football, a treadmill, and an exclusive club

Recently, in a mandatory parent's meeting for Garrett's football team, the director for the local Ruritan football teams made the the statement that "if you don't want you kid involved in prayer then he's on the wrong team."

Gotta say that the statement caught me off guard, although it shouldn't have since the team shirts have Philippians 4:13 on the back.

I was on the treadmill recently, and running on a treadmill is BORING. My mind tends to wonder to odd topics while attempting to not look at the meter every 5 seconds. It's amazing what you think about sometimes.

So I'm running and considering the above-mentioned statement by the Ruritan guy, and I'm thinking "wonder how long it'll be until they're sued over this", and I can hear a parent saying "football isn't church, and we shouldn't subject the kids to the Bible or prayer, they have nothing to do with winning."

I love to win. Win, win, win, win. Give everything that you've got, win. But....

Remember, I'm bored, running, and having a conversation with myself.... Next thought is "what would I say if a parent made these statements to me?" A song that our praise band at church sings, "A Mighty Fortress" by Christy Nockels, popped in my head, it goes like this (I highlight the verse down into the song because that's what I thought of first):

Our God is a consuming fire,
A burning holy Flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is, the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You

A mighty fortress is our God
A sacred refuge is Your Name
Your Kingdom is unshakable
With You forever we will reign

Our God is jealous for His own
None could comprehend, His love and His mercy
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He’s worthy...

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You
So we can set our hearts on You
Lord we will set our hearts on You!

We are trying to teach our boys that our, their, God isn't just God on "Sundays", and that He should be the center of their lives in everything all of the time. He is righteous and holy, and He desires that we worship Him continually.

Next thought was that salvation is like membership to an exclusive club, but with open enrollment. Anyone has access, but you must accept the gift that Christ offered on the cross to gain entrance.

I'm thankful that Garrett's coaches take a minute to "live" their Christianity in front of a group of impressionable kids. Sometimes "winning" is about much more than the scoreboard.

"For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:24