In basketball, there are two basic approaches to playing defense: half-court or full-court. Most of the time teams play half-court defense, allowing the offense to bring the ball within about thirty feet of the basket before seriously defending every move. Full-court defense is just the opposite. Every pass is challenged, every dribble cut off, every action contested at top intensity. Full-court defense is generally only used when a team falls far behind or during the final minutes of a game. Yet some teams choose a full-court press at other times to throw off the opponent or to gain an edge in order to win.

God desires full-court followers of Christ.
Too many who claim to follow Jesus today are content to react only when absolutely necessary rather than with an everyday intensity that brings advantage and victory. However, our spiritual journey requires our total commitment.

Peter confronted this issue long ago with the words, “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2). A newborn infant wakes at all hours, cries frequently, and requires full attention from its parents. Parents tolerate such behavior knowing that 3:00 a.m. feedings will not last forever. If human parents show such concern regarding their children, then it should not surprise us that our heavenly Father does as well.

Tony Evans, Jonathan Evans, and Dillon Burroughs, Get in the Game: A Spiritual Workout for Athletes (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2006).

I have just completed a 5-week Bible Study is a challenge to take your discipleship as seriously as you take your sports. The bible often uses the arena of sports as a metaphor to help us understand Christian discipleship. Five sessions include:

Surrounded. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12.1 - 3.

Pursuing Holiness. Anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 2 Timothy 2:4–6

One thing. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on. Philippians 3:12–14

Run to Win. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24–26

Trained. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things. 1 Timothy 4:8

It is available on Amazon, as well as part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription service.

This service is like Netflix for Bible Lessons. You pay a low monthly, quarterly or annual fee and get access to all the lessons. New lessons that correspond with three of Lifeway's outlines are automatically included, as well as a backlog of thousands of lessons. Each lesson consists of 20 or so ready-to-use questions that get groups talking, as well as answers from well-known authors such as Charles Swindoll and Max Lucado. For more information, or to sign up, click here.