CBS News anchor Dan Rather admits he was always fascinated by the sport of boxing, even though he was never good at it. “In boxing you’re on your own; there’s no place to hide,” he says. “At the end of the match only one boxer has his hand up. That’s it. He has no one to credit or to blame except himself.” Rather, who boxed in high school, says his coach’s greatest goal was to teach his boxers that they absolutely, positively, without question, had to be “get up” fighters. “If you’re in a ring just once in your life–completely on your own–and you get knocked down, but you get back up again, it’s a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Your sense of achievement is distinct and unique. And sometimes the only thing making you get up is someone in your corner yelling.” 

–       Reader’s Digest, December, 1990.

The Apostle Paul used many sports illustrations. It is highly possible that he attended some of the games. Here are a few examples for your consideration:

1 Corinthians 9:26

Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.

2 Timothy 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather play in a game than watch it.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Samuel Brengle, who was an early Salvation Army official, was once introduced as the “Great Dr. Brengle.” He later wrote in his diary, “If I appear great in their eyes, the Lord is most graciously helping me to see how absolutely nothing I am without Him, and helping me to keep little in my own eyes.

A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.

   Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899)

Humility is a word that characterized our Lord while he was here on the earth, and it should characterize us.

Rom 12:3

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

   Whales really do communicate with each other. One whale sounded the following caution to his dear mate:

   “Better watch it; when you get to the top and start to blow, that’s when you get harpooned!”

   What’s true at sea is also true in our world.

Think about it.

Gary

Andrew’s name appears only twelve times in the Bible. He was introduced to Jesus and quickly went to tell Peter, his brother, “We found the Messiah.” Peter was in unbelief until he came to hear Jesus for himself. As the years rolled by, Peter became a major part of Jesus’s inner circle while Andrew faded into the background. That didn’t matter because he accomplished what he was chosen to do.

How could a man not be concerned for his brother’s salvation when he has discovered the way to heaven? It is not about a religion, but a relationship; it’s not about an institution, but a person.

John 1:40-42

One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.

Have you been introduced to Him? Have you told your family?

Think about it.

Gary

A father was approached by his small son, who told him proudly, “I know
what the Bible means!” His father smiled and replied, “So, Son, what does
the Bible mean?” “That’s easy, Daddy. It stands for Basic Information Before Leaving Earth!”

I don’t know who came up with that acronym, but it sure hits the nail on the head. There is some pretty serious information you need before leaving the planet. The fact that you are a sinner is uppermost. Then, the realization that sin can be removed because Christ died for the sins of the whole world. There is lots more information, but those two facts can get you into a much better place.

Romans 10:13 

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Isaiah 57:15 

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Have you read the Book? It’s not hard to come by.

Give it some thought.

Gary

There were two evil brothers. They were rich, and used their money to keep their ways from the public eye. They even attended the same church and appeared to be perfect Christians.

Then, their pastor retired, and a new one was hired. Not only could he see right through the brothers’ deception, but he also spoke well and true, and the church started to swell in numbers. A fund-raising campaign was started to build a new assembly.

All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The remaining brother sought out the new pastor the day before the funeral and handed him a check for the amount needed to finish paying for the new building.

“I have only one condition,” he said. “At his funeral, you must say my brother was a saint.” The pastor gave his word and deposited the check.

The next day, at the funeral, the pastor did not hold back. “He was an evil man,” he said. “He cheated on his wife and abused his family.” After going on in this vein for a small time, he concluded with, “But, compared to his brother, he was a saint.”

Even in the ministry, it takes wisdom to make the best of a bad situation. The church draws the sincere and the dishonest. Someday, God will separate them, but for now, be always thinking.

Matthew 13:47-48

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 

Give it some thought.

Gary

A woman was giving birth to a baby in an elevator at a hospital. When she complained about the location, a nurse said, “Why, this isn’t so bad; last year a woman delivered her baby out on the front lawn.”

“Yes,” said the woman on the floor, “that was me, too.”

Who said, “If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all”? But, on the other hand, not all “bad luck” should be considered a bad thing! Like someone said, “When life gives you a kick, let it kick you forward.”

Philippians 3:13-15

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

Still some distance to go and maybe a kick will close the gap.

Give it some thought.

Gary

Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Abraham Lincoln said, “Well, let’s see how many legs has a cow?” “Four, of course,” came the reply disgustedly. “That’s right,” agreed Lincoln. “Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?” “Why, five, of course,” was the confident reply. “Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” said Lincoln. “Calling a cow’s tail, a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” 

The Apostle Paul was discussing those who were perverting the gospel and he made a similar statement:

Galatians 1:6-7

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

It’s only a duck if it has webbed feet, feathers, can fly, swim and quacks.

Do you believe the Gospel or some other gospel?

Think about it.

Gary