This time of year is bitter sweet for most NFL players.  It is a time of optimism and hope and yet it also a time filled with anxiety and doubt.  At least that is the way it was for me during my 11 year career in the NFL.  The players are all filled with such optimism, because it is a brand new season.  No matter what happened last year, everyone starts in the same position.  All are vying for the coveted Super Bowl Championship trophy.  However, this time is also filled with aniety because training camp is hard and grueling and one cannot just enter camp nonchalantly or you will get eaten alive. 

Right now there are some who are contemplating retirement, while there are others who are still holding on to the hope of just one more season.  There are men who are playing right now as we speak who shouldn’t be, and yet there are others who should be playing, but won’t get a shot. 

Now you may not be an athlete, but you may be in a similar time in your life.  A time of confusion or dispair.  A time when you’re not sure of your future and doubt is starting to take over.  Maybe you are even questioning God’s plan for your life.  There were many people in the bible who faced similar times.  One in particular was Moses.

In Exodus 33, God had told Moses exactly what He wanted him to do.  However, Moses was filled with anxiety and doubt.  In verse 18 Moses asked God, “Please, show me Your glory.”  (v.19) Then God answered and said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you.”  (v.21) God goes on to say, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.” (v.22) “I will cover you with My hand while I pass by.”  (v.23) “Then I will take away My hand and you shall see My back.”

What should you and I do when we find ourselves in time of uncertainty and doubt?

1. Ask God for help.  (Philippians 4:6)

2. Wait on the Lord.  (Psalm 46:10)

3. Stand on the rock. (John 14:6)

4. Trust Him to show you.  (Proverbs 3:5)

I was surfing the internet today and I saw this story that just blew my mind.  A mother is suing a hotel in Egypt after claiming that her 13 year old daughter got pregnant from swimming in a pool.  The mother is convinced that her daughter is a virgin and came into contact with some sperm as she swam in the hotel pool.  Mom even goes on to say, “she is adamant that her daughter didn’t meet any boys while she was there.”  Seriously?

Now before we crucify this woman, as a father I can understand her naivete.  We as parents naturally want to believe the best about our children.  It can be hard to admit that our little angel isn’t so innocent.  It is times like this when we need brothers and sisters in Christ to tell us we are being deceived. 

Galatians 6:1-2 says, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

 I like how Paul tells us to “consider ourselves.”  Often times it is easy for us to get on someone else for being naive, and yet be doing the same thing in another area.  I have a friend that I am counseling right now who is convinced that he should leave his wife and his three kids.  He is not happy and believes that everyone is going to be better of by making this decision.  He is being naive, but he cannot see it right now.  He is only concerned about himself.  This decision is going to cost him way more than he is wanting to pay.

Galatians 6:7 Paul says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  The only way that that teenage girl is pregnant, is if she is having sexual intercourse.  Not because she swam in a pool with semen in it.

Have you ever found yourself at a fork in the road and had no idea which way to go?  That is where I currently am with my life.  There are so many things that I feel that I am gifted to do.  Figuring out which is the right one is a whole notha story.  It is times like these that we must rely on the Spirit of God to lead and guide us down the right paths.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

What exactly does trusting in the Lord look like when you don’t know which way to go?  I believe it means first that you realize you don’t have all the answers.  Next knowing that God will provide for your needs, that is a promise from the word of God.  Finally, having childlike faith that says, I know that no matter what, all things will turn out for my good.

In applying this scripture to my current situation, my own understanding has told me conflicting messages.  I guess that is why the Lord tells us not to lean on our own understanding.  But I love the fact that this proverb comes with a promise.  “He shall direct your paths.”  That is the God we serve, one that will direct us in the way we should go.  We just have to learn to be patient in the process.  The Apostle Paul knew a little something about patience.  He exhorted us as believers to, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

I pray that God will give me the peace that goes beyond my comprehension as I lay my request for answers at His feet.  To God be all the glory, forever and ever Amen.

