Two Minute Drills from Coach Joe Gibbs

[Judy Harder]

Heaven: Harps Optional

One of the things Randy Alcorn accomplishes in his chapter on heaven in Game Plan for Life is to quiet our misconception that life after death for the Christian is going to be boring. A never-ending church service. All Christmas carols and choir books.

Actually, the Bible says heaven will be a total experience of newness  that touches everything about us and everything we do. Not just better singing and sermons. Not just better food options at church potlucks. Better everything. The very best of everything. Renewed, remade, reborn.

God has promised, "I will create new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17), meaning that while we're going to live in a place we've never been before, it will contain perfected elements of things we've always known. But instead of fatigue and physical limitations, we'll have total freedom of enjoyment. Instead of sin's empty promises, we'll know constant satisfaction. Instead of having to lock our doors and watch our backs, we'll learn what it really means to live without fear. Of anything.

Don't go worrying that God is baiting you with free gift offers that are going to end up being a time-share presentation. These new heavens and new earth are His gift of undying, undiluted life to you. It's definitely something you don't want to miss.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I don't deserve the privilege of having this kind of hope in my future. But I'm so grateful—eternally grateful—that you desire this kind of life for me. Thank you for making it possible through Christ. Thank you for making it mine.

[Judy Harder]

Reversing the Trend

Whether from being left untended or from constant use, things will always be inclined to grow old and wear out. Knees will start to ache and catch. Gaskets will leak. Organization will trend toward chaos. The deodorant stick will shrink smaller and smaller. It's the nature of life. Downhill. Showing age.

It's even the nature of marriage. What starts with candlelight, tuxedo, and a minister's blessing slowly gives way to the late local news, complaints about your snoring, and fixing yourself the last piece of toast for breakfast. Where's a little romance when you need it? Probably not under warranty.

So whether you like it or not, today will be another battle against muscle loss and tooth decay. But to keep these same sorts of erosion from happening in your home and marriage, the Bible offers you the following prescription: "Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13) or by life's constant tendency to drag you down, if not drag you apart.

Marriage may never outgrow a few toilet seat disagreements. But yours can withstand—and even counteract—the effects of time and age. A little encouragement from you today can go a long way.

[Judy Harder]

First Things First

You may or may not be a list-maker. It doesn't really matter. Because whether you are or you aren't, we all live by a list. We all do what's most important to us—our ones, twos, and threes. The tens, twelves, and fifteens rarely make an actual appearance.

The same goes for our money. We may or may not live by a budget—(Ron Blue will get us for that)—but we have our reasons for spending and saving the way we do... or don't. Our first things come first, whether they're sound or just selfish.

Thankfully, the Bible comes right out and tells us what our first financial thing needs to be: "Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce" (Proverbs 3:9). Before one dime goes toward dinner out or a new DVD—or even toward your mortgage, insurance, and utility bills—giving to God through the church where you worship should come right off the top. First thing.

Or how easily it becomes a forgotten thing.

If this sounds a little too radical and expensive, seek out someone you know who manages their money by this principle. Ask if it's proven to be a bust to their financial health, a decision they've grown to regret. See if instead God hasn't opened up the "floodgates of heaven" and poured out on them a blessing "without measure" (Malachi 3:10). When the Lord comes first, everything else just falls into place.

Pray this prayer: I ask you, Lord, to help me realize that everything I own or earn comes from you. May I be grateful enough to honor you with my giving, and to grow my trust in you at the same time.

[Judy Harder]

Who's the Boss?

The life of an athlete requires answering to a lot of people: coaches, media, sponsors, and the public. So does yours, no matter what career you're in. There are clients and customers to serve, supervisors and upper management to please, shareholders and contributors to coddle—lots of people to cater to.

Game Plan for Life, however, introduces us to this simplifying concept: "the audience of One." The One, of course, is God. And His demand of you is your absolute best, your utmost integrity. He calls you to apply His commands in all your decisions and interactions.

In a perfect world, this kind of excellence would always be recognized and amply compensated. It would earn you the highest respect from your colleagues and coworkers. It would anchor your job security and even promise you steady promotion through the ranks. But even when it doesn't—even when it seems like no one is noticing—there is no satisfaction like knowing that God can say of you, "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

The next time you start to feel unappreciated, undervalued, and overlooked, take your feelings of inferiority to the Lord in prayer. Let Him be the One with the last word on how valuable you are. When you're pleasing Him, you're doing your job.

Pray this prayer: Father, I pray that the only measure of my worth at work will be whether or not I'm honoring you with my very best. When I do things your way, may I be one happy, contented man.

[Judy Harder]

Watch It

One of the things you get in Game Plan for Life is some straight talk on some real stuff. But as sort of a bonus, you also get (here and there) a little ancient philosophy to go with your modern advice—like this, from the Greek thinker Socrates: "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Any of us who struggle to keep our weight where the doctor says it should be or who've never met an excuse that couldn't talk us out of exercising—we know how easy it is for our personal health to go from managed care to total anarchy. Sometimes we exert a lot more energy examining what's in the pantry than we do examining what God expects of our overall fitness habits.

Health experts tell us that if we had to catalog or journal our calorie intake and our workout reps, most of us would be shocked at how much we consume and how little we burn off. But those who pay attention, those who consider it important to "examine" themselves, are the only ones who live in the truth of their situation. They don't trick themselves into believing that everything is okay when it isn't.

"So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled" (1 Thessalonians 5:6). Wake up and smell the coffee. And stay in charge of what you let in all day.

Pray this prayer: Help me develop the courage, Lord, to make deliberate decisions on how I handle myself, not letting life just come to me, but choosing to do right, choosing to be healthy.

