Fresh Start Devotionals

Make it Happen “Above anything else, I hate to lose.” (Jackie Robinson) On April 15, 1947, Robinson made it to the “show.” He became the first black man to wear a Major League uniform, destroying the color barrier in professional sports. In his first season with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he hit.297, sent 12 over the fence, and lead the league with 29 steals. He was also the National League Rookie of the year. Two years later they named him the National League’s Most Valuable Player and he won the batting title with a.342 average. 1949 was his first of six appearances in the All-Star game. During his ten years with the Dodgers, he helped them reach the World Series six times. Robinson had a career batting average of.311 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility. Did you also know that Jackie Robinson was court-martialed from the Army and that he dropped out of College? Failure need not be fatal. Great men accomplish great things even when they suffer great setbacks and disappointments. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philip. 3:13–14 What failures do you need to put behind you? What sins do you need to confess? What actions do you need to take to give yourself the best possible chance to succeed this week? Take a moment to dedicate this week to God’s glory, then get off your seat and onto your feet and make it happen! Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).