Ask The Question

To obtain knowledge we must first ask a question.  God revealed to me that we are asking the wrong questions and are looking for answers from the wrong place.

We are being conformed and controlled by society to think a certain way and we are stuck in a selfish mindset that lines up with what we have learned and not what God says.

After a little research, I found that a child at the age of 10 asks an average of 144 questions a day.  Wow!  This spoke to me that we are born to “Seek” answers.  Our problem is that we are getting our answers from the “World”.  When none of these answers work out for us we give up on the answer.  Therefore we become close-minded and stop asking questions.

We need to get back to asking questions.  We simply need to ask them the right way and from God because He is the one who created us.  Our selfish nature is contrary to His word and plan for our lives.

The revelation I received from the Lord is that we are not seeking God based on His Word and nature, but rather from our own selfish makeup.  This refers to the identity that we have learned from the world around us.  We are using our “conformed” mindset and trying to apply it to the word of God.  God cannot change to fit our plan.

Born Again!

John 3:2-9 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”

³ Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵ Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

Through the spirit of God we must be born again.  This is a spiritual birth and allows us the “enter” the kingdom of God.  This entering take place here on earth and was brought to us by God when He sent His flesh and blood son as the sacrifice for our sin.

How Do You Pray!

Prayer is an amazing part of our relationship with God.  When we pray we connect with God in a personal manner and He is listening! 

Remember God wants us to share in a relationship with Him and wants us to talk to Him about our situations.  This requires us to grow just like any relationship so therefore a deeper understanding of God will make our relationship better.

In the early days of my prayer life I felt disconnected and somewhat unworthy to pray. It was a feeling of being alone or distant from God.  I also noticed that a lot of others would sound the same way that I was and I could feel them being uncertain of what to pray. For me I didn’t know enough about God to understand His plans for me, or His true nature.

Many of the prayers I heard would start like this; “Lord Help Us”.  When I heard this type of prayer God brought me a great revelation.  “I have already finished the most powerful work possible by sending my son for your salvation. You have the power of everlasting life, my Word and the Holy Spirit to be your guide.” “You are asking for what I have already done.”  Does this seem foolish?

Righteousness Through Christ!

Galatians 2:17 ¹⁷ “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. ¹⁹ For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life, which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.  We need to conclude that we need a savior and that we have been crucified with Christ.  It is by God’s grace alone that we have been saved.  We are not worthy of this great gift of salvation, but God loved us enough to make us righteous through His son.

Question:  Have “You” accepted that you are saved by Grace and not by your work?

VICTORY!

In the midst of the Tony Andenucio tournament I wanted to repost a story from my Victory book today.  

What is victory? It is success in a struggle against difficulties or an obstacle. Victory is the state of having triumphed. Victory refers especially to the FINAL defeat of an enemy or opponent.

Based on the definition of victory, we can conclude that there must be an enemy or opponent before there can be a battle. Therefore, if there is a battle that takes place, then someone will be victorious. If victory also tells us that the defeat is FINAL, then we can conclude that the battle will be finished once and for all!

Team sports allow us to create a situation to battle for victory. It determines the steps and the process we need to follow. We must be prepared for the battle.

In team sports, we will face an enemy on a given date in time. Our success on the date in time will be determined by who is better equipped. Therefore, we understand that there is a “time frame” that we have to prepare for this battle.

Tip of the Sword

(The Power of God's Word)

Being a coach and understanding what it means to battle to win games, I learned a great revelation. We are in spiritual warfare. The war is taking place in the heavens, not in the flesh. God is building up a team to fight His battles for Him. The maturity level of Christians varies.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

God gave me a revelation whenever I drew the comparisons of sports and going to battle. I had a dream of our team setting on the bench on the sidelines. I was sitting on the bench in the middle, about three players away from the coach. I was anxious to get in the game. I remember knowing that it was a tough battle. Everyone in the game had to be very skilled and capable of fighting at a high level for our team to win. I asked myself what I needed to do for the coach to put me in.

First, I had the desire to be in the game just to make it on the field. Then I realized something great. I wanted to be shortstop and hit third in the order. I wanted to be the quarterback or the point guard.

How could I be the “go to guy”?

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

In this dream, I remember the coach looking down at me and saying, “Check in the game.” At this point, he trusted me to fight his battle. This was an awesome revelation. The Coach was God!

No Strikeouts

(Parable of Choices)

Baseball is a great sport and like any aspect of life the foundation of God’s word is the foundation for success and failure.

I had a dream about standing in the batter’s box. In this dream I remember being afraid that I might strike out. The reason that I am afraid is that I realize I already have two strikes on me when I am approaching the plate. 

Being a part of baseball my entire life, I have looked at the success of hitters with different counts. The highest batting average or chance of success is when the count is three balls and no strikes or three balls and one strike. The lowest chance of success comes when the count is no balls and two strikes. These statistics are true from Little League to the major leagues.

