God's Coaching #269

God's Coaching #269

First place is a whole lot more fun than last place. Just ask the FC Gold Pride. On September 26, 2010, the Pride, a Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) team from California’s Bay Area, completed a stunning worst-to-first turnaround by winning the league championship with a 4–0 shutout of the Philadelphia Independence in Hayward, California.

Led by two star forwards, Brazil’s Marta and Canada’s Christine Sinclair, the Pride finished the season with a 17–3–5 overall record, including a league-record 14-game unbeaten streak. That’s a far cry from their 2009 season, when they finished last in the WPS with a 4–10–6 record.

What’s the Score?

When it comes to worst-to-first stories, the apostle Paul might have the greatest one in the entire Bible. We first meet Paul in Acts 7:58 as he gives approval for the brutal stoning of Stephen—the first Christian who died for his faith in Jesus. Paul (then known as Saul) was a wicked, legalistic Pharisee who thought that serving God meant following Old Testament law and imprisoning Christians.

But Jesus miraculously appeared to Paul as he was traveling one day and radically changed his life. Paul went from being a passionate Jesus-hater to a passionate Jesus-lover. He took three different missionary journeys, spreading the gospel message to most of the known world in the first century AD. He wrote 13 New Testament books. That’s more than anyone else. He preached the Good News of Jesus Christ in Jewish synagogues, in Greek cities, and in Roman prisons. Even today, he is considered by many to be the greatest missionary who ever lived.

If you are a Christian, regardless of your particular background, you have a worst-to-first story too. It’s true! The Bible says every believer was once far from God. But through Christ, we experienced a radical transformation. What’s your worst-to-first story?

On the Ball

Write down your worst-to-first salvation story of God coming into your life, and read it to a friend or family member.

Coach’s Comment

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. Colossians 1:21-22