WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE ON THE "A" TEAM?
A Memorial Day devotion.
What does it take to be on the "A" Team?
- Whether we were in Sports, Academic Pursuits, Military
- endeavors, or members of a Bible Memory Verse Team, the goal and emphasis was to work hard to be on the "A" Team.
- A subunit of the Special Forces, usually consisting of 12 soldiers.
- Informal A group consisting of the best members of a larger group; an elite group.
- An A-team of foreign-policy advisers.
- Can all be winners? Can all be on the "A" Team?
- Why even have an "A" team if the goal is not to be the best.
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."
Isaiah 48:17
"This is what the Lord says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."
Some great truths we need to know to be on the "A" Team of Life.
- BE:
-
A=Appreciative/Acknowledge...Appreciation for all of the mentors of our lives.
If they weren't our parents, they were teachers, preachers, coaches, other
students who stood for truth and those that you could and can depend on. I
say, "Let them know." Acknowledge them...Call them. Email them. Stand toe-to-toe
with them and look them in the eye and say, "Thank you."
Acknowledge that you can't make it this life without some help from others.
A = An Affirmer: Be an encourager; telling others how much their friendship means to you; their action that helped you choose the right way. It can be your spouse, family...your friends, pastor or next door neighbor.
Admirable Attitude = One of the greatest compliments one can give is while telling about someone is that they have an admirable attitude. An attitude that complements, an attitude that is one of giving... instead of getting. An attitude that appeals to others, an attitude of love instead of hate. An attitude that is amenable (willing to follow advice or suggestion; responsible to authority; accountable; open or liable to testing, criticism, or judgment).
American = I don't know about you, but I am very concerned about America today. I am concerned that this generation does not understand what it means to be an American. To me...and I know to you, a real American is loyal, faithful, active (not lazy), affective in his endeavors, and dependable in doing his job. We need to pray for our country, pray for our troops, and pray for our family. Prayer is not enough, we need to teach our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, the real American traits. I don't apologize for calling myself an American...do you?
A = Accountable: to family, to our church, to God...and to ourselves. We go through life making choices. Some have been good, some bad. All of those choices we have had to buckle up and accept...to be accountable for our mistakes, our less than perfect acts. Our mentors taught us that. We were accountable to our team, or our church. To the athlete on a team: You might have dropped a perfect pass from the quarterback; missed a block and it caused injury to the running back, or dropped a baton on a relay team, and your team loses.
We were and still are accountable to ourselves and others in our life. How we handle life is very important for our standing in our world...then, later and now.
We must understand that we are accountable to God.
Romans 12:1-2, I beseech you therefore, Brethren, by the mercies of God...that you present your bodies, living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God...through Jesus Christ our Lord."
An important statement made by a great man of God...and a wonderful Statesman, admired by many presidents.
'We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!"
Abraham Lincoln - Upon proclaiming a National Fast Day (30 March 1863):
On this Memorial Day...join in the chorus of great patriots of God. Give credit to the many who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Also, thank God every day for the gift of eternal life given by our Savior who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and passport into the Kingdom of God.
