“If you follow God’s plan, his Bible, his word, it leads to success.” Coach Joe Gibb at Republican National Convention

Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. (John 6:10)

Whose game plan are you following in your life?
What would God think about the direction you are heading?

Yesterday evening I walked 4 miles fast on our home treadmill. When I came back to the main living area of our home,  I decided to sit down in our family room, drink lots of water, and watch part of the Republican National Convention on TV. I’m not a big TV fan. In fact, I typically watch for  less than 2 hours per week.

Boy was I inspired – by every one of the speeches I heard. The first speaker I heard at 8:50 pm was Bryan Clay. He was introduced as an athlete who exemplified the strength rigor and humility of the American spirit. He recently won the gold medal in the decathlon at the Beijing Olympics.

Bryan greeted the crowd with an “aloha.” He went on to say, “I can tell you that without faith in God and my support of my family and friends and my strong work ethic I would not be standing before you today wearing this gold medal around my neck.”

The next speaker was Joe Gibbs, former head coach for the Washington Redskins and NASCAR race car owner. He said John McCain and Sarah Palin’s election “would be a return to God’s word” and bring the U.S. “back to a spiritual revival.” In the most religious-themed primetime speech of the four-day convention, Gibbs, a grandfather of eight, compared a spiritual life to football. To win in football, he said, one must have a game plan, and God’s game plan is the Bible.

“If you follow God’s plan, his Bible, his word, it leads to success. When I followed that game plan, I was able to have some of the greatest experiences in the world. Bad game plan leads to disaster. I can attest to that.”

Gibbs closed his remarks with one piece of advice: When tackling the big issues, “Wouldn’t it be great for someone to say, ‘I wonder how God would think about this?”

Next I listened to U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina share many of the success stories and progress in Iraq. This was followed by an outstanding video about Gov. Sarah Palin. Next, former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge spoke. Mrs. Cindy McCain then gave a rousing speech after that. After his wife spoke, Sen. John McCain shared his heart – passion, dedication, and love for America and Americans. And finally, the convention was officially closed with a wonderful prayer by a pastor.

I was so thankful for the overall positive spiritual tone of the evening, the frequent mention of God, and the values shared that are consistent with my own personal conservative Christian world view.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for all the leaders who publically acknowledged You and exalted Your name at yesterday’s final night of the Republican National Convention. We praise You as the Master Coach with the Master plan and humbly submit our will to Yours. On behalf of our children and grandchildren, we pray for an abundance of godly leaders at all levels of government who will choose to follow Your game plan – the Bible. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Links of the Day
Historic speech by Governor Sarah Palin at RNC on September 3 – YouTube video [scroll down to the bottom]

McCain Tops Obama in Speeches’ TV Ratings
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/05/mccain-tops-obama-in-speeches-tv-ratings/

Blessings to follow God’s game plan for your life!