Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
It goes without saying that I'm a big hockey fan, but like many other hockey fans, I don't at all like many of the changes that have been made to the NHL in recent years. One such change was made this year, when the All-Star Game was converted into a three-on-three tournament with a team from each division. When that announcement was made, I immediately lost all interest in the event.
Before long, however, something happened that made me start paying attention. Fans were allowed to vote on the league's website for the captain of each team. The highest vote-getter from each division was to win that honor for his team. Every player in the league was eligible, and the fans decided to have some fun with it. A campaign was started to elect John Scott -- then of the Arizona Coyotes -- as the captain of the Pacific Division team.
Before this season, many hockey fans would have responded by asking, "Who?" if someone mentioned Scott. Those who did recognize the name would likely have known of him only because at 6'8", he's one of the tallest players in NHL history. I don't mean to sound brutal, but Scott's on ice stats are far from attention grabbing. In 285 NHL games to date, he has merely five goals and six assists, for a total of 11 points.
Yet, somehow, the campaign took off, and it began to look like a real possibility that Scott would win the vote. Publicly, the league insisted that the fan vote would be honored, no matter the outcome, but it was no secret that the front office was not happy about what was happening. Some fans even charged that back-room deals were at play to keep Scott out of the game. First, he was traded from the Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens, which the league suggested could affect his eligibility because he was in a new division, and then, he was demoted to the AHL, which was also suggested could make him ineligible.
Those ideas caused an uproar among the fans. In the weeks of the campaign, they had gotten to know John Scott better than some obscure enforcer. They started to get to know him as a funny, happy-go-lucky human being that just about anyone would enjoy hanging out with -- and they were not at all happy about what they thought the league was doing. The response was deafening, and in the end, the league allowed Scott to play.
This is where things start getting stranger than fiction (if they weren't already). Scott not only played, but he scored two goals in the game, and was chosen as MVP. and as a member of the winning team, earned a share of a million dollar bonus -- not a bad deal for a guy whose wife was expecting twins any day!
John Scott certainly appeared to have some pretty powerful enemies to his chance to play in the All-Star Game, and we have some powerful enemies that we battle in our spiritual lives. The world, the devil and his demons, and even our own flesh fight against us every day of our lives. Sometimes we feel like we're all alone, but the truth is, we're not. In John Scott's case, the outrage of the fans was more than enough to offset any plans the league might have had to keep him out of the All-Star Game, and we have forces much more powerful in our corner as we serve the Lord.
First and foremost, we have the Lord. He's far greater than anything the forces of evil can ever conjure up. If he can create a universe in just six days, certainly he's more than sufficient to give us strength in our every day battles. Second, we have the support of the heavenly angels. "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." While I do believe that the concept of guardian angels is greatly overblown in our society, there is some truth that underlies it. The heavenly host does look out for us as we serve the Lord. Thirdly, we have the watchful eye of the saints that have preceded us into Heaven cheering us on. They experienced the same things in their lives that we do, and in many cases, much, much more.
My dear brothers and sisters, as we serve the Lord, we have quite a cheering section behind us. I hope you'll remember that the next time you're tempted to give in or respond wrongly to the pressure of life. We all have those times, and we all know they're coming. If we continue to serve faithfully, we have much more waiting than a temporal MVP award and a monetary bonus. We'll receive eternal rewards that we can lay at our Saviour's feet in thanksgiving for what He has done for us. Remember: they're all cheering for you!
Hebrews 12:1
It goes without saying that I'm a big hockey fan, but like many other hockey fans, I don't at all like many of the changes that have been made to the NHL in recent years. One such change was made this year, when the All-Star Game was converted into a three-on-three tournament with a team from each division. When that announcement was made, I immediately lost all interest in the event.
Before long, however, something happened that made me start paying attention. Fans were allowed to vote on the league's website for the captain of each team. The highest vote-getter from each division was to win that honor for his team. Every player in the league was eligible, and the fans decided to have some fun with it. A campaign was started to elect John Scott -- then of the Arizona Coyotes -- as the captain of the Pacific Division team.
Before this season, many hockey fans would have responded by asking, "Who?" if someone mentioned Scott. Those who did recognize the name would likely have known of him only because at 6'8", he's one of the tallest players in NHL history. I don't mean to sound brutal, but Scott's on ice stats are far from attention grabbing. In 285 NHL games to date, he has merely five goals and six assists, for a total of 11 points.
Yet, somehow, the campaign took off, and it began to look like a real possibility that Scott would win the vote. Publicly, the league insisted that the fan vote would be honored, no matter the outcome, but it was no secret that the front office was not happy about what was happening. Some fans even charged that back-room deals were at play to keep Scott out of the game. First, he was traded from the Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens, which the league suggested could affect his eligibility because he was in a new division, and then, he was demoted to the AHL, which was also suggested could make him ineligible.
Those ideas caused an uproar among the fans. In the weeks of the campaign, they had gotten to know John Scott better than some obscure enforcer. They started to get to know him as a funny, happy-go-lucky human being that just about anyone would enjoy hanging out with -- and they were not at all happy about what they thought the league was doing. The response was deafening, and in the end, the league allowed Scott to play.
This is where things start getting stranger than fiction (if they weren't already). Scott not only played, but he scored two goals in the game, and was chosen as MVP. and as a member of the winning team, earned a share of a million dollar bonus -- not a bad deal for a guy whose wife was expecting twins any day!
John Scott certainly appeared to have some pretty powerful enemies to his chance to play in the All-Star Game, and we have some powerful enemies that we battle in our spiritual lives. The world, the devil and his demons, and even our own flesh fight against us every day of our lives. Sometimes we feel like we're all alone, but the truth is, we're not. In John Scott's case, the outrage of the fans was more than enough to offset any plans the league might have had to keep him out of the All-Star Game, and we have forces much more powerful in our corner as we serve the Lord.
First and foremost, we have the Lord. He's far greater than anything the forces of evil can ever conjure up. If he can create a universe in just six days, certainly he's more than sufficient to give us strength in our every day battles. Second, we have the support of the heavenly angels. "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." While I do believe that the concept of guardian angels is greatly overblown in our society, there is some truth that underlies it. The heavenly host does look out for us as we serve the Lord. Thirdly, we have the watchful eye of the saints that have preceded us into Heaven cheering us on. They experienced the same things in their lives that we do, and in many cases, much, much more.
My dear brothers and sisters, as we serve the Lord, we have quite a cheering section behind us. I hope you'll remember that the next time you're tempted to give in or respond wrongly to the pressure of life. We all have those times, and we all know they're coming. If we continue to serve faithfully, we have much more waiting than a temporal MVP award and a monetary bonus. We'll receive eternal rewards that we can lay at our Saviour's feet in thanksgiving for what He has done for us. Remember: they're all cheering for you!
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