Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1

When a coach sets out to teach his team how to master a certain sport, he will usually demonstrate the different actions and plays to the players. He may point out some stars of the game and encourage the players to study their form and way of playing and try to pattern themselves after them. Often the coach will have a more experienced player show how it is done. Then, after the best possible instruction has been given, each player must get in the game and work at it. It takes example, instruction, practice, and more practice to learn the game.

In a deeper sense the Holy Spirit seeks through God's Word to coach us in the contest of life. Every believer in Christ will want to master the task of being a child of God and will welcome the aid and instruction of the Holy Spirit. Here too our "Coach" encourages us to study the greatest example of all, the life of our Lord.

Also He urges us to look closely at the lives of outstanding followers of Christ, the great men and women of faith, that we might learn from them. Finally He invites us into the fellowship of the church, where He provides examples of experienced Christians who can help us by advice and example better to play the game of life according to the rules of God.

PRAYER: O God, help us to become better followers of Christ through the example of others. Strengthen us in our efforts; for Jesus' sake. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: Job 41-42    Matthew 16

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"