Preparing The Called

Do you feel ordinary? Do you feel less-talented, networked or less popular? Do you feel like God could never use someone like you?

Well, join the club. If you feel this way or have ever felt this way, you are like most people, even those who act like they have it "all together." Look at the characters in the Bible. Moses argued with God when he was called saying that he wasn't "good enough." David was the smallest of his family, yet he did mighty things. This is a recurring theme in the Bible.

In our service at church on Sunday, this video was shown. It is incredible and very encouraging. Please do yourself a favor and watch this video of Susan Boyle (shown above). Pay attention to the faces of the judges and those in the audience at the beginning and see the changes in their expression as she performs.

God can use you, regardless of your circumstances. I have heard it said that God does not call the prepared but He prepares the called!

Mad Dog

A friend of mine, Brian Keel, writes a weekly email that is usually very thought provoking and very good. This past week he sent this which I wanted to share with you:

Greg Maddux retired from baseball this week after a career that spanned more than twenty seasons. He was not particularly big, nor strong, nor fast. He used control of his pitches instead of power, and he threw slower when in a jam instead of faster. To see him in street clothes with his glasses on you may have fancied him a teacher or even a CPA. Yet he retired with the 8th most victories (355) and the 10th most strikeouts (3,371) in the history of baseball. He played defense, winning a record 18 Gold Gloves and had 180 sacrifice bunts as a batter. He is a living, breathing oxymoron. Even is his nickname, “Mad Dog”, is a laugh.

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong … but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11

These words were penned by Solomon, perhaps the wisest, richest and most powerful man of ancient times. He likely qualified as both swift and strong. Yet like Maddux his experience seems to have taught him that preparation and consistency were more valuable. Preparation gives us the tools we need to make a fast and appropriate response to a variety of situations we may encounter. Consistency allows others to count on getting the same response each time we hit that situation. That can make us good leaders, great teammates and successful in the big race of life.

If you would like to receive Brian's weekly emails or to look at past emails, visit here.

Preparation

Did you see the end of the final round of the US Open Golf Tournament? It was incredible.

I was traveling so I didn't gt to watch any of it until the final group was on hole 17. When I tuned in, Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood were one shot behind the leader, Rocco Mediate. Both parred 17 and went to 18 needing a birdie four on the par five hole to tie and force an 18 hole playoff on Monday.

Both players hit their tee shots in a fairway bunker. Then they both advanced their 2nd shots toward the green with Westwood's lying in the fairway and Woods' in the deep rough. Tiger hit an amazing shot to within 20 feet or so and Westwood also was about that distance after his third. Westwood missed his putt and Tiger made his.

I, along with the rest of the golfing spectators, was not surprised. Tiger had battled his sore knee (he is recovering from recent knee surgery) all week, yet he was right there, in the hunt. On the final hole he faced all sorts of adversity (bunker, rough) yet, he managed to do what he needed to do.

During the round they showed a clip of Tiger with his dad. It showed his dad doing all sorts of things to try to get into Tiger's head...things like dropping his bag in the middle of Tiger's swing. His dad went on to say that there would not be another golfer who was more mentally ready to play than Tiger. Preparation.

On Sunday, Mark Cryderman delivered an incredible message at CrossRoads. He taught on the importance of character. He told us that tough times will come (Jesus promises that in John 16:33). So, like Tiger Woods, we must prepare and build our character so that we are ready to face these challenges when they come.

By the way, though I have a great deal of respect for Tiger and his work ethic, I'll be rooting for Rocco Mediate as I have a soft spot in my heart for underdogs.

Preparation

In this week's Sports Illustrated, there is a brief article about the ageless Morten Andersen. Andersen, 47, was just asked to rejoin the Atlanta Falcons after the Falcon's prior kicker missed two field goals in a game on September 16.

In the interview, Andersen was asked how he prepares for pressure kicks and this is his response:

"I do mental training throughout the week. I take myself through specific game situations so when they come up I've rehearsed them. Before the snap you're in real time. Then right after the snap, that 1.2 or 1.3 seconds that you're actually out there on your work bench, time slows. You see the ball clearly, you see everything in slow motion. Then you complete the kick, and it switches back to real time."

I believe this applies to all of us in all areas of our lives. There is much we need to be prepared for. This is especially true when it comes to temptations.

Each of us are tempted daily with things that are not of God. If we can anticipate these and prepare for them in advance, we can have victory. Read Matthew, chapter 4 sometime soon and see how Jesus fought off temptation. He fought of satan by reciting scripture. He was prepared and you can be too!