11 "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 13 "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.
There is none like our God - He is above all others which we would falsely label to be god of our lives, and the One who possesses unfailing love. He prepares us for the interruptions of life and He gives us perspective during those interruptions, as well. He has great strength to give us that will sustain us in tough times, and we can be confident that His love never fails. Our trust in His love, wisdom, and strength are vital as we navigate through the unexpected trials that come our way.
Romans 8 can help us to be prepared for life's interruptions and to have the right perspective:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It's a series of moments that so many have been waiting for - the anticipation of the unexpected and the display of athleticism in wall-to-wall coverage. The first weekend of March Madness is now history and the NCAA men's basketball tournament lineup has been whittled down from 68 to 16 teams.
Throughout the weekend, we had not only a flurry of exciting games, some incredible upsets, and compelling story lines. And, they were all enhanced by a flurry of announcers posted across 4 different networks.
One of the best, of course, is Clark Kellogg, who I would assume is part of the lead announcing team on CBS with Jim Nantz - as I recall, they had the call on one of the truly thrilling games of the weekend, Indiana and Temple, which appeared to be an Owls victory until the final seconds. In less than 2 weeks, prior to the Final Four in Atlanta, he will be teamed with another believer and someone who was featured prominently in the NCAA coverage over the weekend, Ernie Johnson. Together, they will emcee Athletes in Action's annual "Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast", where the John Wooden "Keys to Life" Award will be presented. This year's winner will be former Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett.
Clark played for Ohio State, then went to the NBA with the Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately, knee problems resulted in the end of his career 5 years later. Kellogg writes on AIA's, BeyondTheUltimate.com website:
In 1985, while rehabilitating from a third knee surgery, I began thinking about my purpose in life. A local minister started conducting chapel services prior to games. Curious about the peace he had, I asked him to walk me and my wife through the Bible and teach us about God.In 2003, Ernie Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He had 6 rounds of chemo, and reports that the cancer is in remission. He says that:
...people have asked me, “How’d you get through that?” I tell them there are three words: “Trust God. Period.” Not “Trust God if this next test comes back the way I want it to. Period.” He relates that he has that perspective because of his decision to follow Christ 9 years before that "interruption".Clark's interruption led him to seek more of God in his life and resulted in his accepting Christ. Ernie accepted Christ, which prepared him for a major interruption in his life. Both of these gentlemen can teach us that God has a plan, and even though life may not go the way we think it should sometimes, it's important that we are prepared for difficult times and realize that our difficulties can drive us to seek God more deeply.
As we think about Coach Wooden's "Keys to Life", these guys illustrate that, as the Coach says, we can make each day a masterpiece. Good or bad, we recognize that each day is a gift, and though the interruptions may come, we know that He is with us and His love never fails.
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