling the winter elements in Nebraska, the Lincoln half-marathon and marathon are just around the corner (May 4). A friend of mine has her sites on a repeat run at the Chicago marathon this year.

In the 2007 marathon, as she began the race, she noticed something was on the ground. It was a runner’s chip. The device each entered runner puts on their shoe to record times and progress throughout various check points of the race, and ultimately the finish line.

There would be no record of this person’s participation --- officially, that runner did not run the race. Even if they had set a World Record, it wouldn’t have counted. Can that be said of our life?

Are we running what appears to be a ‘good race’ by doing good things for others and obeying lots of rules, but when we arrive at the final checkpoint (finish line) --- heaven --- and haven’t put our faith in Jesus as our Savior, we’re disqualified because we never officially entered the race?

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Have you entered the race by trusting in Jesus?

Sondra Herold
Omaha-Metro FCA