4 Sing praise to the Lord, You saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
We have been given the freedom and the opportunity to seek God and follow Him wholeheartedly. When we are in right relationship with our Heavenly Father through a relationship with His Son, we can experience a highly rewarding, meaningful, and joyful life. His Holy Spirit will give us eyes to see and hearts to understanding, so that we might know His will - and when we see His hand, when we know His faithfulness, we can respond with a deep gratitude.
We can possess and exhibit a sense of gratitude as we pursue God's will for us. We find these encouraging verses in Colossians chapter 3:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
The world of sports can certainly bring inspiration to us, and as college football fans get ready for the National Championship game, we can identify players who put things in perspective and realize that football is a game that can provide a meaningful platform for Christ for those who know Him.
Tim Tebow experienced not only a National Championship at Florida, 2 actually - in 2006 and 2008, and he was the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 2007 as a sophomore. He continues to be a highly sought-after speaker and media personality. This week, he was a speaker at the Passion Conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
A Faithwire story called attention to a recent question posed by Tebow in a tweet:
So, we have Tebow talking about gratitude and Lawrence relating about devotion. And, the long snapper for Clemson's opponent in the upcoming National Championship, LSU, has recently shared about his own Christian faith.
His name is Blake Ferguson - like Lawrence, he is from the Metro Atlanta area. A Baptist Press article said that:
We can be diligent in pursuing the will of God for our lives - as we are faithful to Him, we can also recognize and relish in the times when we see His faithfulness to us. It can be a great pleasure to identify the work of God in and through us and know that He is alive in us and actively involved with us day by day.
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We can possess and exhibit a sense of gratitude as we pursue God's will for us. We find these encouraging verses in Colossians chapter 3:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
The world of sports can certainly bring inspiration to us, and as college football fans get ready for the National Championship game, we can identify players who put things in perspective and realize that football is a game that can provide a meaningful platform for Christ for those who know Him.
Tim Tebow experienced not only a National Championship at Florida, 2 actually - in 2006 and 2008, and he was the winner of the Heisman Trophy in 2007 as a sophomore. He continues to be a highly sought-after speaker and media personality. This week, he was a speaker at the Passion Conference at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
A Faithwire story called attention to a recent question posed by Tebow in a tweet:
In another tweet, he elaborated a bit, writing: "How was God present in your life? I think it’s so important to share how God is leading us and teaching us in not only the good seasons but the difficult ones as well..."This time of year always brings a lot of reflection. So much we can choose to be grateful for. As you look back on your year, what are you grateful for? I’m grateful for my engagement, planning a wedding, the growth of TTF & our ministry, the opportunities to pursue passions... pic.twitter.com/E7lgf3IO4D— Tim Tebow (@TimTebow) December 27, 2019
The writer of the article, Dan Andros, stated:
It is very easy to get tunnel vision and worry about the future. However, when we turn back to praise God and remember the seasons of life He’s successfully carried us through, suddenly we begin to worry less and trust more.He went on to say: "So before you kick off your 2020 by diving into a mountain of goals and checklists and diets and promises, remember to look back on 2019 and remember all of the ways God has been good to you."
There's a current college quarterback who is devoted to glorifying Christ, and he'll be on the field for the National Championship game a week from Monday - in fact, he led his team to last year's top position. His name is Trevor Lawrence, the sophomore QB for the Clemson Tigers. Another Faithwire story relates what occurred after the semifinal game last weekend, in which Clemson defeated Ohio State:
“Just the fight of this team — didn’t play great, didn’t look pretty, but [we] just find a way to get it done. I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else,” he told the ESPN reporter. “I have Ephesians 3:20, and it says, ‘God can do immeasurably more than any of us can because of Him within us.’ And that’s just so true. I mean, all of us, me, what we did tonight, it ain’t us. It’s about this program and who we are.”The article points out that Lawrence once told a reporter, “Football’s important to me, but it’s not my life. It’s not the biggest thing in my life. I would say my faith is. That just comes from knowing who I am outside of that. No matter how the big the situation is, it’s not going to define me.”
So, we have Tebow talking about gratitude and Lawrence relating about devotion. And, the long snapper for Clemson's opponent in the upcoming National Championship, LSU, has recently shared about his own Christian faith.
His name is Blake Ferguson - like Lawrence, he is from the Metro Atlanta area. A Baptist Press article said that:
Andy Stroup, the greater Baton Rouge area director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, called Ferguson "the main guy" in LSU's FCA chapter.Ferguson is quoted as saying: "Each day before our team meeting, at the top of my notebook I write 'Glorify God with your work today,'" adding, "To me, this is a daily reminder to myself of the reason that I do what I do." He views his life as a college football player as a calling from the Lord:
"He has been a part of the leadership team -- going on his third year," Stroup told the Baptist Message. "He is a tremendous man.
"When Blake walks into the room the energy goes up," Stroup continued. "He has allowed us to speak life into him, and he has done likewise with other players."
"I have an incredible platform as a collegiate athlete to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a large number of people whether it's with my actions on the field or literally sharing the Gospel with them one on one."Tebow talks of gratitude and Lawrence of devotion. Ferguson related about purpose. To sum up the comments of these three athletes: the Bible talks about sensing our purpose and pursuing our passions. And, we can do it all with thanksgiving in our hearts. Those are some components of a complete package of a productive Christian life.
We can be diligent in pursuing the will of God for our lives - as we are faithful to Him, we can also recognize and relish in the times when we see His faithfulness to us. It can be a great pleasure to identify the work of God in and through us and know that He is alive in us and actively involved with us day by day.
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