ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?? Last week was the first preseason NFL game and like millions of other Americans, I tuned in to watch fourth and fifth stringers play just because it was football! Canton was buzzing with excitement as the Hall of Fame took in new members. I knew the Hall of Fame week was a big deal, but I never knew it was THAT big of a deal!
Here are some of the big questions about the upcoming season:
* Can the Buckeyes be the first wire to wire National Champions since USC in 2004?
* Will Johnny Football implode again or has he grown up?
* Can Pryor make the switch from QB to WR for the Browns?
* Will the Bengals finally win a playoff game?
* Is Michigan football back?
All this talk about football reminds me of one of my favorite stories. I heard Chuck Swindoll tell this and it makes so much sense to me. Here goes:
A famous football coach was mentoring a young man to become a scout and a future coach. The coach brought the young man into his office and said, "Son, I want to help you understand the type of player we are looking for here in this organization."
"Yes sir," the scout eagerly said.
"You are going to see hundreds if not thousands of players but only a few of them will be truly special."
"Understood sir," he said taking in all these words of wisdom.
"You will see some players who get knocked down and stay down."
"We don't want those players, right coach?"
The coach replied, "Exactly right. You will see some players who get knocked down but they get up. And then they get knocked down and they stay down."
"We don't want those players either."
"That's right. You will see players who get knocked down and they get up. And they get knocked down and they get up again. They will get knocked down three, four, five times but then they stay down."
"And we aren't looking for those players either. Right coach?"
"You are catching on. But son, you will see some players who get knocked down and they get up, knocked down again and they get up. They get knocked down time after time after time. And every time they get knocked down they get back up!"
The young man was excited hearing the coach talk about these athletes and he was leaning forward and said loudly, "Those are the players we want for our team! Right coach!"
"NO! Absolutely not! Aren't you paying attention? We want the players who are knocking everybody else down!"
The Bible tells us "If God is for us, who can be against us?" It says "We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." It says, "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world." We are not fighting this spiritual battle for souls all by ourselves. We are filled with the Spirit of one true living God who placed the stars in the sky and formed the mountains with His hands. The God who is undefeated, never beaten and always victorious is on our side. So let's get out there and kick some devil butt and snatch souls out of the flames of hell and into the hands of Jesus!
Alright, LET'S GO! (Here is where you scream real loud, run out of the locker room and into the game.)
Cheering you on!
Dave Lutz
Collegians Chorale will sing the National Anthem at the Cleveland Indians vs Chicago White Sox game
