In the huddle before every play the fullback would ask, “Which way do we go Pat?” The fullback was a great athlete in Middle School football, but the kid refused to study the playbook. He was one of the best athletes in school and a large individual so the coach continued to play him.

Our offensive formation was the straight T. The fullback was to take a hand off from the quarterback on either side of the center in a dive play or he was to go to the left or right basically towards the defensive tackle or end and block ahead of the halfback. The coach thought of the pass as a negative thing. So before every play the fullback would ask the halfback which way to go after the quarterback called the play?

My first thought, when I think back to that team, is I laugh. It is a good story to have fun with. My second thought is I know the kid should have studied the playbook and I know he should have paid more attention to the play calling by the quarterback so that later in the season he could have known where to go by himself, but at least the kid never got the play wrong. How many times have you seen a kid think he knows the play and goes the wrong way? The quarterback turns the wrong way and smashes into the fullback and they fumble the ball. The quarterback reaches the ball out for the option play fake but the back is on the other side of the line behind him? The guard pulls the wrong direction and either steps on the quarterback’s foot or he runs into the other guard pulling right at him. You get the picture.

So which way do we go? Most of us in our lives go the way we want to go. The heck with the quarterback play calling. So in our lives we step on the quarterbacks feet, we run into the other players, we fumble the ball, we miss our assignments, we make a mess out of our lives in a football sense. God gives us the freedom to do whatever we want to do and we all screw it up, we all are sinners. But there is hope. Don’t ever give up. There is that guy in the huddle that will tell you which direction to go on every play. He is the Holy Spirit the Holy Representative sent by God the Father to be with us on this earth. All you have to do is ask him the question? Which way should I go?

Isaiah 48:17-18 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

Several of my football teammates had been seen drinking beer at a party next door to one of the new to town assistant football coaches home, at the start of the football season. The assistant told the head coach about it and the head coach went to the players and asked them about it. They admitted to the incident. Coach could have kicked them off the team, due to the rules of the team, but he did not. He made them apologize to the team before practice one night.

All of us at one point or another in our lives have chosen to break the rules. Either we break Gods laws, human laws, and the laws of nature or even the coach’s rules for the team.

Thankfully, God does not reject us at our first offense of ignoring the laws or the second or third etc. God continually draws us towards him as long as we are still alive on this earth and wants us on the team. But there may be a penalty to have to pay.

The best place for rule breakers is on the team, because those rule breakers are all of us.

Paul Bear Bryant was football coach at Alabama for 25 years and on the day he died this folded up poem was found in his wallet. He read this poem to his team ever so often and told the team, “Don’t be to proud to get on your knees and pray.”

“This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving something in its place I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss, good, not evil. Success, not failure in order that I shall not forget the price I paid for it.”

It is very important to read from the Bible everyday, but I also read other books. These are my favorite books from the past several years. Most all were found at thrift stores or used online.

Anam Cara by John O’Donohue (A book of Celtic Wisdom)

He Leadeth Me by Walter J. Ciszek (American priest that spent 23 years in Soviet Gulag)

Holy Desperation by Heather King (Praying as if your life depends on it)

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes (A novel of the Viet Nam War, but actually Karl’s story)

Evangelical is Not Enough by Thomas Howard (Worship of God in Liturgy & Sacrament)

Dakota by Kathleen Norris (A Spiritual Geography)

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris

Prayer Shield by C. Peter Wagner (How to Intercede for Pastors & Other Christian Leaders)

The Unnecessary Pastor by Marva J. Dawn & Eugene Peterson

Working the Angles by Eugene Peterson (The Shape of Pastoral Integrity)

Ten Things Wrong with the Modern Church by Paul Washer

Knowing God by J.I. Packer (Took over a year to read, so much good information.)

Catholics Wake Up by Jesse Romero (Be a Spiritual Warrior)

Map of My Dead Pilots by Colleen Mondor (The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska)

What if your football team only came to weightlifting one day a week? Would the team get better with this one day a week workout? Would the individuals on the team be able to increase their personal maximum best lifts and be able to run faster and jump higher with greater agility with a one day a week workout?

Everything that I read about weightlifting says that if you lift once a week you are just maintaining what you have. You are not increasing your strength and you are basically standing still.

So in our spiritual lives if we work out with God only one day a week do you suppose you are growing your strength and faith or are you just standing still?

Get busy and grow your strength and faith in the Lord to your maximum potential by working out more often with our Father in Heaven.

Isaiah 40:30-31 Even youth grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

This video was not put here as a political statement on who I voted for or didn’t vote for. This video was put here to stop men and women from dealing with the pain of abortion.

A good friend of mine got his girlfriend pregnant in college and paid for her to have an abortion. She ended up in a mental institution for a period of time and my friend became a drunken drug addict. Both of them eventually found Jesus, but they were never together again.

It takes courage to stand up for what is right and this priest has got it right. I pray we have more leaders of faith do the same.

https://youtu.be/M92PX3Df7HM

Several weeks into the football season, the coach would tell us he wanted a perfect play drill. He would call an offensive play and we were supposed to perform it with no mistakes. He then would put the offense against the defense and expect the same perfect play. As you can guess it rarely happened to be perfect against the defense.

In life we are not perfect either. King David was a man after God’s own heart. He knew the Ten Commandments, he knew right from wrong, but he saw Bathsheba and desired her in his mind first, which lead to coveting, adultery, lies and murder.

You and me are men just like King David. We know we should not commit adultery, lust or fornicate, but we do have inner thoughts of things we should not do and at times we fail even if it is just in our imagination.

There is no perfect church where there is no sin. There is no perfect pastor, priest or preacher. If your pastor and church is held up as the perfect place you know it is a fake. None of us are perfect, but we must strive for perfection.

Paul the Apostle talked about this imperfection in men and claimed he was the chief sinner of us all. He took the Gospel to the gentiles and wrote many letters that are in the Bible today. A great man, but still a sinner, just like you and me.

1 Timothy 1: 15-16 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.

Romans 7:15-20 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

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.