Day of Praise

Fr, 01/10/14, "Day of Praise"

Proverbs 4:25 - "Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you."

Looking "directly forward" can be a dangerous proposition. Things and people could blindside you at any moment. Don't you need "your head on a swivel"? Shouldn't we be constantly watching out for the "other guy" so that he doesn't take advantage of us or bring ruin to us?

I have a dear friend who is a Renaissance Man; he's good at everything. One of his many talents is coaching basketball, which he also played well in high school, college, and beyond.

He made some warm-up shirts for his basketball players. The shirt has the player's number on the top. Then underneath the number it says, "Next Play." Then beneath "Next Play" it says, "Proverbs 4:25." My friend is coaching his players to play well on the next play by focusing on the next play in front of them instead of playing poorly on the next play by dwelling on the past. And he'll tell them something like this, "After learning from a mistake, put it in God's hands, and focus on the NEXT PLAY!"

That's good advice from God's Word for all of life for us all: "Next Play!"

Praise God!


Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson