By faith… Abel… Noah… Abraham… Isaac… Jacob… Joseph… Moses… Rahab… Samson… David… Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great could 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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 11:1-12:2, NIV)
By faith, Webb Simpson, after winning his first PGA Tour event, the Wyndham Championship, last year, when interviewed by David Feherty on the eighteenth green, stated, “I’d be stupid not to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
By faith, Tim Tebow, before the National Championship football game in 2009, changed the verse on his eye black to John 3:16. As a result, more than 92 million people within a 24-hour period of time after the game searched John 3:16, setting a Google search record.
By faith, Davis Love, Lee Janzen, Ben Crane, Paul Stankowski and Jeff Gove continue to let numerous college golfers into their houses to stay for 3-4 days in order to further the Kingdom of God. This winter, Ben and Heather Crane welcomed 95 college golfers and coaches into their house! Most wives, with the thought of having the equivalent of a large fraternity live in their house, would cower at the thought, yet Mrs. Love, Mrs. Janzen, Mrs. Crane, Mrs. Stankowski and Mrs. Gove know that the things of eternity are more important than a broken vase; a dented US Open trophy (Janzen—of course, he’s got another one!); or, in the case of Davis Love’s house this summer, more important than an overflowing toilet that pours water out of the kitchen ceiling light fixtures!
Anyone who has ever been to the World Golf Hall of Fame in Florida (or any other Hall of Fame for that matter) can attest to the progression of thought that occurs when visiting. The thought pattern usually goes from eagerness to learn, interest in the exhibits, and fascination with the feats, to anxiousness and expectancy to play the game yourself. As you walk through the World Golf Hall of Fame, there comes a point when you think, “This inspires me so much that I want to go tee it up right now!”
The same is true for the Hall of Faith. Hebrews 11 unpacks the heroes of the Old Testament and concludes with “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders…” Whether we are inspired by the saints of the past or the saints of the present, God desires for us to, by faith, flee from sin and run the race marked out before us. The heroes from the Hall of Faith and the heroes of the faith today inspire and motivate us to get in the game. What is God asking you to do, by faith, as you fix your eyes on Christ today?
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Korky Kemp
January 17, 2012
Copyright © 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday through Friday and is archived by passage and topic at www.linksplayers.com.