The thing is, is that there doesn't seem to be that many athletes these
days with integrity. I don't know Bret's personal life other than he had
trouble with the booze for a while but seems to have licked that, in the
midst of his grief of the losss of his Dad he played the best game, and his
wife battled(s) cancer and he was going to quit and be with her and she
said no. He loves the game like a high schooler's first time on the field
and is very serious about it. I'm sure there are other players out there
that aren't in the lime light who seem to be integretous, but many times
we hear about those involved in shootings, dog fight deals, drugs, and just
plain nonsense. Years ago there was a certain respect and integrity in
players, not so much now which is why he stands out more I think. And
unfortunately even these days ya just don't know. My employee says "Most of
the players in pro sports are just street thugs who if they didn't happen
to be good at a particular sport and playing pro ball, would probably be
robbing the corner liquor store instead" There certainly are lots of
shananagins. It would be interesting to see how many players from around
the 60s invested their income into life after sports compared to these days.
Brad
At 11:08 AM 10/12/2007, you wrote:
>Brad,
>They used Brett as an illustration again today, referring to him as, "iron
>Man," but I figured that passing it along would just be pushing it. GRIN!
>Kathy
>
>
>
>At 04:01 PM 10/11/2007, you wrote:
>>Kathy,
>>
>>I don't know, anyone with a name like Favre, who can toss out the ABC's
>>and English language and then in turn get an entire hemisphere or better
>>to pronounce his name Farve, could do most anything including make
>>touchdowns count with God *grin*.
>>
>>Brad
>>
>>
>>
>>At 08:40 AM 10/11/2007, you wrote:
>>>Okay, Guys, admittedly, I don't really have a good reason for passing
>>>this devotional along, except that it talks about somebody that, you
>>>know I like. Brad, you especially will get a kick out of this, since
>>>you mentioned these records in a recent posting.
>>>Blessings,
>>>Kathy
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Making Points With God
>>>by Jon Walker
>>>
>>>“For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law
>>>commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't
>>>obeying it. But now God has shown us a different way of being right in
>>>his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long
>>>ago.” (Romans 3:20-21 NLT)
>>>
>>>Brett Favre, the lion-hearted quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, is
>>>one of my favorite players in the National Football League. He’s courageous and
>>>tough-minded, showing a rare grace under pressure, yet his boyish
>>>enthusiasm for the game is infectious as he celebrates each Packer success.
>>>
>>>A couple of Sundays ago (Sept. 30), Brett threw a pass that set a new
>>>record: the most touchdown passes by an NFL quarterback 421.
>>>
>>>Although the Pack was playing in Minnesota, the officials temporarily
>>>stopped the game in order to honor Brett’s achievement. And Brett, in
>>>his customary
>>>humility, later said he was more interested in a team win than an
>>>individual record.
>>>
>>>In surprising contrast, the very next week (Oct. 8) Brett tied another
>>>record: the most interceptions thrown by an NFL quarterback 277. This
>>>game also
>>>was stopped after this record was achieved, but only because the
>>>interception ended the Packer’s last-second attempt to win the game.
>>>
>>>The most touchdown passes and the most interceptions! It reminds me that
>>>there was a time when Babe Ruth, the baseball player who was one of the
>>>greatest
>>>hitters in the game, owned two records simultaneously: the most home
>>>runs hit in a career as well as the most strike-outs in a career.
>>>
>>>Here’s the thing: We tend to think of life as a balance sheet that we’ll
>>>eventually present to God. As long as the number of our touchdown passes exceed
>>>the number of our interceptions, then we’re cool with God, right? To
>>>echo the Apostle Paul, God forbid this to be true!
>>>
>>>“For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law
>>>commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't
>>>obeying it.” (Romans 3:20 NLT)
>>>
>>>In other words, we can never be made right by throwing touchdown passes
>>> because the more we learn about the Law, the more obvious it is we can
>>>never throw
>>>enough touchdown passes to make things right with God.
>>>
>>>“But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his
>>>sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures
>>>long ago.” (Romans
>>>3:21 NLT)
>>>
>>>In his own geek-Greek way, Paul is saying we should forget the balance
>>>sheet ignore the scoreboard, give up on tracking good and bad
>>>statistics. Listen,
>>>there is good news! There’s another way to get right in God’s sight, and
>>>it has nothing to do with your own achievements. It’s based on a promise made
>>>by God long ago a promise is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
>>>
>>>Can I get an amen?
