Distraction Drills

On September 5, 2013 the Denver Broncos’ quarterback Payton Manning threw 7 touchdowns!  This has not been done since 1969. Now if you are not a follower of football that is ok, but I think you will like this story.  To me that incredible on field success is not the best part of the tale.  It is the off the field experience of this future Hall of Famer that makes the on the field performance so fantastic.

In 2011 it was thought that Payton Manning might never play again.  The then 35-year-old NFL veteran had to sit out an entire season after having serious neck surgery.  This was an injury that doctors had little experience with when trying to predict his chances at coming back.  His old team gave up on him.  They did not even try to trade him. The Indianapolis Colts outright released this four time NFL MVP that led them to the 2006 Super bowl championship.  

Not only did he comeback in 2012, he also led his new team, the Denver Broncos, all the way to the AFC playoffs.  But it was in this game that he had another huge setback.  Seconds away from victory the opposing Ravens quarterback throws a Hail Mary pass to tie the game.  The Ravens eventually won the game in double overtime. It has been called the most devastating loss in Broncos history.  Manning threw two interceptions; one of those was run back for a touchdown that would prove the difference in the game’s outcome.  The loss would have demoralized many a good player.  (Think Bill Buckner)

So who does Manning face in the first game of the 2013 season.  You guessed it, the Super Bowl XLVII winning nemesis Baltimore Ravens.  This time the outcome was

Belief in Prayer

I think we are way underestimating this thing called prayer.  

About five or six years ago I visited a village in rural Kentucky where the people did not use any electricity.  The people operated a lumber mill adjacent to a small creek that was all run by waterpower.  The water turned a wheel which had belts attached to it.   They had an elegant system whereby they could loop the belts on to their machinery that would then cut the wood.  These machines were beautiful.  (I am a woodworker; I think strange thoughts like this!) These folks had purchased large industrial saws, but they had taken the motors off of the machines and thrown them away!  You see, they did not believe in electricity. 

That is an interesting sentence… “They did not believe in electricity”…Does that mean they did not think electricity exists?  I am sure they did.  But truly they did not believe in it.  They did not trust it.  They did not rely on it.  They did not use its power at all.  They could not see the benefits of electricity.  They did not see any purpose at all in electricity.  But in some ways they still “used” it. 

If You Could have Superpower

It seems like there are an awful lot of movies out the last few years centered on super heroes.  I am thinking of movies with characters like Captain America, Spiderman, Superman, Thor, Ironman, Hulk and Batman just to name a few.  And there are many more of these movies coming in the next few years.  What is with all the fascination with superheroes?

Maybe audiences are simply enthralled with superpower.

There’s Captain America with the power of incredible strength and speed and the ability to be frozen for decades. He can bench press over 1000 pounds and run at 50 mph.  He also heals very quickly. Spiderman has the power of super speed and agility and strength with the ability to stick to walls and shoot out spider cords.  Thor has an extended life span, can travel through time, control weather, and even regenerate damaged parts of his body. 

Now maybe you have no interest at all in superhero movies.  But even so, as you look out at our world and the state it is in, wouldn’t you for just one minute entertain the idea that it might be nice to have a certain superpower to make things all right or at least a little better?  Maybe you have seen some injustice recently and felt so powerless to deal with it.  Wouldn't a little superpower here or there have done some real good? 

Time for Spring Training!

 Jesus says that if we are to follow Him we need to deny ourselves.  As someone who desperately wants to follow Jesus, I want to be able to deny myself.  But as my wife, kids, students and close friends know, I am inclined to put myself first.  I am good at thinking about it afterwards, but I tend to fly off the handle or get first in line before I think about it. Later I am able to reflect, “Argh, I did it again, I did not deny myself.  Father, please forgive me.”  That reflection (repentance) is good, but it is too often after the fact.  I want to be predisposed to deny myself.  I want self-denial to be my automatic reaction. I want self-denial to be in my “spiritual muscle memory.”  Right now every fleshly part of me screams out, “Give me what I want!” It is like having a temporary blindness to what is really good.

This struggle, and the fact that it is March, draws my mind to one of my favorite subjects: