New Expressions

We have the capacity to fulfill God's purposes for our lives: we have been empowered by the Spirit of God, who walks with us and flows through us.  In Exodus 35, we find the story of someone who had been gifted for God's glory:
30 And Moses said to the children of Israel, "See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;
31 and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,
32 to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze,
33 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.

We have access to the Holy Spirit, who expresses the presence of God through us - not only do we have unique abilities that are specified just for us, but we can use the wisdom and understanding that God will provide as we trust Him, as we immerse ourselves in His Word, following His instruction. The God who created us, the author of creativity, calls us to follow Him and to see fresh manifestations of His presence.

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We can trust the Lord to do things in our lives that we have never seen before, to manifest Himself in
new ways. In Romans 4, Paul writes about the story of Abraham; he says:
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
17 (as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
18 who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."

The NBA will be resuming the 2019-2020 regular season at Disney World in Orlando presumably later this month.  Most of the league's 32 teams will be there - those that had a legitimate shot to make the playoffs will be included.

One team that will not be there is apparently glad to be sitting this one out, according to NBC News. The Golden State Warriors, a shell of the dynasty they once were, had not had a very good season, to say the least. The network quotes Ethan Strauss of The Athletic, who wrote: "Talking to Warriors officials, they’re ecstatic about skipping Orlando and not just because they’re avoiding an increasingly complex negotiation process," adding, "They know that skipping Florida means more time to focus and figure out a way forward..."

Not that superstar Steph Curry is lacking for anything to do. He has been trying his hand at moviemaking through his company, Unanimous Media, and one of his most recent efforts is about a subject he knows a little about, Jump Shot, which tells the story of Kenny Sailors, who introduced the concept into the game of basketball.

Sports Spectrum reported on the story told in the film. The article quoted director Jacob Hamilton, who said, “We took the approach to establish who Kenny Sailors is as a human being and allow the audience to get to know him, understand him, almost become a friend of his,” adding, “What’s so great about Kenny’s story is he is so relatable.”

Sailors attended the University of Wyoming, won an NCAA championship there, and played professional basketball between 1946 and 1951.

Sports Spectrum reports:

Part of Sailors’ captivating story was his deep-rooted faith in Christ. When Curry, also an outspoken believer, heard about the documentary, to Hamilton’s surprise, he asked how he and Unanimous Media could be more involved.

As a follower of Christ himself, Hamilton never tried to make a film about Jesus, but instead tried to make a good documentary and let Christ reveal Himself through Sailors’ words and actions.

“I love to find stories that have a faith element to them and cause some spiritual conversation to take place,” Hamilton said.

In a press release, Curry is quoted as saying, “Ever since I picked up a basketball, the jump shot was second nature to me. Learning the history of where the art of the jump shot came from, who introduced it to the game, and how it changed the game, was incredibly intriguing. Even more importantly, learning about the person that [Sailors] was, and what he stood for, was very inspirational. He was a selfless, special person that had the right perspective about life.”

The film was scheduled to hit theaters during Final Four weekend; it had a limited streaming release in April, and is now available on home video.  During that limited release, 10 percent of proceeds went to Coronavirus relief.

Curry has also been involved in the film projects, Breakthrough, which told the story of the amazing survival of John Smith after falling through the ice on a frozen lake, and a documentary called, Emanuel, telling the story of those who perished at the hands of a shooter at a Charleston church.  He also was involved as executive producer of the Holey Moley miniature golf series on ABC and led the UHC: Ultimate Home Championship "competition" on YouTube.

Kenny Sailors, the subject of Curry and Hamilton's documentary was described as "pioneering" the jump shot.  He essentially made something out of nothing. We recognize creating something from nothing is God's M.O. - as the Bible says, He "calls those things which do not exist as though they did."  And, perhaps He will inspire in us a way to do things differently, calling us out from "the way we've done it before," into a new methodology or approach.

Curry is obviously trying to expand his horizon and aligning with creative ideas.  And, he has chosen to move into the realm of faith- and family-friendly programming.  Certainly, he has the resources and the name recognition to do that.  We can spend our lives, following Christ, utilizing the platform that He has given us in order to reach more people for Him.  It matters not the size of the platform, but the seriousness of our faithfulness to the Lord.

And, remember, all of us have a story to tell - if we have come to know Christ, He has given us a testimony of what Jesus has done in our lives.  And, we can identify and recount ways in which He has shown His love and we have seen Him move.  We can be always looking for how God has shown up.