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Archive for August, 2008

The Two Football Man

If you ask any Alabama football fan who the greatest coach of all time is,
they will answer, “Bear Bryant.” Bear Bryant did have great success as
a coach. Coach Bryant used to have a drill designed to show him who
really had what it takes to be a great football player. He would get
all 120 of his players into one end zone and then tell them (I’m
paraphrasing here), “Boys, in the other end zone I have placed five
footballs. I want each one of you to bring me one.”

I confess that I would like to have seen that drill. The chaos that
ensued must have been amazing. One year he pulled this drill and he had
a player named Lee Roy Jordan. Lee Roy was a great football player. He
brought the coach two footballs! I can’t even imagine someone that
fast, strong, or talented. He had the determination to be a “Two
Football Man.” He did not look for an excuse, he looked for a football!

In life there are those who get things done and there are those who
make excuses. Solomon said, “The lazy man says, ‘There is a lion
outside. I shall be slain in the streets.’” (Proverbs 22:13). Of course
there is no lion outside, but when someone does not want to work, they
always can find an excuse. Ben Franklin wisely said, “He that is good
for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

Of course excuse makers usually do not think they are making
excuses. They think they are telling you reasons. People who achieve
things in life, people who get things done realize that giving in to
excuses under the guise of reasons will always stop you from achieving
your goals.

I never had the speed to be a two football person on the football
field, but there are other areas of life where the principle of two
footballs can work in my life. “I’m tired. I want to rest. I deserve a
break. It is someone else’s turn to do the work.” None of these excuses
get in the way of a two football man or woman.

I do realize that sometimes there really are reasons, but make sure
you are not just settling for an excuse. Go get that second football.
Lonnie Davis

The Mouse and the Elephant

There once was a little mouse who had to take a long and arduous journey. As the day wore on the little mouse grew tired and began looking for some easier way to complete the trip. By and by an elephant came along and gave the little mouse a ride on his massive back. Hour after hour the mouse rode on the back of the elephant. The mouse was filled with joy to see how much distance he was able to cover while riding on the back of an elephant. Finally they came to a narrow bridge. The elephant paused and then passed over the bridge. With each step the elephant took the bridge shook. When safe on the other side, the little mouse told the elephant, “We really shook that bridge.”

Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel from their enemies. Gideon protested, “How can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” God listens to his fears and then says, “But I will be with you.” (Judges 6:14-16). Gideon did not know it, but God did not need him to defeat the enemy. God only wanted him to go along for the ride. The victory was assured.

You and I face our own difficult journeys. We go through minefields, we cross shaking bridges, and pass through the valley of the shadow of death. As Christians while going through all of these places, we too are traveling on the strength of someone else. Paul said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13). Jesus promised, “I will be with you always.” (Matthew 28:20).

When we face scary life passages, we must remember that we are merely a mouse riding on the back of One who is able to shake the bridge. When we are eventually safe on the other side of the shaking bridges of life, we may be tempted to say, “We really shook that bridge,” but we must remember that it was not us, but Him who shook the bridge.

Lonnie Davis

WiseWords

I love WiseWords. You know, those things that are so wise that they must be in the Bible somewhere. Here is one of my favorite: “A luxury once tried becomes a necessity.” In my family, I can start that quote and any of them can finish it. I thought about this truth a lot during the 2008 Olympics. I enjoy watching it on my plasma television in high definition. I cannot imagine watching it on an old black and white set or even a 19 inch color TV.

I remember once when a member of the church used the phone in our house and was talking to his wife. He told her “They even have a color TV.” Now that which seemed to wonderful to him has become a common possession. We can’t go back to how things used to be. A luxury once tried becomes a necessity.

I read about one young bride who was showing her great-grandmother all of the modern conveniences in her kitchen. She showed her a garbage disposal, dishwasher, icemaker, and trash compactor. When she got through she asked her great-grandmother which modern convenience she liked best. Her great-grandmother replied, “I think I like running water the best.”

Not only does a luxury once tried become a necessity, but it also becomes an expectation and an entitlement. We must remember to be appreciative or else our possessions will possess us.
Lonnie Davis

It is a great text: Romans 5:1-5.

Rom 5:1-5
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

From this text we see 10 assets that come from Justification:
1. We have PEACE with God.
2. ACCESS to God.
3. we have GRACE
4. We can rejoice in Hope.
5. We can rejoice in Adversity.
6. PERSEVERANCE!
7. CHARACTER.
8. HOPE
9. The love of God
10. The Holy Spirit

It is About Him

It is Olympic time and I love watching the great athletes. My six-year-old granddaughter and I were watching the female gymnasts. As we watched a tiny girl do a big tumbling run, I tried to be clever and told her, “I can’t do that.” Instantly she responded, “I know, cause you’re too old.” I just said, “Yes, I know.”

“Too old was just an excuse,” but I kept it. Even if I were twenty I could not do those things, but for her I needed an excuse. Excuses are a part of the human fiber. Even the great men and women use them.

Moses spent his first forty years living in a palace. He spent the next forty years working as a shepherd. At eighty he had lived a full and varied life, but just when he may have been looking toward the golden years, God had another plan for Moses. From a burning bush God called Moses to go tell the Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Moses started with his excuses.  First there was “Who me?” (Ex. 3:11). Next was “Who are You?” (Ex. 3:13) Though he uses other excuses the next one is the real one, “What if I fail?”   Here are his exact words, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” (Ex. 4:1). Moses’ next excuse is actually the same fear of failure excuse. “O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” (Ex. 4:10).

God responds to this excuse by telling Moses that it was not about him. It was about God. God says, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”  (Ex 4:11-12). Moses failed to understand that what God called on him to do, God would help him do.

This is the great lesson that we all need to understand. We all make excuses and we all have fear of failure, but we only need to know what he wants us to do. What God wants us to do, we can do. He will see to it. Do not ask, “Can I accomplish this?” Ask only, “Does God want me to do this?” When we attempt those things that God wills for us, we will succeed. It is not about us. It is about Him.

Lonnie Davis