The Head Football Coach called the team into one final team huddle as practice was coming to an end. Coach said, “I know you guys are watching football on television and that is a good thing. But instead of just passively watching the game, I want you to focus on the guys on television that are playing your position. Put yourself in that game on television and try to learn something new that you can bring back to how you play the game here.”

That weekend, for the first time in my life, I watched the position I played actively on television. One of the things I saw was a wide receiver go on a curl route. Once the receiver caught the ball he turned to the outside, towards the sideline. The defender, expecting the receiver to turn to the inside, after the catch, totally missed the tackle and the receiver went up field for a large gain before being tackled.

The following Monday in a junior varsity football game my quarterback called for me to run a curl route. I went down field seven to eight yards planted my outside foot turned to the inside and took one step back towards the quarterback. As I turned my head the ball was already in flight towards me, just like in practice. After I caught the ball, I turned quickly to the outside. I felt the defender brush off my back side and could see him go by me out of the corner of my eye. The defender had expected me to turn back to the inside and had missed the tackle. I then sprinted up field another ten to fifteen yards before being tackled by the safety. Actively watching football on television had paid off in a big way!

So when you read the Bible, do you read it passively? Or do you think active reading might help you find something that would help you in your life today? As God or Jesus speaks to the different people in the Bible insert your name in place of Moses, Joshua, Peter, Paul, John and Zaccheus. Take the Bible as God speaking directly to you, for really he is! You won’t be listening if you think God is speaking to someone else.

Luke 19:5 “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, (insert your name) ______________ come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”