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Key Bible Verses: I lift my eyes to you, O God … just as servants keep their eyes on their master (Psalm 123:1–2). Bonus Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:2–5

A high school football team had a reputation for jumping up after being tackled, running back into the huddle, snapping out, and hitting hard with another play.

On Mondays, the whole squad would go over the game movies with the coach, seeing the good and bad plays. Talking to some of the players, I sensed their almost fanatical loyalty and respect for their coach. These boys didn't seem to be playing primarily to the audience in the grandstand. When the excitement of the game mounted and the crowd grew frantic (the other team often becoming rattled), these boys worked like parts of a well-oiled machine. The crowd might not know if each boy executed his specific assignment well. The press might might miss it. But the coach would observe it on Monday.

All my life I'd been influenced too much by the moods of my associates. When they were excited and panicked, I reflected their anxiety. Now, although still performing in the same circles, I began to occasionally find a calmness and an ability to live with more honesty and integrity than before. I started to play my life to a different audience—to the Living Christ.

—Keith Miller in The Edge of Adventure

My Response: How aware am I of my divine audience?

Thought to Apply: Nothing will more quickly rid us of laziness and coldness … than the knowledge that God sees, hears, and takes account.—John Stott (British pastor)

Adapted from The Edge of Adventure (Word, 1974) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, give me a goal big enough to be worthy of You, and love strong enough to stick with it.

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