Do you ever wake up and feel like God has a word for you that day? Well, today was one of those days for me. God revealed it to me in my quiet time. And, if that wasn’t enough, the devotion that my son and I read together was about the same passage and same thing. OK, OK. I get the message loud and clear.

The message was from Matthew 14. I was struck by the passage in which the disciples, obviously tired of the crowds of people that constantly surrounded them, told Jesus to send the people home and that they (the disciples) would go find food for themselves and Jesus. But Jesus had another answer for them that moment.

I don’t know about your neighborhood, but when I was younger we had the “do over.” Remember? You took a swing and your foot went out from under you. You mis-kicked the ball in a kickball game because you slipped on some wet grass. What were the first words to come out of your mouth? “Do over!!”

Did you know that God gave us a “do over”? Paul wrote the church in Corinth that when they accepted Christ they became a new creation. Well, thousands of years later, the same is still true for us. When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we become a new creation.

It is copied in gyms all over the country. It started back in the 80’s in an old beat-up stadium in downtown Chicago. Basketball fans all over can still hear these words in their heads, “And now the starting line up for your Chicago Bulls.” These words echoed as Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, Armstrong, and Michael Jordan were announced. High schools and colleges today still imitate these now-famous words.

Our theme verses for camp this year are basically a prayer and some closing thoughts, but I wonder how they would sound blaring from the loud speakers of heaven down to earth when the Lord returns and we enter heaven. Who might get the job of announcing it to all? It might sound something like this …

I was coaching a junior high boy’s basketball team and having a great time. During one game, however, the team was not executing well. I called a time-out and gave the boys a lecture while they sat on the bench. I paused to see if my message was getting through. And that’s when the starting center, a team leader, broke the silence with a goofy imitation of me. He mimicked several of my phrases and the other players were a little nervous about what my reaction would be. I decided to laugh, so the whole team laughed along with me. These were boys who loved to have fun. Scripture says that there is a time for everything (Ec 3:1). There is certainly a time for discipline and teaching, but there are countless opportunities for fun and laughter too.

What talent impresses God? No one can argue that Michael Jordan is the best basketball player ever, or that Tiger Woods is the most talented golfer in the world. But does their talent surprise God? Is Jesus amazed when Tiger sinks a fifteen-foot putt or when Jordan makes a game-winning basket? No, because He gave them these athletes their ability, so their victories are no surprise to Him. Actually, nothing surprises God. He has always known the end from the beginning in all matters.