For His Glory the Theme for 2019 March Madness
Virginia Coach Tony Bennett ended March Madness by thanking his Lord an Savior. He then mentioned playing the Tauren Wells song Hills and Valleys for his team prior to the 2019 NCAA National Championship game. It seems fitting that destiny seemed to be waiting for Virginia no matter how courageous the efforts of Texas Tech, Auburn, Purdue, Oklahoma and Gardner-Webb.
Seemingly taking a note from Virginia’s playbook, all of these opponents not only played amazing, but many boldly glorified God by worshiping Him on and off the court both in victory and defeat. After last season’s highly criticized defeat to the 16th seed, Coach Bennett and Virginia did not waiver from showing humility, faith, and strength during extreme heartbreak. They then got up from defeat, looked it in the eye, and stood their ground all the way to the end. Worthy warriors kept coming, but Virginia stood on solid ground. They stood on the Rock!
Whether it was the Baylor women letting everyone know that ‘God is Good’ even during the adversity of losing their best player, or Coach Bruce Pearl and his Auburn team so gracefully talking about trusting God’s plan after officials missed a double dribble call that would have sent them to the Championship Game. This March was all about playing For His Glory!
In 2009, I was blessed to experience a similar journey. At the end of the 2007 season, for the first time in my coaching career, I found myself jobless. I will never forget driving down the road in a minivan with my four children as my wife asked me, “What we were going to do?” I simply said, “Pray”.
Two years later, I am miraculously cutting down the nets on our way to winning a NAIA Division II record 39 consecutive games. How can you go from jobless to the top of the mountain in such a short time? Ask Coach Tony Bennett and his Virginia Cavaliers. There is only one possible answer. Jesus Christ!
Resurrection Power, Uncommon Poise, and Peace under Pressure are just a few of words that describe The Answer. How can a human function in that power? You first have to identify the power. He is called the Holy Spirit. Jesus, who after being baptized by John the Baptist, functioned miraculously for 3 years in His power. Jesus then left to sit at the right hand of God so that the Holy Spirit could return and help His followers lead others to the Father.
Peter and the disciples waited in the upper room and received that power. They then also functioned at a miraculous level. Why can we not do the same today? The truth is we can. It is a matter of seeking, asking, and walking in faith. After my journey in 2009, I felt led by the Holy Spirit to write my journey down along with ten principles God gave me as a guide to reaching the top of the mountain.
For ten years, I felt that I written the book for the sole purpose of my father reading it before he went to heaven, which was perfectly fine with me. To my surprise, I felt that I was being led to update the book and publish it on SLC, so hear goes. Click hear to purchase the book on Amazon for only $3.33 or Click Here to purchase on Apple for $2.99.