February 27

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL BUS TRIPS

Father, thank You for bringing me to this place and this time today. I ask You to speak to me right now, and to let Your Word breathe life into my heart. Please use these next few moments to bring me to more of a fullness of You and to learn more of Your Glory and how to leave the footprints of Jesus everywhere I go today. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen!

Read Matthew 5:21-26

So I am going to say I hope that no one reading this is guilty of actually murdering someone. That being said I think we are all to blame for killing someone with our words. I think we all have said things in anger or jokingly that we did not mean. I know I have done this.

When I was in high school I was the athletic trainer for the football and boys basketball team. It was fun. I really enjoyed it; it was a way for me to be involved in sports since a birth defect prevented me from actually playing. My freshman year I worked with the varsity boys basketball team. I was almost the youngest student in my grade, so this was very intimidating for me at times. I knew most of the juniors on the team since my sister was in that class, but the seniors just seemed so much older; I was only 14 at that time. That year I watched as the seniors would make fun of everyone on the bus, even our assistant coaches.

Unfortunately that habit was passed down at least until my fellow classmates were seniors. We never meant anything by what we said, but I know it hurt some of the younger players at times. I do not think I understood the depth of this until a close friend from church told me they should put a plaque in the locker room declaring my class the king of the put downs. This was a friend I admired because of his intelligence and discernment. When he told me this I began to realize how what we were saying might be hurting those younger than us. Not only were we perpetuating bad habits, we were also destroying their confidence. We should have been building them up and encouraging them, but yet we were doing the opposite.

Hopefully you have never hurt someone this bad, but I am guessing most of you have. For some strange and tragic reason our current culture glorifies this type of behavior. Well, if we are going to follow Him and be set apart we have to change and do something different. Today I implore you to speak words of truth and love and kindness to those in your path. Leave His footprints today by leaving His words of life.

Leave His footprints as you walk today!