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Devotional

Bible Lessons from the Olympics: Blind Focus – Im Dong-Hyun

August 8, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

The athletic feats of the Olympics continue to astound us. The excellent displays of speed, strength, agility, and determination continue to inspire us. But there are few who are as amazing and inspirational as the less-than-perfect Olympians. We thought we’ve seen it all. A leg-less runner pretty much topped the list. Until we heard of a blind archer. Read on…

Blind Focus

On 27 July 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London a new world record score of 699 in archery was set. World records are broken all the time at the Olympics. But what makes this world record unique is that it was set by someone who is legally blind – Im Dong-Hyun from South Korea.

He has only 10 percent of normal vision in his left eye and slightly more at 20 percent in his right which makes him legally blind. In competition, he refuses to wear corrective lenses while shooting, because they make him uncomfortable. Instead he relies on his muscle memory and a slight difference in color in his blurred vision. At 70 meters, he sees only a blurred yellow blob, but says he has grown used to seeing the target that way. Dong-Hyun describes what he sees as being similar to different colored paints being dropped in water. The colors are not very distinct and the boundaries between them are blurred.

In spite of his less than perfect vision, he more than proved his ability to hit his target. Dong-Hyun’s sight may be impaired, but his vision is crystal clear – to win the gold at the Olympics.

Take it to the Next Level

The great men of faith in the Bible didn’t have perfect vision either; far from it. They were blinded and misled by lust, fear, greed, pride and jealousy. They were murderers, thieves, liars, adulterers, vengeful and power-hungry. They were pretty much as bad as the next person. Interestingly, the word “Sin” is actually a term from archery. When it says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” it means to “miss the mark,” to miss the target. Like these great men of faith, we were given one shot and we all missed by a mile.

We fell short of God’s plan for our lives, we missed the target, we sinned. But can draw inspiration from Dong-Hyun who overcame his physical imperfection to win his prize. He was blind but he didn’t let his condition control his destiny. Though it certainly took courage and perseverance, what I believe are two keys to his success are:
1. Focus – He doesn’t focus on his limitations, but on his target.
2. Reliance – he relies on the feel of the bow, a steady hand, and past experience.

Focus

Like Dong-Hyun, we can choose to overcome our spiritual imperfection. As Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. If we want to lay hold of all that God as in store for us, we need to shift our focus away from our sinful “disability” and focus on God’s supernatural ability.

But what made these men of faith great, what set them apart from the rest was their focus on God. Their sights were set on Him. Like them we must keep focused on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith and act, trusting that God will guide us to His intended target for our lives.

Reliance

In our attempt to live godly lives, we often depend on our own strength. We tend to rationalize, depend on conventional wisdom, try it on our own for a while and when everything falls apart, God becomes our “Plan B”. Dong-Hyun could have used corrective lenses. That would have been the logical, smart thing to do to overcome his “disability”. He might even have done better. But would his life have been as much of an inspiration if he did? We often wonder why God places limitations on us. Why do we still have to deal with sin even though Christ won us the ultimate victory, why do we still struggle with it?

God certainly isn’t a fan of doing things the conventional way. If He did, none of us would ever make the cut. We’re not perfect, we’re not the best of the best of the best. The irony is God very often chooses the weak, humble, and foolish things to show His glory through them. After all, if God always chose the “perfect people,” others would just as easily attribute their successes to their natural ability; nothing to do with what God has done.

So even though these men of faith led seriously messed up lives, once they trusted God enough to make Him the center, the bulls-eye of their lives, they accomplished amazing things. “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

Scriptures Verses for Youth Bible Study

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him'”

Phil 3:13-14 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:23 (NIV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Questions for Youth Discussion

Have you ever seen those circus sideshows where they try to hit a target blindfolded? How do you believe they do it?
Have you ever tried shooting at targets yourself? Basketball? Golf? Soccer? Archery? The rubbish bin? How good are you at hitting the target?
Why is it that God allows us to struggle with sin?
What are some common struggles that youth face? Christians in general?
What famous personalities do you know about that have had some pretty serious struggles?What was their story? Was it a triumph or defeat? Who did they turn to for help? What are some things they learned through their experiences?
Who are some of the Bible personalities who had some serious struggles? What were their stories? Was it a triumph or defeat? Who did they turn to for help? What are some things they learned through their experiences?

Application to the Lives of Youth

What are some struggles you have faced personally?
Who did you depend on in the midst of your struggle?
Did you overcome your struggles? Or are you still working through them?
Will you do anything differently, knowing what you’ve learned today?

If we’re willing to say, “God I know I’m not perfect but here I am, with all my imperfections, ready and available to allow you to work through me;” if we’re willing to make God our focus and depend on Him, willing to see beyond our past and fix our eyes on Jesus, the arrow of our lives will fly surely enough to hit God’s intended target and destiny for us. And we’ll leave our mark and legacy on the pages of history.

