Let’s consider the most reckless, dangerous, and risky thing we’ve each done. (Please don’t answer out loud.) If we said it was love our family, friends, and teammates, we’re thinking like Jesus. In John’s gospel we read these challenging words, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.”

These words are remarkable for more than one reason. First, Jesus said them while Judas, who would betray Him that very evening, was in the room. He also said these words to His disciples—His teammates—who, within hours, would go into hiding or deny knowing Him. His love was rather risky, but very deep.

My wife coached with the Houston Comets when they were crowned the first WNBA champions. When most people see her championship ring, very few think about what it took to obtain it. The Comets won it all because that team consisted of true champions.

A champion is by definition an ardent defender or supporter of a cause or another person; one who fights; a mighty warrior. In the case of Goliath, it literally means the man between the two, denoting the position he held between the quarreling camps. From this vantage point, we’re given a very clear indication of what a true champion is: one who willingly steps up when it’s time to do battle.

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Chris Tidland is a very good golfer. However, for six straight years he missed the final cut in q-school by a couple of strokes. In 2005, it came down to the final hole, and he missed it by one stroke. Many athletes would stop trying after all those years, but knowing Chris, he would never give up. The following year, Tidland again found himself in the top 30 players on the leaderboard in the final round. Only the final 30 would advance to the PGA Tour the next season. Would he finish strong and get an early Christmas present?

As a University of Kansas Jayhawk, it’s hard for me to admit this. But this morning I was totally proud of Missouri men’s basketball coach Frank Haith. With the big KU-MU rivalry game coming up this weekend, there’s a lot of trash-talking going on between the schools, and in one of the most brutal rivalries in the country, it can get pretty nasty.

With the game being hosted at Missouri, Coach Haith issued a charge to the Mizzou fans to, instead of jeering KU, focus on cheering FOR Mizzou. In essence, don’t worry about trashing the opponent; concentrate on cheering for and supporting your home team. Now that was a classy move.

Former Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne said, “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” Maybe when it comes to football, big players do make the difference in prayer. In the game of life, I’ve discovered the bottom line to getting prayers answered. As I look back on the times God has answered my prayers, I know why I got the answer. It was because I prayed the right prayer. I was specific with God when I prayed.

In Malachi 3:10 the Lord says, “Test Me in this way…See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” Here we see the power of God to provide when we test Him. The way to test God is to be specific.

Most of us who get these devotions have heard THE story—the account of Christ and His life, death and resurrection, and how we are forgiven for our sins and saved by faith in Him. It’s the ultimate and greatest story of all time!

Well, a while ago, I was in Medford playing soccer. In our last game, I was a little too fired up and used some words that I don't want to mention again. Right before the game I had specifically said, "Lord, I’m playing for You." After the game was over I realized that I had completely gone back on my word and let myself get caught up in the emotions of competition.

Coach Buckley’s football practices were brutal. I was only 11, but I still remember them to be grueling, agonizing and dreadful. The trademarked practices had tons of running and repetitive drills, all without scrimmaging! Many players wouldn’t make it through the practices without losing their lunch, and many of them quit. Even my best friend had his parents pull him from the team. But, even though the sacrifice was great, the return that season was sweet. We earned a perfect record and no team even scored on us! Our team, the Braddock Road Sharks, brought fear to all 11-year-olds who dared to play football.