CHARGER NATION: GAME #6

Charger Nation,

            I want to congratulate our middle school team and our JV team for victories last night.  Our middle school won 30-20 and our JV won 30-0.  It’s always good to win and I appreciate the coaches involved in each program!

            This has been a crazy week because the school was on fall break but the middle school, JV and varsity football programs all had games.  I know teachers start school July 25^th and the benefit of starting that early is we get a week off in September.  But the coaches didn’t and I want to thank them for their sacrifice this week.  I also want to praise each of you who had your sons here this week and at practice.  Each of you could have done something different but you chose to make your son follow through with his commitments and I appreciate this and believe it is a very valuable lesson we can teach young boys.   Duty, responsibility and taking ownership of commitments is something that is lost in the world we live in.  We have a successful program because our parents are bought into the process of what we are doing. 

            I was really proud of the way our boys this week considering they were off school and the rhythm of their days changed drastically.  I am a creature of habit and I like my days to be the same and the rhythm to never change.  I think most people are like this even if they don’t realize it.  This week our boys came in at 2 and worked out, watched film and then practiced for a few hours.  I never thought their attitude was bad and never really heard griping and complaining about practice.  This showed a level of maturity uncommon in most teenagers.  We had a great week and are prepared for the task at hand tonight.

           

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Psalm 139:23-24

From a football coach’s standpoint, practice film is my most prized possession.  By watching practice film our mistakes are identified and we can fix the problem (or try to) before Friday night.  When I tell a player he did wrong at practice he looks at me like I’m an idiot because he doesn’t think he did wrong.  When I can show him on film he did wrong then he sees it and he gets it.  Film is much better teaching tool than me telling them they did wrong at practice.  Film exposes our football sins! **A football sin is not doing what you are supposed to do!  God doesn’t judge us for this (I don’t think??)  The goal of coaching through the season is that players become aware of their mistakes and quit making them because they are aware of them. 

Spiritually we are no different.  As I walk during the day I do a lot of stupid stuff and I don’t always see the sin behind my comments or my actions.  We cannot go back and watch film but the Holy Spirit will lead us and show us our mistakes as we seek him.  He promises to walk with us and lead us (Psalm 32:8).  As we come to Christ he will expose our sin.  We will be able to see the mistakes in our head like we were watching film.  As we grow in Christ we become more and more aware of our mistakes and can start living a life that God honoring each day.  Our Christian walk is like a long football season.  Just like in football where our goal is to eliminate mistakes week to week, as Christians we want to destroy sin in our life more and more week to week. 

            Sin is sneaky as it creeps in on us without us ever seeing it.  Sin takes on many forms.  Of course we always hear about the big ones like adultery and stealing and I guess that can make us feel better about ourselves if we haven’t done those two things as we gossip about those who have (which is also a sin).  We all have sin in our lives that is grievous and we need God to open our eyes to it.  What we would consider a little sin in our life right now eventually becomes what we consider the big sin.   God views them both as sin.  We don’t see the little sins that lead to big sins because we are sinful men and women and we aren’t seeking the Lord.  Apart from Christ and his influence we are going to choose sin every single time.   This sin is going to fester until it destroys us. 

 We are sinners and that is why we need a Savior.  If we could do it on our own and we were aware of our sinfulness apart from Christ then He would have never needed to come save us.  We aren’t praying and asking God to search us.  We aren’t begging him to try us and know our thoughts.  We are not asking him to reveal to us the grievous way in us.  We aren’t concerned with God leading us in the way everlasting.  And because of this, man gets himself into lots of trouble!  Apart from Christ we never will.

Each week we are on a quest to become a better football team and eliminate our mistakes.  We go to great links as coaches to expose these mistakes to our players through the countless hours of watching film on our own and with them.  I pray that each of us would do the same with the sin in our lives through spending time with the Lord and asking him to search us and know our hearts.  Try us and know our thoughts.  And if there be any grievous way in us, then lead us in the way everlasting. 

“The horse is made ready for battle, but victory belongs to the Lord.”

Proverbs 21:31

Beat Woodward!

Wholly for Christ,

Coach Gess