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Teaching Illustrations

Bible Lessons from the Olympics: Never Give Up

August 7, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

Runner’s World (8/91), told the story of Beth Anne DeCiantis’s attempt to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon. A female runner must complete the 27-mile, 385-yard race in less than two hours, forty-five minutes to compete at the Olympic Trials.

Beth started strong but began having trouble around mile 23. She reached the final straightaway at 243, with just two minutes left to qualify. Two hundred yards from the finish, she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd was ticking—2:44, less than a minute to go.

Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with ten seconds to go, she fell again. She began to crawl, the crowd cheering her on, and crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. Her time? Two hours, 44 minutes, 57 seconds.

Hebrews 12:1 Reminds us to run our race with perseverance and never give up.

Source: Terry Fisher, San Mateo, California, quoted in Preaching Resources, Spring 1996, p. 69.

Devotional

Bible Lessons from the Olympics: Downhill from Here

August 6, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

Downhill from Here

Jean-Claude Killy, the French ski champion, did more than work hard at his sport.

When he made his nation’s ski team in the early 1960s, he was determined to be the best. He decided vigorous training was the key. Up at dawn each day, he ran up mountains with his skis on – a very painful activity. Weight training, sprinting…Killy was determined to do whatever it took to reach peak physical condition.

Other team members were working just as hard, and in the end it was a change in style, not conditioning, that set Killy apart.

The goal in ski racing is to ski down a prescribed mountain course faster than anyone else. Killy began experimenting to see if he could pare any seconds off his time. He found that if he skied with his legs apart, he had better balance. He also found that if he sat back on his skis when executing a turn, instead of leaning forward as was customary, he had better control, which also resulted in faster times. Rather than regarding his ski poles as an accessory for balance, Killy tried using them to propel him forward.

Killy’s style was unorthodox. But when he won most of the major ski events in 1966 and 1967, including 3 gold medals at the Winter Olympics, skiers around the world took notice. Today, the Killy style is norm among downhill and slalom racers. Any other “style” would be considered odd.

As Christians we are not called to conform to the world’s standards, but to God’s standards. Our lifestyle should challenge people to come to Jesus Christ and live according to His higher ways and purposes. The Christian “style” may seem odd to the unbeliever, but in the end, it is the style that will previal!

Don’t be afraid to be a little “unusual” today in the eyes of those who observe you. Your example may help win them over to a championship lifestyle.

This devotion is from “Breakfast with God.”

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Devotional

Bible Lessons from the Olympics: Bringing Home the Gold

August 5, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

The Dream of a Lifetime

Canoe racing was added to the Olympics at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

At that time, ocean going ships were the primary means of travel between the United States and France. Athletes couldn’t hop on a jet and be there in a matter of hours like they do today. This presented a dilemma for one member of the United States four man canoe team who were expected to win the gold medal.

Bill Havens’ wife was expecting, and if he made the long journey there was a good chance he wouldn’t make it back in time for the birth of his first child. While his wife insisted he should compete, he struggled with the decision. If he stayed, it would mean setting aside his life long dream he had spent years working towards. If he went, his wife would give birth without him at her side.

His eventually decided to withdraw from the Olympics and stay behind with his wife because he considered being with her more important than pursuing his life-long dream in the Olympics.

The United States four man team won the gold in canoe racing without him. And Bill’s wife gave birth so late, that had he left and competed in the Olympics he could have still returned home without missing the birth of his son. While the world saw it as a missed opportunity, Bill Havens had no regrets. His commitment to someone he loved dearly was more important to him than a Gold medal around his neck.

But this story doesn’t end there…

28 years later, in 1952, Bill Havens received a cablegram from Frank, the son he stayed behind to seen born. The cablegram was Helsinki, Finland, the venue for the 1952 Olympic Games:

“Dad, I won. I’m bringing home the gold medal you lost while waiting for me to be born.”

Frank Havens won the gold medal for the United States in the canoe-racing event. He won the Gold medal that his father had sacrificed 28 years earlier to be with his mother while he was born.

As Christians, we also make a commitment to someone we love that is more important to us than anything the world could offer. And at the end of this race called life, we also will receive a reward we have dreamed of getting, but did not earn. This reward was not earned by our son, as was the case of Bill Havens, but by the Son of God. And he does not bring it home to us, but brings us home to receive it in Heaven.

“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8

Take It to the Next Level

What dilemma’s do Christians face as they live out their commitment to Christ, to the one they love? What struggles do you face? What struggles have you face?
Bill Havens sacrificed the Gold, and never expected that his son would one day receive it. As Christians we know that our sacrifices here on earth will be honored in heaven. Do we live for the rewards or do we live the way we do because of our commitment to the one we love? What’s the difference?
How does knowing that God will honor our sacrifices, give us strength to make the difficult choices in life?
What is a commitment you need to make out of your love for Christ this week, knowing that God will honor that commitment?
How can you make that commitment a reality?

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Devotional

Run with Perseverance

August 4, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1

There is no better feeling in the world than the joy of winning a race you were never expected to win!

