Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;]in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And now for our
weekly devotional sports story:
Some people
succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are
determined to: There once was a Louisville University quarterback who
dreamed of playing pro football. Upon graduation, however, no pro team drafted
him. So he wrote to several teams and finally got an opportunity to try out for
the Pittsburgh Steelers. He gave his best effort, but wasn’t chosen. His
friends said, “You got a raw deal…it wasn’t meant to be…I guess it’s time to
hang up your cleats.” But the young athlete didn’t give up. He continued to
knock on doors and write letters. Finally, he received another invitation. But
again, he didn’t make the team. Most people would have given up long before
this point, but not him. He was fanatic about his personal dream. From his
early days of playing sandlot football, he had been obsessed with this goal.
So, patiently and persistently, he continued to pursue try out opportunities.
Finally, he was invited to try out for the Baltimore team…and he made the third
string! Through training and many hours of drills and fitness building, he
worked his way up to be being starting quarterback. Indeed, he became one of
the greatest quarterbacks ever to play in the NFL. The dreamer’s name? Johnny
Unitas. Keep driving until you arrive at
your goal line! (God’s Little Devotional
Book, Honor Books Inc., 1995)
My thoughts: If you are a football fan,
you certainly tuned into the New Orleans Saints/ San Diego Chargers game on
Sunday night. Drew Brees broke the long standing record set by Johnny Unitas
for most consecutive games throwing at least one touchdown pass. Here, in our story, we meet
our man Johnny doing everything humanly possible to reach his goal, and his
plan is the one we should follow to get to our goal line…crossing into heaven. 1)
Have the dream of spending eternal life in heaven. 2) In the face of setbacks
along the way, create a new game plan. If you feel you constantly fail in
getting close to God, explore new ways to pray, study, and show mercy. 3)
Ignore nay sayers who tell you there is no need to strive for heaven. People
today will tell you that everyone makes the heaven team, so why worry, or that
there isn’t a heaven team to make, so why bother? Take it from the saints,
there is a heavenly team, and not everyone gets on it. 3) Be patient and
persistent. Pray every day and in your prayer let God know how much you love
Him and want to spend eternity with Him. Then tell Him to do His will with your
life. 4) Spend hours in drills and fitness training. Life for those seeking a
close relationship with God is tough in today’s societies. Christian persecution
is raging throughout the world. You will feel it, too, if you speak the truth
and live a life exemplifying God’s standards. So be tough. Be strong. Know your
faith. Build your spiritual muscles so that when the devil tries to defeat you,
you can fight back. I sat in front of Johnny Unitas one Sunday at Mass in
Baltimore. What a thrill to turn around at the handshake of peace and see such
a sports hero behind me. He had his head bowed in humble prayer, and when he
looked up, he gave me a sincere smile. Walk humbly with your God, and you will
be a hero on God’s team, the only team that really matters. May Johnny’s soul,
and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in
peace. Amen.
Prayer: A morning
prayer
Good morning Lord! Thank you for this beautiful day!
Thank you for waking me up and giving me another chance at life. Thank you for
all the gifts you have given to me: for you are my King, my Lord, my God and my
All, and I will love you forever and ever. I love you, Jesus my Love; I love
you with all my heart. I repent of ever having offended you. Never permit me to
separate myself from you again. Grant that I may love you always, and then do
with me as you will. Amen
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