I am saddend by the sudden and tragic loss of one of my NFL brethren Steve McNair.  I can remember like it was yesterday playing against “Air McNair” as he was known by many in the league.  Not only is it horrific to wake up and find out that one of your comrades has died at a such a young age, it makes it even more difficult to grieve when the details of the death are shady at best.

Rather than dwell on the negative or accentuate the positive of what happend to Steve, I figured I would take the time to ask one question.  What kind of legacy will you leave behind?  Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaves an inheritance for his childrens’s children.”  Now when we read those words we automatically think of inheritance in terms of money.  But there is something we can leave our children that will last longer than all of the money in the world.  What is more imporatant than money, you might ask?  A legacy is a thousand times more important than any amount of money our children get from us.

There are only two types of legacy one can leave to his offspring.  One is of blessing and one is of cussing.  Exodus 20:5-6 “I the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth gneration of those who hate me.  But showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  The only thing that will determine which type of legacy we leave is what type of character we have.  Many however, make the mistake of settling for having a good reputation.  Steve McNair had a great reputation, but as the details continue to unfold, one must question whether he truly had rock solid character.

William Hersey Davis explaines the difference between reputation and character;

1. Reputation is what you are supposed to be; Character is what you truly are.

2. Reputation is made in a moment; Character is build in a lifetime.

3. Reputation is learned in an hour; Character does not come to light for a year.

4. Reputation is what men think you are; Character is what God knows you to be.

5. Reputation will be forgotten; Character will impact generations to come.

A good friend of mine Dr. Voddie Baucham says, “death is the ultimate revealer.”  No matter how many secrets we may try to keep while we are alive, death will always brings those secrets to light.  As time continues to pass we will find out exactly whata kind of character Steve McNair had.  When you die, what will death reveal about your character?  I pray when I die, God will say “Well done My good and faithful servant.”

If I hear one more person who is cheating on their partner say, “but she or he is my soul mate,” I think I am going to vomit.  Those are the words of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford who during an interview this week said, “he is trying to fall back in love with his wife.”  If you don’t follow the news, Governor Sanford has confessed to having an affair with an Argentinian Woman, Maria Belen Chapur.  We have made cheating sound so attractive haven’t we?  Commiting adultery is simply called an affair, and fornication is simply known as “friends with benefits.”   

While I applaud the governor for trying to reconcile with his wife, what I don’t like is how he is trying to justify his actions.  He says, “This was a whole lot more than a simple affair, this was a love story.  A forbidden one, a tragic one, but a love story at the end of the day.”  Are you kidding me?  First of all when is an affair simple?  Cheating always has negative repercussions.  And no Governor, this was not a love story, this is a lust story period!  He is actually acting as if this is not really his fault, he’s just a victim of the love bug.  Come on! 

Governer Sanford also goes on to say in this interview that he has crossed the line with a handful of other women but he has never had sex with them.  Prepare yourself here comes another justification.  When asked why, he said, “I let my guard down and engaged in some physical contact but didn’t cross the sex line.”  Well here’s my quesion, just where does the sex line start and stop?  Many today believe that if there is no penetration, then that is “technically” not considered sex.  To quote my pastor Dr. John Cross, “Well, technically I don’t have to wear two shoes, but that would be real stupid of me not to right?”

2 Timothy 4:3-4 says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will  turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”  Folks don’t buy into the ultimate lie of the devil.  He wants us to believe that cheating is not our fault, we are all just victims of circumstance.  He wants us to believe that we can’t help who we fall in love with, we just have to follow our hearts. 

If you and I  just follow our hearts, we will be in a world of trouble.  Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it.  Our hearts are wicked and will give us false information.  The only way to combat a lie is with the truth.  The truth is the sex line starts with a look. (Matthew 5:28)  Fornication and adultery are sins that lead to death. (1 Corinthians 6:9)  And the truth is, without a relationship with Jesus Christ we are doomed to hell.  (John 14:6)