Just ask Jenny Spangler. She won the women’s marathon at the U.S. Olympic Trials in February 1996, earning the right to compete at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

At the time of the trials, Spangler was qualifier number 61, which meant that 60 runners had entered the race with faster times than hers. No one had ever heard of her – and no one thought she could maintain a winning pace when she passed the leaders at the 16-mile mark.

Spangler had few successes to her credit. She had set an American junior record in the marathon during college, but then she left the sports scene after a stress fracture dashed her hopes in the Olympic Trials of 1984. Abandoning the sport after she ran poorly in 1988, she returned to school and earned a master’s degree in business administration. She ran only two marathons between 1988 and 1996.

At the marathon trials, she was such an unknown that the second and third place finishers asked each other, “Who is she?” after she took the lead and held on to it.

The favorites in February’s race expected Spangler to fade, but she never did. Somewhere inside herself, she found the courage and stamina to finish strong. Not only did she make the Olympic team, but she took home first prize – $45,000.

Does the day ahead of you look as grueling as a marathon? Keep Jenny Spangler in mind as you jog through your various commitments and responsibilities. Believe you can get the job done. Run the race God has marked out before you. Keep moving!

You can end each day with the satisfaction of knowing you are that much closer to the goal!

This devotion is from “Breakfast with God.”

Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

Devotional

Bible Lessons from the Olympics: Blade Runner

August 1, 2012 kensapp Leave a comment

The Olympic Games celebrates the athlete at their best. It is the pinnacle of human sporting achievement and you’re likely to see every Olympian striving to give their most perfect performances, many after years of challenging training. But today, our focus shifts to one particular athlete that has caught our attention. One that isn’t quite so picture perfect. We want to introduce you to…

The Blade Runner

South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, also known as the “Blade Runner,” was born in 1986 in Johannesburg.

Oscar is like most runners competing in the 2012 London Olympic games. There’s only one difference. He has no legs. Born with a congenital absence of the calf bone in both legs, he had to have them amputated between the ankle and knee at the age of 11 months.

Ironically, this record breaking Paralympian’s only obstacle is the controversy he faces over his prosthetic limbs, as some critics have claimed gives him an advantage over able-bodied athletes.

In 2007 the International Association of Athletics Federations conducted research on Oscar’s prosthetic legs and found that it gave him certain advantages against able-bodied athletes. They claimed his prosthetics were lighter and had more “spring” than normal legs. Although he won the appeal, he did not qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. However, he performed exceptionally well at the 2008 Summer Paralympics: he won gold in the 100m, 200m, and 400m events, completing the 400m race in a world-record time of 47.49 seconds.

In 2012, he will be competing in the 400-m and the 4 x 400m relay events, being the first double amputee runner at the Olympic games. In response to being admitted to the Olympic team, Oscar said, “Today is truly on of the proudest days of my life. To have been selected to represent Team South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games… is a real honor and I am pleased that years of hard work, determination and sacrifice have all come together.”

Oscar’s story of determination and perseverance in spite of his condition inspires us. He wasn’t born perfect, he had his struggles, but he chose not to dwell on the things he could not do, but kept his focus on that he could accomplish.

We have all been called to some great purpose. And there are times we may feel our past experiences, our failures, our lack of spiritual maturity, our lack of talent or skill “disqualify” us from partnering with God to fulfill that purpose. We feel “handicapped” and inadequate; that our weaknesses far outweigh our strengths.

Take It to the Next Level

Paul was a spiritual giant in his own right. He was an apostle, much of the New Testament are his inspired writings. He had performed numerous miracles in the name of Jesus, he had led thousands to God. But he had a “thorn in his flesh”. The Bible never explains to us exactly what it is in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, but it’s often implied to be a physical weakness. He asked God to remove it. Not once, but three times. God responded to him, pretty much the same way He refers to our own weaknesses, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Just like Oscar whose disability strangely perceived to give him advantages over other able-bodied runners, God’s power is perfected in us, not “in spite of,” but “because of” our weaknesses. Paul’s response? “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” We COULD ask God to remove our weaknesses. Why not? He has the power to do it doesn’t He?

The funny thing is, if God really did that, what’s going to stop us from depending on our own abilities, on our own strength? What’s going to stop us in boasting about what WE have accomplished?

“Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we haveright thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh startcomes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.” 1 Cor 26:31 (MSG)

So, let’s not go around tooting our own horns. Let’s not hide behind our weaknesses any longer. Let us trumpet out loud that all we have comes from God. The weak, the insecure, the inadequate, we are everything God made us to be. Victorious in our weaknesses, triumphant because of His grace working through us that comes through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Don’t feel like you’re worthless before God – you actually are! BUT our worth doesn’t come from what you’ve done, what you do, or what you will accomplish. Your worth comes because the creator of the universe chose YOU. Chose to die for YOU. Chose to work through YOU as His instrument on this earth. Chose YOU to be His heir and spend eternity with. That’s exactly how much YOU are worth.

“We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Rom 8:37b (NIV)