>>>
>>>We are saved by grace and not through faith. It is a gift from God, not
>>>by our own works, so that none of us can boast of the ability to tip the
>>>balance
>>>sheet in our own favor. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
>>>
>>>No doubt you’ve heard this over and over again, including many times in
>>>these devotionals. Yet many of us still live as if we get right in God’s
>>>sight by
>>>what we do by our works, our achievements, the records we set.
>>>
>>>We do this because it is, as Paul says, an offense to think of the
>>>Gospel as so simple and, therefore, it becomes a stumbling block to our
>>>pride. Getting
>>>right in God’s sight by what we do appeals to our human pride, or as the
>>>poet-king James would say, it appeals to our “flesh.”
>>>
>>>It makes us feel good, as if we’re doing something to earn our way into
>>>heaven. If we cling to the idea that we can, even in some small way, contribute
>>>toward our salvation, then we also can cling to the idea that maybe
>>>we’re not that bad maybe we aren’t included in the “all” of “all have
>>>sinned and
>>>fall short of God’s glory.”
>>>
>>>Put that behind you and get on with the truth: You, my friend, can never
>>>be made right in God's sight by doing what is right because the closer
>>>you get
>>>to God, the more you’ll realize you’re not even close to getting it
>>>right (see Isaiah 6 and Romans 3:20).
>>>
>>>The one thing you can do is to move in loving obedience to your gracious
>>>heavenly Father, doing and saying whatever he tells you to do and say; allowing
>>>your life to be energized by God’s Spirit within you.
>>>
>>>What now?
>>>
>>>· “Balance sheet” fear Good news! You are free to follow the Father
>>>instead of living in “balance sheet” fear. You can be who you were meant
>>>to be and
>>>you can live how you were meant to live. You don’t have to be good
>>>enough you just have to trust in the redemptive power of Christ’s
>>>resurrection from
>>>the dead. And you don’t have to fear if you hold both the record for
>>>most touchdown passes and the record for most interceptions love God
>>>and live accordingly!
>>>
>>>· Record of faith A record of your faith in Jesus is more important
>>>than any record of your wrongs or resume of your achievements. If you
>>>haven’t already
>>>done this, set a spiritual marker as a reminder that you have received
>>>Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Write it down or establish some
>>>other kind
>>>of tangible memorial for this event and every time the devil tells you
>>>you’ll never be good enough for God, or that you’re so good you can
>>>remain independent
>>>of God, take him to that marker and remind him that you are right in
>>>God’s sight because of Jesus.
>>>
>>>· Big play Next time you’re watching a sporting event and one of the
>>>players makes the big play, turn to the person next to you and say,
>>>“That was a great
>>>play, but it won’t make him right in God’s sight.”
>>>
>>>· Huge error Likewise, next time you’re watching a sporting event and
>>>one of the players makes a huge erro, turn to the person next to you and
>>>say, “That
>>>was a huge error, but the good news is it won’t keep him from getting
>>>right in God’s sight.”
>>>
>>>· Pray for others Ask God to show you who to pray for, related to
>>>getting right in God’s sight. It may be a non-believer or someone who
>>>believes but struggles
>>>in this area. Pray that this person will know God’s “different way of
>>>being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised
>>>in the Scriptures
>>>long ago (Romans 3:21 NLT) And pray that Brett Favre and his family will
>>>come to know this truth, so that when he retires from football he can spend the
>>>rest of his life preaching how to be right in God’s sight.
>>>
>>>© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
>>>
>>>Jon Walker is a pastor-advocate living in Tennessee and the former
>>>pastor of communications at Saddleback Church.
>>>
>>>Click
>>>HERE
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>>>
>>>© 2007 Purpose Driven Life. All rights reserved.
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>>
>>
>>
>>Brad Dunse
>>http://www.braddunsemusic.com
>>
>>Check out my site, take a look, have a listen to some sample tunes or
>>contact me if you are interested in a calendar date. Comments are always
>>encouraged and appreciated in the guest book area. Also feel free to sign
>>up to the newsletter to receive an occasional performance update. Its
>>easy as pie, your address stays with us, and we won't pound you with mail
>>either I promise... no worry!
>
>
>
>Brad Dunse
>http://www.braddunsemusic.com
>
>Check out my site, take a look, have a listen to some sample tunes or
>contact me if you are interested in a calendar date. Comments are always
>encouraged and appreciated in the guest book area. Also feel free to sign
>up to the newsletter to receive an occasional performance update. Its easy
>as pie, your address stays with us, and we won't pound you with mail
>either I promise... no worry!
|