“Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him.”(Matthew 4:8-11 NASB)
At all levels of football, there is a move used mostly by running backs called the stiff arm. This move is also used by receivers. A site called Four Verts Football defined it this way: “A stiff arm in football refers to the action of a ball carrier sticking his arm out at a defender in order to push him away. In most cases, a stiff arm will come into contact with the defending player’s helmet. The stiff-arm move can be used by any position, as long as the person is carrying the ball.”
As kids we played tackle football without equipment at a neighbor’s back yard. I was not allowed to play football in high school, but I did play in some of those unsupervised games at the neighbor’s house. There was one young man, Jerry. who was unfortunately not on my team. He knew how to run, high stepping steadily and forcibly, and if you were not careful, his knee would hit your jaw with great power. I can attest to the fact that Jerry was also well-skilled in the use of the stiff arm. More than once my head seemed to snap back as he pushed me aside in my effort to stop him from scoring; a victim of the stiff-arm. That maneuver helped him avoid being taken down by his opponents. It seemed like he scored every time he had the ball. He was “the scorer” and members of the opposing team were just the sorer, if you know what I men.
An old friend in high school and the record holder for receiving at his college certainly used the stiff-arm move. Highlights of this past week’s NFL games featured the stiff-arm move, used to perfection by professional players.
At this point in the “meditation,” you are wondering why I am focusing on football stuff. The truth is that I want to coach you and tell you to use the stiff-arm move this weekend. It is Friday and today, tomorrow, and even Sunday, your opponent, the devil will be trying to bring you down and stop your progress, to prevent you from scoring favorable “points” in heaven.
When Satan tries to tempt you to join in activities outside your Christian conduct code that is based on the wisdom in God’s word, use the stiff-arm. When some gathering place that is sure to be filled with lasciviousness and your opponent, Satan, tries to lure you into joining in the sin…that which they call fun, use the stiff-arm. When you see that your paycheck has been deposited, don’t let the tempter trick you into not paying your bills; trying to get you to paying attention to spending that money to satisfy your desires, use the stiff-arm. When you just want peace and quiet, but someone in the house really needs your advice, the deceiver will try to prevent you from putting someone else’s need before yours. What do you do? I say, “Use the stiff-arm. When Saturday rows around and you are enticed by the evil one to cancel any plans to attend church on Sunday, use the stiff-arm. I can’t name all the temptations that will come in many forms and from many sources, but I say, “Use the stiff-arm. In the opening Scriptures, Jesus used the stiff-arm. In the closing Scriptures, Peter and John used the stiff-arm. You do the same this weekend, okay? Be blessed!
“So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:18-20 NLT)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King