Heads Up!: Sports Devotions for All-Star Kids (Paperback)

Chapter One

GAME PLAN

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

Play Book Assignment: Read John 3:1-16

Which Way?

Did you ever shoot at the other team's basket during a basketball game? That's pretty embarrassing. But think of how embarrassing it would be to run a football all the way to the goal line-the wrong way! In the Rose Bowl!

Talk about going from glory to goat in five seconds flat!

It happened a long time ago. Before television. Maybe before radio. It was January 1, 1929, and the University of California was playing Georgia Tech in the huge Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, California. Roy Riegles of UC grabbed a Tech fumble and took off for all he was worth. After all, this was the biggest bowl game in college football, and he had a chance to make history. So he ran. And ran. And ran.

All the while, his teammates were running after him, trying to flag him down. Roy was running toward the wrong goal line. Finally, just before he would have carried the ball across for a Georgia Tech touchdown, one of his teammates tackled him. On the next play, California was sacked in the end zone for a safety, and they lost the game 8-7.

Ever since then, Roy Riegles has been known as Wrong Way Roy.

Did you ever think about whether you are going the right way? In life, that is. It happens to a lot of kids. Read this verse, and think about what it means: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12). In other words, people can think they are headed God's way only to discover that "Oops!" that wasn't it.

The right way to go is the way that Jesus says to go.

Here's what he said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me" (John 14:6). That means that if you want to get to heaven, you need to put your faith in Jesus Christ.

Roy Riegles was so sincere. He was running his hardest. The nearer he got to the goal line, the more convinced he was that he was headed in the right direction. He was doing his best and running his hardest. But he ran his team to a defeat.

Remember Wrong Way Roy and learn. Make sure you are going the right way. Jesus' way.

Sports History Note

On January 1, 1902, the first Rose Bowl game was played. In that game, played in Tournament Park in Southern California, Michigan beat Stanford 49-0.

Instant Replay

Do I know for sure I'm on my way to heaven? If not, who can I talk to about it?

Sports Stuff

Being prepared is the most important part of being a good athlete. To help yourself be prepared for when you'll get in the game, study the way a favorite athlete conducts himself. How he or she responds in a tough situation. How he or she gets ready for every play. If you pay attention to really good athletes now, you'll learn great lessons for when you get to higher levels of play.

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