With 2 strikes I would always be more tense at the plate and hunker down in a defensive mode just trying not to strikeout.

The part of this dream that became a revelation to me is the count that I am batting with. I asked the question, “Why do I always have two strikes on me when I get in the batter’s box?” The answer was revealed to me. I had been going through life swinging at bad pitches and making bad decisions when the enemy would tempt me.

Question:  Do you feel like your going through life with 2 strikes?

Comfort Each Other

Many times the stress of daily life keeps us focused on what we don’t have instead of what we have.  In times of trouble we need to remember our salvation and the hope we have in Jesus Christ as savior. 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The Enemies Deception

As we go through life we must renew our mind to the Word of God so that we stay clear of deception.  We live in a corrupt world and we deal with relationships that are often rooted in deception.  We are all subject to the schemes and plans of the enemy and we must recognize these traps by staying clear of deception when possible.

Ephesians 6:12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

This scripture tells us that people are not our enemy.  People are made in the image of God and with the spirit of God.  They are simply deceived and conflicted by the powers of darkness. 

When someone is deceived and conflicted by such things and not operating in the truth of God’s word they can be used of the enemy to pull others off course causing more deception.  We can “ALL” fall into this trap and walk in our own flesh at times and deceive others.  It’s easy to do. 

We all need God’s Grace in times that we fail, but we must also be wise and steer clear of conflict. If anyone is pushed enough they will eventually fall into the traps of the enemy.  This is when we need a “Savior”.  Anger, jealousy, envy, pride, greed and lust are often the underlying cause of conflict and deception.  It is important to stay clear of ungodly situations..

One thing I have learned about God’s word is its foundation works in all aspects of life.  Sports are a great comparison to life’s challenges.  This parable about coaching team sports provides opportunity of how we can leave positive value to our youth.

A coach has the ability to influence for a lifetime. We must learn that leaving a negative path of influence will cause damage in youth that will someday have to be dealt with by those individuals. There are consequences in the choices we make.

Godly Increase

When we begin to walk out God’s plan in life we desire to find our perfect place.  Everyone is given talents and gifts to become a witness and ministry leader of some type.  When we seek God, He will reveal to us and shape our destiny upon many fronts.

Question:  Where is God placing you to be a witness?

After accepting the call to ministry I was not sure where God would send me to fulfill His plan.  Coaching baseball had been a big part of life but I never believed or thought of it as a ministry outlet the way others had suggested.  It was an uncommon area and I had a hard time recognizing its influence or the platform that was in front of me.

After praying the prayer of Jabez I began to see doors open.  The door for me to return to Woodward to coach baseball was one of them.  This seemed like a far stretch in my own mind, but God always has a plan.  The on-field success will more than likely follow this move, but God has shown me a spiritual impact that can help reach the next generation through biblical values.

1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

The Perfect Game

As baseball season unfolds I was led to repost a chapter from my book called "The Perfect Game".  We need to remember the value of sports and how it relates to life and what we truly learn during the process of a season.

As the author of this book, it is my goal to send the message that at times we all fail. I have failed many times, sometimes miserably. By coaching the sport of baseball, I have been able to look at the substance of this game and what makes it special. “Special” is often a hard word to define. I believe the word “special,” when it comes to the sport of baseball, refers to the difficulties of the sport.

The amount of failure that a player deals with in the game surpasses any sport, in my opinion. Often, you hear coaches make the statement, “You can be successful 30 percent of the time and make it to the Baseball Hall of Fame.” That 30 percent they are referring to is going three for ten at the plate or at bat. The player who has a career .300 average often makes it to the Hall.

Just Do It!

As the world tries to conform us to the normal standards of “Society” we are faced with decisions to do what’s normal or to make Godly choices based on spiritual things.

When Jesus performed miracles in the bible it required people to do what “He” said. 

John 2:1-5 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. ² Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.³ And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

Press On!

When we grow in Faith we begin to want more and more of God’s plan because we have discovered that it’s better than ours.  Some questions I began to ask are “What is important in Life”?  How can I obtain everything God created me to have?

Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thingI do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

God is good and to have all that He has for us we must press on!  The bible tells us that we will have tribulation.

What’s Your Tone?

As a coach I have learned that players respond to different types of motivation.  There is a time and a place for different types of “Tone” when looking for a response from individuals and your team.

Webster’s Dictionary

tone |tōn|

noun

• a modulation of the voice expressing a particular feeling or mood :

PHRASAL VERBS

tone something down make something less harsh in sound or color. • make something less extreme or intense : she saw the need to tone down her protests.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

After many years of learning to deal with young people I have concluded that my tone makes a huge difference in players performance and also their character.  If we are forming character of people as leaders we must understand that we are going to get a response that is proportional to the tone that we use during instruction.