Go God!!!

Derek is my 9 year old son. He often gets mistaken for being older than he is. The first words from the doctor in the delivery room after he saw Derek's size, "This kid is so big let's just let him walk himself to the nursery." When Rob and I were taking Derek home from the hospital, the nurse reminded me that Derek was just a newborn even though he was leaving the hospital in 3 month sized clothing. I think she was afraid I might just send him to the refrigerator to pour milk and grab a bag of oreo's and call that lunch.
Derek has been a joy. He is full of energy, loves sports, trading cards, and play station. Derek also has a heart for people in need. For several years he has collected money to buy goats and soccer balls for children through World Vision.
2 weeks ago Derek started playing pee-wee football. The first week was conditioning, running and drills. This week they put on their football gear and added the contact part of football. Derek has struggled with the contact part. Once the tackling started Derek's excitement about playing football took a nose dive. The first night of contact Derek would walk over for a water break with words that said he was having fun, but the look on his face said different. By the end of that practice he was physically shaking and holding back tears. Rob and I encouraged him to stick with it, hoping that it would get easier for him. This week in the pep talk at the end of practice the coach told the players, "It is natural to throw a ball and catch it, it is not natural to hit and be hit, we are here to teach you the fundamentals to keep you from getting hurt."
I thought about that statement alot this week and how that applies to our spiritual boldness for the Lord. We can walk through our days throwing banter back and forth to the people around us. We can ask how their family is, talk about the latest football scores, whatever is easy and doesn't require any discomfort on our part. When was the last time we asked a friend about their spiritual walk, or told someone how Jesus changed our life. As Christians we are the chosen ones of this generation to share the Gospel.
Derek finished his 3rd practice this week and had a smile on his face. He practiced, over and over the fundamentals of contact this week. Each time he made contact with another player it became easier. Just like Derek wears his helmet and pads for protection, we put on the full armor of God and arm ourselves with the Sword of the Spirit, which is God's word. The biggest enemy we have to face in the United States is the enemy within ourselves, the fear of looking silly or coming across as a Jesus freak. Fear is a much used tool of Satan, but the more we rely on God and make contact with others, the easier it gets. The cloud of fear that once kept us from reaching out is shown just for what it was, lies and deceit. I find it interesting that there are people in other countries who put their lives on the line to share the Gospel, but here in the USA we are so comfortable in our lives we just don't want to rock the boat. Let’s put our hope in Jesus not in our possessions and comfort and take one for The Team, who knows you might make a touchdown, at the very least we are following the direction of the best Coach ever.
“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God.
But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Luke 12:8-9