CHARGER NATION: GAME #12

CHARGER NATION,

                I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving yesterday.  For a high school football coach, one of our goals is to still be playing Thanksgiving week.  All across the country, it means you have gone deep into the playoffs and are in the hunt for a state championship.  

                Tonight, Calvary Day will drive up from Savannah to play us.  They are a talented team with a rich tradition of great football.  The head coach, Mark Stroud, is one of the winningest high school coaches in the state.  He does a fabulous job.  As always, we have been preparing for a battle this week.  We are ready!

                One area of my life I am really trying to improve, or God is convicting me of, is being thankful.  It hasn’t just been thanksgiving week that I have been thinking about how man is naturally sinful and therefore naturally prone to gripe, complain, and spew out other negativity.  Instead of walking around thinking about what is wrong with the world what if we walked around finding things for which to be thankful.  I bet life would be so much better. 

                All week I have been challenging the boys to be thankful and I have been getting up writing things down for which I am thankful.  Here they are:

1. I am thankful that Jesus Christ has died on the cross for my sins and rescued me from the enslavement of sin.  I rebelled and rejected God from birth and deserve the full-wrath of God which is Hell.  But God, being rich in his mercy, sent Jesus to die so that I may l have eternal life. God has opened my blind eyes to see his wondrous truth through Jesus Christ.  By Grace I have been saved.  I am THANKFUL!
2. I praise God for his Word.  The Bible holds all the secrets the world is desperately chasing.  The Bible contains the words of eternal life.  The Bible teaches me how to live a life for the glory of God.  Many men died interpreting the Bible into different languages that could be read by the people.  That is how precious the Word of God is.  The Bible is life and gives life.  May I be diligent to immerse myself in it daily!  I am THANKFUL!
3. I am thankful for the Fathers of the Faith.  As I read through the Book of Acts I see many trials and persecution for the early church as they advanced the Gospel.  In October, we studied and discussed the Reformation and the many men who died for the purity of the Gospel.  In fact, all throughout time and even now, men and women have suffered and died for the Gospel.  I am thankful for the bold leaders in the church who are so strong in their faith that their lives mean nothing to them and they sacrifice all to take the Gospel to places it has not gone.  I am thankful for those who preach the gospel unashamedly and in purity without fear of what man may do to them.  Strengthen them Lord!  Make me one!  I am THANKFUL!
4. I am thankful for my family and where God has placed us to be his representatives.  Dee and Uriah are precious to me and given to me by God and I pray that I lead them in Jesus Christ.  My goals and my dreams for my family are nothing more than Jesus Christ growing more and more in us daily.  I am THANKFUL!
5. I am thankful for the ministry God has called me—To use the game of football and the development of young men in the weight room as a tool to preach and teach Jesus Christ.  Football and sports are many men’s idol.  But for us it is just a means to an end: A tool to preach and proclaim Jesus Christ and build young men into Godly leaders. 
6. I am thankful for my mom and dad who diligently raised me in the fear of the Lord.  My mom and my dad sacrificed all they had for their children.  We didn’t have a ton and they could never buy me my own car or many other toys I wanted, but I realize now they gave to me the only thing that matters in life: Jesus Christ.  I am THANKFUL!
7. I am thankful for God’s guidance and patience in the life of Dee and me.  At 23, Christ opened our eyes to full surrender to Him.  He has been faithful to grow us in Jesus Christ ever since.  He has placed us in jobs and in churches where we have Godly leaders and examples.  I am THANKFUL!
8. There are many men that I can single out but I am going to mention three.  I have worked at ELCA for 11 years now and one thing is true at ELCA-Jesus Christ reigns supreme.  That is not to say all the kids are Christians or that the boys are going to be perfect examples of Jesus Christ on the field tonight.  If you don’t have Christ you can’t represent Christ.  But one thing is true: Pastor Tim Dowdy makes sure this is a Christian school where Christ is before academics, sports and fine arts.  I appreciate his diligence to maintain the integrity of the school and the church.  I appreciate Marshall Chambers.  Mr. Chambers was the first headmaster when I got to ELCA.  What a great example of a champion of the faith.  To this day I look to him as a leader in my walk with Christ.  Mr. Chambers retired and Chuck Gilliam became the Headmaster.  Mr. Gilliam is a Godly leader who loves Jesus Christ.  What a blessing it is for us all to have a man who loves Jesus more than academics, sports, or fine arts as our leader.  He is a great example day in and day out.  Richard Allen, Edd Tucker---There are many other men out there I consider champions of the faith but it would take me all day to name them!  I am THANKFUL!
9. I am thankful for the rain.  Without the rain we all perish.  All of us sit around and try to control every aspect of our life.  But the very things we are so desperate to have for survival are given to us by God.  I am thankful my heart beats even though I have no idea how it all works.  My brain thinks and it does not make sense to me (my wife will tell you that my brain doesn’t make sense to here either J).  I breath and don’t know I do it.  Without the sun we all perish.  Eyes that see are the greatest miracle.  Just think about it—and you will see there is a Sovereign Omnipotent God behind all things.  God gives life-God controls life-I stand in Awe!  I am THANKFUL!
10. I get to get up and go play play-off game with a great group of young men and coaches.  I appreciate everyone and all the time, effort and energy everyone puts into this program.  I appreciate the parents who are on board and support what we do.  I can’t promise victory ever in this program.  But I can promise we are going to work our tails off to be successful.  I know that coaches, players and parents are all on board in this process.  I am THANKFUL!

BEAT Calvary Day!

The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord! Proverbs 21:31

Wholly for Christ!

Coach Gess