Today's Devotional

October 6, 2005

Subject:  The Basics 

2 Timothy 3:16 - 17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

It was a big game.  The undefeated Waller Bulldogs vs the undefeated Brenham Cubs.  The clash of the titans, as football powers go and the expectations were high for the game of the century.  It appeared that way near the middle of the 1st quarter with the game tied at 14-14, then by halftime, the game was getting out of hand with Brenham up by a score of 35-14.  What appeared to be a tightly matched contest then turned into a full fledged rout in the 2nd half of the game.  I left before the game ended but it was 42-14 when I left.  What happened to the 14-14 game of the century that we were expecting?  As an old football player, an armchair quarterback and one who realizes how God's principles abide in everything that we do, in my opinion, those old Waller Bulldogs don't understand what many of us Christians often forget also.  It's the basics that matter most.

While Brenham's quarterbacks and running backs were excellent skill players with speed and passing/catching ability, most of it was due to Waller's lack of ability to make a tackle and cover the receivers on passes.  In football these are basic principles. 

In the Christian life, we have basic principles too.  One of those is reading and hearing God's word.  In the passage above it says that it prepares us or makes us "perfect" and ready for the good works that we will do.  In our "game" of good works, we must know what the "Coach" is telling us to do.  The bible is our playbook.  We need to review it daily and know what it says.  If we get away from this basic principle, then we get routed like the bulldogs.  Let's get the basics down and though we might get scored on, from time to time, we know we win the game.

Carlen