Fall Conditioning

Ready:
Psalm 40:16 "But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The Lord be exalted!"

Set:
The fall sports season is here again and along with it comes a word that all athletes love to hear "conditioning"! You, along with every other athlete on your team are probably hopping at the chance to run and lift your tails off in preparation for your season...right? In all reality, this is probably not the case but allow me to provide some biblical perspective.

Psalm 40:16 makes an interesting statement when it says "May those who love your salvation always say, "The Lord be exalted!" When considering fall conditioning, it may seem impossible to say "The Lord be exalted!" After all, you are going through a significant amount of physical pain trying to make yourself physically stronger. But instead of focusing on the end result as we so often do, lets focus on the process and analyze our desires before God and His Word. According to this verse, loving your salvation apparently has something to do with you always doing what God desires in your life and saying in your heart "The Lord be exalted!" even during fall conditioning.

Go:
1. What does it mean to exalt something?

2. Do you understand what it is that you need to be saved from?

3. How is it possible to be saved? (www.morethanwinning.org)

4. How does Jesus' work on the cross change our perspective on fall conditioning?

5. Read James 1:2-4 and Romans 8:28-29. What is God trying to do in our lives through the tough things we go through like fall conditioning?

NFL Draft humbles Copper

From Jon Copper’s blog we read, “My agent called this morning, and I received an invitation to the Packers minicamp this weekend. Best-case scenario would be if things go well and they like me, then they’ll offer me a free agent contract while I’m up there. . . . C.J. Mahaney in his wonderful little book ‘Humility: True Greatness’ wrote, ‘Humility is our greatest friend.’ I must say that the past 12 or so hours have been humbling, knowing things are out of my hands at this point, and knowing that all my other friends on the team that have come out either got signed or drafted. It’s not so much that I care about what the outcomes are; it’s just the not knowing what is next that can unsettle me.” Click here for this week's lesson.

Hall passes test at Boston Marathon

America’s newest marathon sensation, Ryan Hall, is a religious, introspective 26-year-old who hopes someday to leave a legacy by bringing peace to the world and help to the less fortunate according to the Boston Herold. Yesterday, Hall did his best to leave an imprint on the 113th Boston Marathon by finishing in third place in 2:09:40. He is the only American man to finish in the top three in the race since 1985. “I’m not disappointed at all,” said Hall, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif. “I ran the very best I could, especially coming off the Olympics (where he placed 10th in 2:12:53). I thought this was a step in the right direction for me. I’m 26 years old and I feel like I’m learning so much all the time. Click here for the rest of today's lesson.

Death of top pitching prospect

Los Angeles Angels rookie Nick Adenhart, just hours after fulfilling his dream of being a full-time big-league starter, was killed by a suspected drunk driver.

Most of us avoid making eye-contact with death. Though we might avoid the obituary section in the newspaper, eventually each one of us will face it. C.H. Spurgeon said, “We know that we will die. But we tend to imagine that it will be far off somewhere in the distance. But death will not spare us because we avoid him.” This week's lesson here teaches the purpose of death and importance of the resurrection of Christ.

Griffin leaves mark on NCAA

Even in defeat, Blake Griffin had few doubters that he is the best basketball player in college. After Oklahoma’s loss to North Carolina in the South Regional NCAA tournament, many fans and reporters wondered if they had seen the last of him. His sophomore season ended with a 23-point, 16 rebound game leading to speculation that he will likely turn pro next year after making his mark on the NCAA this year. When his coach was asked if his 6-foot-10 star player’s college career was over, Sooner coach Jeff Chapel said, “It probably is, but we’ll see.”

What’s true in sports, is also true spiritually. There are certain characteristics or fruit as described in the “fruits of the Spirit” that mark a person’s spiritual life (Galatians 5:22-23). Click here for this week's Doing Sports God's Way lesson on the "Marks of a Committed Christian."

Blake Griffin's involvement with FCA...
"I first started going to FCA when I was a freshman (in high school) at Oklahoma Christian School. I was actually one of the class officers as a freshman, and that’s really when I first started going. Throughout high school and throughout college I've gone. I haven’t gone as much since I’ve been here just because my schedule hasn’t really allowed it sometimes, but I’ve been a Christian my whole life, been in the church my whole life. I was saved when I was 6, and I go to Life Church now."

Gordon Thiessen