Today's Devotional

 

July 1, 2008

                                                                                         

Subject:  Ready For The Season 

2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine."

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Near the end of the school year, I ran into one of our high school scholarship athletes who will go on to play football in college.  I asked him sharply, "getting ready for the season?"  He replied, "I start my workouts Monday."  In a joking fashion I said to him, "you're already behind."  I was joking with him somewhat, but I was for real also.  I know from my personal experience of having to make that transition from high school football to college football, that it is absolutely essential that you begin preparation in the off-season.  When the season is upon you, it is too late to get ready.  

That's a great parallel for how we are to see our spiritual lives.  I've heard many preachers talk about "The Seasons" of our lives.  They say something like, "you can be in this season or that season; a season of rain or a season of drought; a season of harvest or a season of planting and so on."  My point is that without any regard to which season you're in, you'd better be getting ready for the game.  See to succeed in football and any other sport in which you want to be successful, you just don't get a lot of time off to do nothing.  It's always about preparation.  While they might call it "off-season," it's just another time to prepare for the game.

The game is coming and we need to be spiritually prepared to play it.  We need to be "instant" (ready) in-season and out-of-season.

Today, like the athlete getting ready for a football game that may be months away, we should be preparing for the game God's putting us into and we must remember that it may be years away.  Nevertheless, today is the day of preparation.  Let's get Ready For The Season.    

Carlen