Why it’s important to talk about God.
Studies show that the average person speaks from 13,000 to 18,000 words per day at an average pace of about 130 words per minute. How many of the words you speak each day include anything about God?
Several years ago I was asked to write the manuscript for a book about the Indianapolis Colts after they won Super Bowl XLI. It was the story of Hunter Smith, the Colts veteran punter and some of his teammates who were Christians and they wanted to tell the story of the lessons God taught them as Christian athletes who had achieved the “ultimate prize” of Super Bowl success. The book is called “The Jersey Effect” and the message focuses on using the “jersey” or “influence” God has given us to “effect” or “influence” the world for Christ.
One of my favorite interviews for the book was the opportunity to interview Reggie Hodges. Reggie was the only person included in the book who wasn’t actually on the Super Bowl Champion Colts team. It’s because he was brought in to the Colts training camp to fill in for Hunter Smith as a punter while Hunter was in rehab from an injury. After Hunter was back to 100% health, Reggie was cut and went through some serious struggles until being signed by the Cleveland Browns.
Hunter and Reggie shared that normally an NFL player would not “warm up” to a guy in training camp who was potentially competing to take your spot on the roster but Hunter chose to take Reggie under his wing. If you were to hear Reggie’s version of the story… it changed Reggie’s life forever. You see, Reggie had battled for years with substance abuse, his commitments to his family and financial problems. At the root of it all was a battle raging between his own will and God’s will. Hunter offered to pray with Reggie on a regular basis, share scripture with him and pour into Reggie as a genuine Christian friend. Reggie describes his own life like a train wreck and he saw in Hunter one of the most consistent, faithful Christian men he’d ever known. And it changed him.
After Reggie was released he was eventually signed as the punter for the Cleveland Browns and he knew he was not there just to play football. Reggie said, “I now knew that God had placed me on this team to be a spokesman for Him… to be a missionary to the Cleveland Browns.” His testimony was so powerful among his teammates that after a season ending injury, while lying on the field in pain, his teammates surrounded him and before they would allow medical personnel to touch him… they prayed for him.
Hunter talked about God to Reggie. Reggie talked about God to all of the Cleveland Browns. Sadly, some of the Christian players regretted after winning the Super Bowl that they didn’t use the opportunities God gave them to speak more boldly about how important God was in their life.
In Psalm 98 God talks about our responsibility to “sing a new song” about God. It means that before we meet God our focus of life is filled with a certain message, often captured in songs, a message which we repeat to others over and over because it is “what we are all about.” But after we encounter God and accept Christ, the song of our heart, the words we speak and the message of our life becomes a completely new message. And the message is about the “marvelous things” He has done and how He has changed us.
O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen. Psalm 98:1-2
Whatever you do… don’t be an “undercover Christian.” There are people all around you who are struggling with deep questions about God and they need to know that you really do believe in Him and they need to hear about His “marvelous works” in your life.
I’d love to hear from you about how God is at work in your life. You can email me, post a comment or even leave a voicemail at 423-381-0018.
Ken Turner
Learn more at https://kenturnerministries.org/walking-with-god/
Email me at kenturner@highimpactteens.org
