13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done with love.
We can stand strong because of the power of Christ. When we are beset by difficulties or disappointments, we can know that God is walking with us, if we have placed our trust in Him. And, even when someone may not be walking closely with Christ, God can use those times of challenge to bring him or her to Himself. So, we can remain hopeful in our trials, knowing that He is doing a work in order that we may grow and that He may be glorified.
In James chapter 1, we see a powerful passage that can remind us of God's presence in our trials and
His performance of His will in the midst of out troubles:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
The sports world has their own awards show that somewhat mirrors the Oscars and the Emmys - it's called the ESPYs, and it's presented by ESPN.
I very rarely watch network television, but the other night, I was scrolling through and landed on ABC, where the ESPYs were being televised - there was a feature package that was airing that I realized was about Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly.
Kelly was then announced as the winner of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, given in honor of former college basketball coach Jim Valvano. I was familiar with Kelly's struggle with cancer, as well as the death many years ago of his young son. So, I watched the speech - delivered on stage as his two daughters stood by him, as well as legendary quarterbacks John Elway and Dan Marino.
Sports Spectrum reported on the speech:
Even though Jim Kelly has reached what many would call the pinnacle of football greatness, reaching four Super Bowls and being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there have been trials that have marked his life. And, almost 10 years ago, his perspective was adjusted through a relationship with Christ. That certainly helped to prepare him for the health challenges he is currently experiencing.
The phrase, "Kelly Tough," has a new meaning - while it was a family motto, Jim Kelly now knows the source of supernatural strength that helps him endure, that provides hope in discouragement. He can endure because of the presence of Christ within him, and that gives him an outlook through which he can stand on a stage and exhort people to touch the lives of others. According to Sports Spectrum, he said at the ESPYs: “Make a difference today for someone who is fighting for their tomorrow,” adding, “When I look across this arena, and when I talk to people, you don’t need to be a Russell Wilson or an Aaron Rodgers to make a difference out there. Every single person in this room can be a difference-maker. You can be a normal person that gets up every morning and goes to work. But you can be a difference-maker, putting smiles on those faces … If you have somebody out there who’s suffering … what you say to them, that can be the difference.”
He also declared that basically, God wasn't finished with him yet - that the Lord had plans for his life.
His wife, Jill, also has demonstrated perseverance. She became a Christian before Jim, and he admits it was her witness that drew him to Christ. This can be encouragement for spouses and family members of those who don't yet know the Lord. A Christian example in the home can speak powerfully.
Finally, you may not see God at work, you may not see the fruit or grasp the outcome, but that doesn't mean He's not working. And, life's circumstances can be tools through which a person comes to Christ. Through brokenness, the Kellys discovered the life-giving love of a Savior, and Jim has discovered a strength that is helping Him endure the cancer struggle and providing hope for the future. Even in our adversity, we can be confident in God's power and presence.
+++++
In James chapter 1, we see a powerful passage that can remind us of God's presence in our trials and
His performance of His will in the midst of out troubles:
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
The sports world has their own awards show that somewhat mirrors the Oscars and the Emmys - it's called the ESPYs, and it's presented by ESPN.
I very rarely watch network television, but the other night, I was scrolling through and landed on ABC, where the ESPYs were being televised - there was a feature package that was airing that I realized was about Buffalo Bills great Jim Kelly.
Kelly was then announced as the winner of the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, given in honor of former college basketball coach Jim Valvano. I was familiar with Kelly's struggle with cancer, as well as the death many years ago of his young son. So, I watched the speech - delivered on stage as his two daughters stood by him, as well as legendary quarterbacks John Elway and Dan Marino.
Sports Spectrum reported on the speech:
The Hall of Fame quarterback has been in and out of the hospital, undergoing surgery for oral cancer since first being diagnosed in 2013. After announcing in March, less than a year after his father passed away, that his cancer had returned, Kelly remains in recovery from a reconstruction of his upper jaw, as ESPN reported. He’s also long been an advocate for raising awareness of Krabbe disease, which claimed the life of his 8-year-old son, Hunter, in 1997.
In accepting the Jimmy V Award for his courage on Wednesday, however, Kelly was nothing but humble. Rather than tout his own battle with cancer, he used almost all of his five-minute speech to thank others — God first among them. Saying he’s “always lived by the four F’s” — fun, family, friends and fans — the Buffalo Bills legend emphasized that his journey of perseverance has been since redefined.
