“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” —Hebrews 12:1-2

Brandin Cooks can be found regularly sitting at his locker with his Bible open or kneeling in prayer. A spiritual leader for the Los Angeles Rams, Cooks didn’t grow up in a Christian home. He became a follower of Christ as a college student at Oregon State. His father died of a heart attack when Cooks was six, so he is no stranger to tragedy or hardship.

The wide receiver is hoping that the Super Bowl affords him an opportunity for redemption after he exited last year’s big game prematurely due to an injury. The difference being, last year Cooks played for the New England Patriots before an offseason trade sent him to the Rams. He is grateful for another chance to play on football’s biggest stage.

One of Cook’s mottos is: “Let us turn our eyes to Jesus so that the desire of this world may grow dim.”

In Hebrews 12, the Christian life is compared to a race—one that is won by looking to Christ, who is “the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The words in this chapter were penned to encourage believers who were facing great persecution all around them. They were urged to keep their eyes on the perfect example of Jesus, who suffered and died, but was raised to life again in glorious and triumphant fashion.

In the ancient Greek, “looking to Jesus” uses a verb that implies a certain looking away from other things and a fixed focus on another. I have tried to look at two things at the same time and I have found it to be impossible. Sure, I can have multiple things in the peripheral of my vision at the same time, but there can only be one thing upon which my eyes are fixed—or focused. My eyes can’t be fixed on worry and worship at the same time. They can’t be focused on greed and generosity at the same time. They can’t be captivated with sin and holiness at the same time.

As Charles Spurgeon observed, “The Greek word for ‘looking’ is a much fuller word than we can find in the English language. It has a preposition in it which turns the look away from everything else. You are to look from all beside to Jesus. Fix not thy gaze upon the cloud of witnesses; they will hinder thee if they take away thine eye from Jesus. Look not on the weights and the besetting sin-these thou hast laid aside; look away from them. Do not even look upon the race-course, or the competitors, but look to Jesus and so start in the race.”

So many things in this moment are competing for our gaze—acceptance and approval, infinitely scrolling timelines on social media, worldly temptations, expectations of others, our endless problems, those financial burdens, today’s homework, tomorrow’s deadlines. Of course we all have practical responsibilities to which we would be foolish to turn a blind eye, it’s just that our eyes are not to be “fixated” on these things of the world. There is a difference between giving something healthy attention versus being engrossed or absorbed with something.

God also wants our gaze. He knows how easily distracted we are by the things of this world and that’s why Hebrews gives us this portrait of an athlete running a race. The athlete doesn’t exist without discipline. He or she has to repeatedly come back to those fundamentals and exercises to run their race with clarity of purpose and perseverance. And herein the author of Hebrews exhorts us: “do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves” (vv. 5-6).

His plan is for you to run well and finish strong. You do that by keeping your eyes fixed on Him with discipline and focus. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
(Helen H. Lemmel, 1922)

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we get so easily distracted from what is eternally important in life. Thank you for your discipline, which always has our good in mind and brings us back to what really matters. Teach us how to keep our eyes fixed on you while going about our daily responsibilities. Help us to run our race with perserverance, by looking unto Jesus as the perfecter of our faith. In his name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. How were you disciplined as a child? What do you think was good or bad about the way you were disciplined?
2. What should motivate followers of Christ to live for Him? (Hebrews 12:1)
3. What do we learn about God from the fact that He disciplines us? (12:6-7)
4. When have you sensed that God was disciplining you?
5. Where might you need to shift your focus from the things of this world to the person of Christ this week?

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The post Los Angeles Rams Receiver: Looking to Jesus appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Nick Foles will be the man at the helm for the Philadelphia Eagles when they take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. The backup quarterback, who replaced Carson Wentz following a season-ending knee injury, has played an unlikely role in getting to football’s grandest stage.

Foles was drafted in 2012 and burst onto the NFL scene with one of the greatest passing seasons in Eagles history. Then after being traded a couple of times over the next few years, it seemed that his NFL career was going in the wrong direction. In the summer of 2017, Foles spoke about how discouragement nearly led him to give up on the game. “I wanted to retire from the NFL, and I really struggled,” he said. “I couldn’t pick up a football for about eight months. I had no love for the game, and it was tough.”

It was a time of prayer and daily communion with God that reinvigorated his passion for the sport. Foles shared that God was bringing him down to his knees. He felt the Lord was saying, “Just take a step of faith. You’re either going to stop playing the game of football and you’re going to go onto a different area of your life and I’m going to be with you, I’m going to be the most important thing in your life, or you’re going to step back into football and you’re going to continue to play and I’m going to be with you every step of the way and you’re going to play to glorify me.”

It was 2 Corinthians 12:9 that graced him in his decision to return to the NFL:

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

After winning the NFC Conference Championship, Foles was interviewed three times: on the field, on the podium while receiving the trophy, and then in a postgame press conference. Each time, he paused and recognized that he would not have been there without his faith: “Words can’t describe what I feel right now. All glory belongs to God. I’m grateful and humbled to be part of this team.”

