2018 Weekly Devotional - Week 27

Week 27

Romans 8: 1-8
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[a]2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

    I am a big fan of March Madness. I really like basketball to begin with and when you add in the single elimination factor of the tournament it makes for some high drama. I was watching Mercer, a small school in Macon, Georgia, play mighty Duke University the other day. The success of Duke over the last 25 years or so has been phenomenal. The school’s success has enabled it to get some of the best recruits year in and year out. You would think that little Mercer would not stand a chance. Near the end of the game as it became apparent that Mercer would pull off the upset, one of the commentators opined something along the lines of, “Would you rather have a team of one or two young superstars or a team of seniors who have played over 120 games together?” His point was that teamwork wins over talent the vast majority of the time. John Wooden, the legendary coach of the UCLA basketball program had much wisdom in what he taught his players. Wooden was speaking of teamwork when he said, "[There's] too much individual showmanship," Wooden said when asked about the state of basketball. "I'm interested in teamwork; in the rhythm of the game; in the beauty of watching a play unfold that eventually leads to a basket."

    "If you're big enough and strong enough, anyone can slam-dunk," he continued. "It isn't hard, and it calls attention to the man doing it. What I see mostly are too many individuals out on the court and not enough team play. And I see coaches who have stopped coaching so they can become actors and get the TV cameras turned on them. Most of them have forgotten what the game and their responsibilities are all about."

    Sounds a lot like the state of the church in America. You will notice that our Bible passage begins with a call to die to self. We are to offer our whole selves to the Lord so that he can transform our minds, which will in turn lead to the transformation of the will. The transformed will enables us to serve the Lord and his church with a freedom and a joy unknown by the self-serving and self-absorbed. We have been taught by the writer of Romans that we are part of a team of servants in which each person is to do their part with excellence. If you are a leader, lead with zealousness, but do not seek the limelight. If you have a different role, execute with excellence! It is as the body of Christ functions as a team, rather, as an actual body that is interdependent, that the ministry of the Lord flourishes. My desire is that Currey Creek would not be made up of a few “superstars” but a team that revels in the rhythm of life lived in community, in the beauty of lives unfolding before the Lord in such a way that the manifold wisdom of God is displayed.

In Christ,


John