“The one I had but changed was ‘fun,'” he said. “Even though I still have fun, I put the one in there that means more to me now than it ever has. And that’s my faith — my faith in the good Lord that He has plans, He has plans for my life.”Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King spent time with the Kelly family in a hospital room back in 2014. His wife, Jill, and daughters Erin and Camryn, were with him. King writes:
“There is no way I’d be here without my faith,” Jim Kelly said. “It’s been such a roller coaster. So many things. The Super Bowl losses, the fabulous career, my son born sick, making the Hall of Fame, my son dying, two plates and 10 screws in my back after major surgery, one plate and six screws in my neck after another surgery, a double hernia, the cancer, surgery on my jaw, the cancer coming back, now what I’m facing. But …”
He looked at Erin.
“When you’re going through pain, you’re what?” he said.
Not even a millisecond elapsed.
“Kelly tough,” said the eldest daughter of Jim Kelly.Also in 2014, Jim, Jill, and Erin spoke at Liberty University. A report on the school's website said:
Jim Kelly said it was his wife’s transformation by God’s grace that led him to find peace in Christ and is what gave him a foundation he would later need to endure treatments for cancer in his upper jaw.
He was so confident in God’s love that he told NBC last year that he was not afraid to die. That was something that resonated with Erin.
“I remember growing up, my dad always said to me, ‘You have to be Kelly Tough,’” Erin said, citing the family motto and the title of her upcoming book. “I didn’t understand the fullness of what that meant until I actually saw my earthly father be weak. It just drew me to seek the strength of my Heavenly Father.The story of Jill's witness to Jim is included in a story from the Democrat and Chronicle website. It's entitled, Kelly Tough:
Jill became a Christian shortly after Hunter was diagnosed with his fatal neurological disease just four months after his Valentine's Day 1997 birth, which happened to be Jim's 37th birthday. It took a while for Jim to join her.
Much has been documented in the book Jill wrote in 2010, Without A Word, about the marital troubles the couple had and the incredible heartache they suffered throughout Hunter's struggle. Jim did not want to share specifics — it's there to read — but in explaining his decision to become a Christian in 2009, he simply said that he realized he was not the man he wanted to be, and he had to stop hurting Jill and his daughters.
"I wanted to make sure after I was out of town, I could walk through my front door and (my girls could) look at their daddy with respect," he said. "I knew I was losing a lot of that and as a father, you need to accept that responsibility for your kids. And I wanted to make sure that I will see Hunter again, hopefully later than sooner; I was losing all that. I was losing a woman who took care of my son, raising two kids, and I knew I needed to change my life, and thank God I did."And, a health update from Kelly. USA Today reports:
Following an undisclosed issue regarding his recovery from surgery in March to remove oral cancer, former Buffalo Bills quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly will travel to New York for an "unexpected" checkup, ESPN reported Tuesday.That visit is scheduled for the second week of August.
Even though Jim Kelly has reached what many would call the pinnacle of football greatness, reaching four Super Bowls and being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there have been trials that have marked his life. And, almost 10 years ago, his perspective was adjusted through a relationship with Christ. That certainly helped to prepare him for the health challenges he is currently experiencing.
The phrase, "Kelly Tough," has a new meaning - while it was a family motto, Jim Kelly now knows the source of supernatural strength that helps him endure, that provides hope in discouragement. He can endure because of the presence of Christ within him, and that gives him an outlook through which he can stand on a stage and exhort people to touch the lives of others. According to Sports Spectrum, he said at the ESPYs: “Make a difference today for someone who is fighting for their tomorrow,” adding, “When I look across this arena, and when I talk to people, you don’t need to be a Russell Wilson or an Aaron Rodgers to make a difference out there. Every single person in this room can be a difference-maker. You can be a normal person that gets up every morning and goes to work. But you can be a difference-maker, putting smiles on those faces … If you have somebody out there who’s suffering … what you say to them, that can be the difference.”
He also declared that basically, God wasn't finished with him yet - that the Lord had plans for his life.
His wife, Jill, also has demonstrated perseverance. She became a Christian before Jim, and he admits it was her witness that drew him to Christ. This can be encouragement for spouses and family members of those who don't yet know the Lord. A Christian example in the home can speak powerfully.
Finally, you may not see God at work, you may not see the fruit or grasp the outcome, but that doesn't mean He's not working. And, life's circumstances can be tools through which a person comes to Christ. Through brokenness, the Kellys discovered the life-giving love of a Savior, and Jim has discovered a strength that is helping Him endure the cancer struggle and providing hope for the future. Even in our adversity, we can be confident in God's power and presence.
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