Thursday

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Overcoming Evil, with God

On vacation this summer, we went to Custer’s Last Stand, Yellowstone, the Tetons, the Black Hills and finally, the “Field of Dreams” movie set near Dyersville, Iowa.

What a cool place! The ball diamond is still there, along with the cornfield, the bleachers and the farmhouse. The Don Lansing family still manage the field, paying royalties to Universal Studios to do so, and receive over 65,000 visitors each year.

It has an effect on any visitor with a baseball background. No games are played there to keep the grounds intact, but many who come bring a ball and glove and “have a catch.” The kids run the bases, and the adults get their pictures taken on the mound, or coming onto the outfield from out of the corn. Others sit in the bleachers and reminisce.

Little League players visit the field. College players visit the field. Minor league and several Hall of Fame major league players have been there as well. It’s a place where dreams are remembered, and perhaps where some dreams are born.

My college cross country coach once told us to “plan as if we would live to be a thousand, and live as if Jesus were returning tomorrow.”

Also, the above verse was crucial for me as a young Christian. It helped me realize that whatever my dreams were, God would take care of the details.

Do you have dreams about your future? Pursue them until God closes the door, or opens it wider.

All the while pursue Him. He has a way of showing us where we need to go.

— Stanley A. Tucker, Reader Submitted

Friday

“We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.”  II Corinthians 13:9-10

Power In Weakness

All sports require strength of one type or another. Some weigh more heavily on the physical strength and others on the mental side. I think golf is a great test of both because it requires physical strength to hit the ball and control the shot, and mental toughness to maintain your focus and composure throughout the round. I have been blessed to compete at every level in golf, back from my junior golf days, up through college golf, and now into the professional ranks. As the competition and level of play grew tougher, I found myself trying too hard. It exposed my weaknesses and kept me from reaching my potential. For so long I tried too hard to overcome my weaknesses and correct my faults on the course, and I failed to do so as my patience wore out and I grew weary. I eventually realized that I was going at it all wrong, trying to do it alone. I was relying on myself to overcome these weaknesses. The Lord is the center focus of my life, but my faith was not properly put into action because I was relying on my own strength and not His.

We all fall into trying to control certain aspects of our lives, and usually they are the ones we struggle with most or those in which we feel especially weak. But we need to realize we are weak. But that is OK, because as Paul wrote, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” God wants us to rely on Him completely for strength, patience, and endurance through His grace. We must allow His strength to overcome our weaknesses, instead of us relying on our own strength, which is inadequate. For The Lord told Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

— Drew Perry, Reader Submitted