[Judy Harder]

What Dad Says

If you've been a father for very long, you've heard one of your children say, "Dad, I remember you telling me..." And strangely, you may have no more than a dim memory of having said it. They were words that didn't really register as they were coming out but, for whatever reason, they sure did register coming in.

Maybe it was a stray memory you shared while you were out fishing together or running weekend errands. Maybe it was a harsh critique of the way they were performing a task or treating a sibling. Maybe it wasn't even something you were saying to them directly, but they were around, they heard it, they remember it.

Most dads don't think of themselves as men of powerful, memorable words. But... we are. All of us.

So on this day of celebration, enjoy the cards and the phone calls, act surprised at the necktie and the nail care kit, doze in and out of the U.S. Open on television. But also take the chance to say some special things to your children, wherever they may be.

King Solomon wrote of his father, David, "When I was a boy in my father's house... he taught me and said, 'Lay hold of my words with all your heart'" (Proverbs 4:3–4). Don't let everything your children remember you saying be offhand and incidental. Make a point of telling them what your heart really wants to say.

Pray this prayer: Heavenly Father, I want to be a dad who instructs and inspires my children the way you inspire me. Help me teach my children based on your Word that they may also mature in godliness.

[Judy Harder]

Room to Be Human

We definitely live in a celebrity culture. How many industries—from sports talk to memorabilia sales—are manufactured on the backs of a culture that can't get enough scoop or goods on today's headline makers? We know they're just people, but somehow we're willing to let them be larger-than-life. It's in our cultural DNA.

But even those who impress us with their skill and swagger—the ones who are among the best at what they do—miss a lot of reads in the course of a game. They foul a lot of balls into the stands. They push a lot of shots wide of the fairway. Success is a matter of consistent skill and effort, but nowhere near perfection. There's never been a superstar who didn't know how it felt to pace the sidelines, frustrated with his play.

If you're in one of those funks where you're down on yourself for making an unwise decision at work, or underestimating how long something would take, or guessing wrong on a snap judgment call, maybe this would be a good day to cut yourself some slack. Nobody gets everything right, and God understands that about us. "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:13-14).

Be fair with yourself today. Don't let a little pop-out keep you from swinging for the fences.

Pray this prayer: Lord God, thank you for knowing me better than I know myself, for being willing to forgive me when I foul things up. I pray for the courage to get back in and try again—for your glory.

[Judy Harder]

Forward Thinking

We've never been to a funeral, no matter how tragic or expected the person's death, when much of the service and the conversations surrounding it didn't center on memories of his or her life. We recall happier times we spent together. We reflect on what this individual was like. We regret that we won't be able to enjoy their smile or laughter anymore on earth.

We look back. That's all we humans really know how to do. To look back is to know. To look ahead is merely to guess and wonder.

But not for the believer in Jesus Christ. Our view looking forward, though lacking in some of the specifics God has chosen not to reveal, is one of confidence and knowledge, of hope and authentic anticipation. Randy Alcorn writes in Game Plan for Life, "As people age, they tend to look back at when they were at their best, knowing they'll never regain those days. But if you're a Christ-follower, you don't look back to your peak. You look forward to it."

Imagine being encouraged, as Randy says, that "the strongest I've ever felt is just a hint of what's to come." Imagine being sure that "the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God" (Romans 8:21). Imagine being able to look ahead . . . and know.

Pray this prayer: Lord, there's so much I don't understand. But as one who has given his life to you, I pray that you will settle my heart whenever I doubt your promises. Help me believe in your love for me.

[Judy Harder]

Truth and Freedom

For Superman, life is a "never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way." But for ordinary guys like us, truth is one battle we don't have to fight. Truth has already been fought for . . . and won.

Like the truth that "there is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). The truth that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The truth that "at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6). At the end of the day—in each of our lives—that's the truth.

We live in a world where truth can mean a lot of things. But the truth of Jesus' death on the cross to forgive your sins, the truth of his resurrection from the grave to give you eternal life, is the only truth that can set you free from "never-ending battle."

"If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).

So if you haven't already, wouldn't today's celebration of America's freedom be an ideal day to celebrate your own freedom as well—freedom from sin and guilt, freedom from dread and worry, freedom from hoping against hope that God will let you into heaven—freedom to know  that nothing in life can shake your confidence about the future?

That may not be the American way. But it's God's way. It's the real man's way. It's the only way.

Pray this prayer: God, I'm a sinful man, and I know it. That's the truth. But you have shown me that my sin can be wiped away by what you've already done for me. I choose to believe the truth—about myself and about you. Come be my Savior and Lord. I want to be free.

[Judy Harder]

All Play, No Work?

Some people think being a Christian is code-word for slacking off, not expecting much, being more willing to understand and overlook a shoddy day's work. So although there are plenty of us who lean more toward being workaholics, there are plenty more who need to realize that high expectations don't go flying out the window just because you've been promised eternal life.

Granted—again—the Christian ranks are filled with men who basically ignore God's command to experience a Sabbath rest in their week. They think that taking a break in the action to deliberately quiet themselves in prayer and worship, to refresh and replenish, will just give the others a chance to catch up. Surely a man can do more in seven days than in six.

But too many are taking this rest-and-relaxation routine a little too far. And if one of those men is you—if you'd admit that you're not putting out your maximum effort on the job— notice that in the same Scripture passage where God delivered His directive on Sabbath-keeping, he also stated the obvious counter-balance: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Exodus 20:9).

So before you kick back for another weekend, remember that Ten Commandments-style resting implies you've been doing something all week that needs resting from. Make your Sabbath a great one by giving every other day your very best.

Pray this prayer: Lord, I can pretend my work ethic is something it's not. But help me see myself honestly in this regard—to see where I'm out of balance, one way or the other.