I imagine it will be a surreal moment when Nick Foles steps onto the field tonight in Minneapolis, knowing that none of this would be a reality had God not granted him the strength to carry on in weakness.

We all experience times of weakness—times when it feels like we just can’t go on. The will to overcome appears to be lost. It might even look like our best days are behind us. Our passion fades. Our love for the game of life and its purpose grows faint. Those moments are real to us all, not just NFL quarterbacks.

You might find yourself in one of those seasons right now. Maybe you feel weak or powerless about your circumstances. It might also be tempting to see your weakness as a liability that disqualifies you before God. But the truth is, your weakness is an asset to God. It’s the place where He can display His power and sufficiency in ways that would be impossible to rob Him of His glory—that place where “only-God” breakthroughs happen.

Paul pleaded three times for his weakness to be taken away. Then he learned the spiritual art of letting his life become a canvas for God to magnify Himself through weakness. The display resulted in something Paul described as “perfect.” The Greek word is teleioō, meaning to make complete, to accomplish, to bring to the desired end, or to reach a goal. It refers to the process or action of overcoming an imperfect or incomplete state with a more perfect or complete one.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed, helpless, or utterly inadequate, you are in a great place to hear Jesus say, I am all the grace you need—grace that is unmistakably completing and fulfilling something favorable in you.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, help me to know that your grace is sufficient in every weakness. This sufficiency doesn’t mean just barely enough, but profusely more than enough for whatever I face. In times of powerlessness, may I come to see the power of Christ resting upon me. In the fellowship of the Holy Spirit may I also say, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. Why do we love underdog stories? Have you ever played the role of an underdog?
2. In 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, what was the focus of Paul’s boasting?
3. When was the last time you pleaded desperately with God? What was the outcome?
4. In what ways has Christ’s power been made perfect in your weaknesses?
5. How can you boast in Christ’s sufficiency this week?

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The post A Super Bowl Underdog appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” Colossians 3:23

Faith will be driving the special teams captain for the New England Patriots when he takes the field on Super Bowl Sunday. Matthew Slater, the 2017 recipient of the Bart Starr Award, is not only a man who talks publicly about his faith, he is a man who practices it as well.

Matthew Slater grew up in a football home in southern California. His father, Jackie Slater, was an All-Pro offensive lineman for the Los Angeles Rams and is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jackie Slater received the Bart Starr Award in 1996, making the Slaters the first father-son duo to ever win this prestigious award.

The Bart Starr Award was created to honor the NFL player who best exemplifies outstanding character and leadership in the home, on the field and in the community. “It was really emotional for me,” Slater said after learning that he had received the award.

“I really value the human element of football. I really value the relationships I’ve made with people over the years. All that stems from the faith I have in God and the way I was raised by my parents.”

The six-time Pro Bowler has been a leader and a positive example to his team both on and off the field. After every game, win or lose, he leads his team in prayer as the stands empty and the lights go down. Slater has a very simple explanation of his faith:

“I think everything I do, I do for an audience of one.”

The Apostle Paul seemed to share that sentiment in writing to the believers in Colossae. After admonishing Christ-followers to abandon the old self and “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:1-16), he encourages them to adopt this audience of One approach to everyday life (Colossians 3:17-24). The phrase Paul chose was commonly used for changing a set of clothes. The imagery suggested is that we take off the old garments of people-pleasing, and put on the new garments of seeking God’s pleasure foremost in our lives.

Paul reminds us that God is the unseen audience in all of our daily interactions and relationships. Being mindful of this changes the game in how we treat others. Playing for an audience of One means that we guard ourselves from becoming “harsh” with our spouse or overbearing with our children. It means that we recognize more of Jesus in our coworkers and our peers—even our bosses! And treat them accordingly.

Playing for an audience of One involves guarding our integrity when it seems no one is watching, “not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” Simply stated, it means doing everything “as for the Lord and not for men.”

When we play for the audience of One, everyone wins. We win. Our spouse wins. Our children win. Our colleagues win. Our faith wins. Our communities win. And most importantly, God’s glory wins.

Where can you play more for the audience of One in the gridiron of your life? Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are the unseen audience in all of our daily interactions. Your pleasure means more than human praise. Your approval sustains us despite what others may think or say about us. We seek Your glory in our lives above the applause of earthly beings. This by no means gives us a license to be calloused towards others, but conversely, it compels us to treat every other human being as an image-bearer of Jesus, himself. God, fill us with Your Holy Spirit and cause us to play for Your audience in everything that we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. How would you describe your “old self” and your “new self”?
2. Have you ever struggled with being a people-pleaser?
3. What is at the root of our need for human or divine affirmation?
4. Who are the people in your life that are most difficult to get along with right now? How might playing to the audience of One affect that situation?
5. What can you do this week to be more mindful of God’s presence in all of your daily interactions?

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The post Super Bowl Faith: Playing for the Audience of One appeared first on Jimmy Larche.