Coach Larry Huck passed away this week. He was our head football coach from my freshman through junior year of high school. Part of our daily ritual at practice during warm up calisthenics was doing up downs. Coach loved up downs and as players, we hated up downs. If coach was unhappy with the team, the more up downs we did.

One day at practice the up down session was going extra long. One of the players on the back row yelled out, “Coach you are killing us.” Coach yelled back, “Killing you am I?” As we ran in place waiting for the next whistle to blow coach lectured us. “I am not killing you. You have more in you than you realize and I know you can do one more” as he blew the whistle again. And he continued to tell us we could do one more and continued to blow the whistle for what seemed like an eternity.

What coach was teaching us that day had a little to do with football, but more about life in general. No matter how tired you are, no matter what life throws at you and it can get difficult with death, sickness, marital issues, family problems, work problems you get knocked down, but you need to get back up.

At the time we did not understand the lesson coach was teaching us. We thought he was being……well I don’t want to tell you what we thought of him at that moment, but they weren’t nice thoughts.

Jesus said the same thing to his disciples at one point, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” (John 13:7)

I’ll come and see you coach, after my up downs are done on this side.

During my junior year of high school I needed to have an operation to remove a bone spur from my right knee. My parents and I decided to have it done at the end of basketball season and at the start of track season.

After surgery I went to track practice every day and did trainer or manager duties such as filling water bottles, helped tape guys and gave rub downs on tired, sore legs. At the end of that six week period I was given a doctors release to start running again. I was able to run in two practice sessions before that Fridays track meet, where I was put in a half mile run.

That Friday I ran the best race I could. When the race was over, I did not feel good. I walked to the goal post on the football field and vomited. My lack of practice time and my running as fast as I could for two minutes caught up with my out of shape body. I was sick. I vomited several more times in the next five minutes.

Now I had been at track practice every day for the past six weeks but had not been doing the workout on any of those days. Just hanging out at practice will not keep you in shape to run the race.

Can you see a comparison between going to track practice every day and not doing the workout, and in our daily lives of not exercising with God the Father every day?

We are supposed to be working out with God the Father every day. We are to read the Bible, pray, study, meditate and be in touch every day. If we don’t spend anytime working out with God week after week, then what do you suppose will happen to us when we are put in the real race of life and must give it every thing we have?

So are you in shape from working out with God the Father or are you just hanging around and are an out of shape Christian?

1Timothy 4:8 For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

There were a couple of brothers that lived down the street from where my family lived. We went to the same church, same Boy Scout troop, were roughly the same age as my brother and me and their Dad worked for the same company our Dad did. We hung out together a lot.

When the older brother was in 8^th grade he set the middle school record for situps at 1,100 or 1,200 during his P.E. class which lasted roughly an hour. The situps were done while someone held your feet solid to the ground and as you did the situp your knees were bent and your hands held together behind your head. As you came up you touched your knees with your elbows. When you went back down you had to have your back and shoulders flat on the gym floor.

The record holders little brother was in 7^th grade that year and little brother decided when school started in the fall he was going to break his big brothers situp record. Recently, I asked little brother how he prepared for the competition that fall.

He began doing situps as soon as summer started. Before he went to bed each evening he did 20 situps. He continued to raise the number each week until he was doing 200 each and every night before he went to bed.

I asked him if he did pushups during this time. He said he did pushups in the same way with each evening doing so many and increasing the number each week. The most he did was 50 before bed each evening.

When school started he felt ready to claim the situp record. During the competition he felt great and never was hurting. He did 1,550 situps and wanted to continue, but the P.E. teacher made him quit, because had to go to the next class.

There is always competition between brothers of the same family. The Bible tells the story of Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, the prodigal son and his brother. Those stories tell a difficult and hard lesson to learn. May you have competition with your brother, but may your bond to your brother be strong.

1 John 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar, for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

https://youtu.be/NtxWTRt0vhI