“In the beginning, God created…” These are familiar words to most people. We know the conclusion of this verse refers to the creation of the world.

Sometime in a humorous vein, those of us who love baseball will try to identify the Creator with our game by quoting the above as “In the big inning…” I believe there is an important lesson to be learned from the first five words in the Bible, one that relates more to those of us who live on the earth than to the earth itself.

Have you ever noticed how we tend to judge ourselves based on our intentions? Even if our actions were wrong or the outcome was bad, we still give ourselves the benefit of the doubt. Why is that? I think it is because we know that our intentions were good. Most of the time, we were trying to help others or trying to do the “right thing,” so even if it didn’t turn out right, we still encourage ourselves.

I still remember being a 12-year-old aspiring basketball player and hearing NBA Hall-of-Famer Adrian Dantley teach about basketball’s “triple threat.” I learned that when you first receive the ball, you are in a great position with three potential options: dribble, shoot or pass. I wouldn’t soon forget the power of the triple threat. It changed the way I played basketball, and it even helped me beat my older brother in one-on-one a few times.

As followers of Christ, we also have a “triple threat.” Our opponent, Satan, wants to defeat us and take us out. He doesn’t want us to win and is working overtime to make sure you and I are discouraged and overwhelmed. We start believing that the goal in life is to just survive—just get through one more day.

The unruly brawl between the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons made so many headlines. You know the story, so I'll spare you the details Yet, in response to the uproar, commissioner David Stern commented, "We have to make the point that there are boundaries in our games. One of our boundaries that has always been immutable is the boundary that separates the fans from the court. Players cannot lose control and move into the stands."

Ask any athlete who has ever won a championship game if they regret the time and effort they spent developing as a player. In the middle of the season, they may have been frustrated or tired, but when the end result is being a champion, no one wishes they had put in less effort or spent less time practicing.

In Mark 8 Jesus was confronted by a blind man with a pretty direct request: he wanted to see. Jesus touched the man and asked if he saw anything. He could see, but not clearly. Did Jesus make a mistake? Or did He want the man to learn something about the way He works?