God and Sports: The Only way to Win in Sports

GOD AND SPORTS:  THE ONLY WAY TO WIN IN SPORTS

The image you see became a very popular one over the 2011-12 NFL Season.  It has become known as "Tebowing".  How to dissect this knew fad really is a tough one because it has seem to become a popular thing to do in the view of the world.  As a Christian I root for Tebow because he is representing the Kingdom of God in the NFL, which is a big trademark sport in the worldly world.  By Tebow's example and success he may bring many people to the Kingdom of God.  However hearing the term "Tebowing" has become about a pop culture icon and not a sincere effort to bring praise to God by the way many of the people in the world view and use it.  So with everything going with "Tebow Mania", this has brought up a topic that I have connected...God and Sports.  I am going to go over how it has become in the eyes of the world and how it should be viewed in the eyes of the Kingdom.

I was playing basketball at the YMCA this past winter and on another basket were these groups of Middle School boys playing.  What I noticed is every two minutes these boys would stop the game and all get on one knee and go in a praying motion.  Everytime they would do this they would say "Stop, time to do some 'tebowing' ".  So I got the hint right there that they were not sincerely praying to God but just performing what they thought was a pop culture thing.  As a true God-Fearing Christian this kind of troubled me.  Look I'm not saying I go around and judge others because I let my example talk the Kingdom of God for my part in it.  However, when this situation occurs along with watching a Broncos game last season at a restaurant and when Tebow started to pray someone yelled "He's 'tebowing' ", then it becomes clear to me that the world sees this as a gimmick.  I really do not think they are reading into the true message of Tebow living his Faith and that is to show the true love of the Kingdom of God through his example.  This misidentification of what Jesus Christ true reasoning for his message started back in his day.  PALM SUNDAY... Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a Donkey with the people fanning palm branches at him in a sign of worship and adoration (John 12:12-19; Luke 19:28-44; Mark 11:1-11; Matthew 21:1-11).  There were a lot of those people at that Palm Sunday parade for Jesus that saw him as a worldly superstar such as what many see their favorite pro athlete.  Jesus himself knew this which is why many times he warned his disciples not to tell anyone after he was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36) because for one they would not understand the true meaning of it and instead make Jesus into a Pop Culture hero.  How many times did Jesus heal someone and change their heart and warned them not to tell ANYONE about it?  Now yes part of that was due to knowing the cold hearts of the Pharisees attacking him wrongly but much of it was due to people wanting to make this into that day's version of "TMZ news:  Jesus uses super powers to heal a man".  So as you can see even when Jesus was walking the earth in his mission days that people didn't get his true message but saw it as the "cool" thing to do.

Now you may ask how does this relate to Tebow?  Well Tim Tebow is a TRUE God-Fearing Christian.  The man has gone into prisons and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these people and many truly turned to God and repented.  Tebow prays without ceasing, he will sing hymns to the Lord while on the sidelines in the middle of the games.  This is to bring Glory to God and its between God and Tebow.  However by his example he brings a calming influence over the team he is on and a great example for others to see and live by.  Watching Tim Tebow's press conference today that introduced him as a New York Jet he said that he lives his Faith and that example is the best way to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Its the media that has however turned this into a "look at him now he is praying.  Lets market this and label it as his thing".  THAT is so FAR from the truth media...Tebow is bringing praise to God and using his athletic gifts as a way to do it.  God gave him the gift and Tebow prayed on it, worshipped Christ without ceasing, succeeded, and uses it as the opportunity to bring glory to God.  This "tebowing" thing is something the media made into a popular fad and Tebow himself recognized that today at his press conference...shaking his head saying that he does not know where that came from and that many other athletes have prayed during competition before.  True Christian Athletes know the real battle is Spiritual and they use sports as a stage to worship God and present the example of a God-Fearing athlete and person.

One of my favorite NBA players of all time, David Robinson, is seen not only as a 7 foot giant but a Spiritual giant all thanks to the glory of God.  Robinson was saved back in 1990 and from there on out uses the basketball court as a platform to bring Glory to Christ.  Thankfully Robinson never got mispercieved as Tebow did as many saw him as the gentle giant, the quiet example.  However, Robinson did get a lot of criticism from within the NBA fraternity.  It is mentioned that during the 1992 Dream Team moments that one time Robinson and his teammates were out golfing and constant foul language from Charles Barkley forced Robinson to walk away from him and go to another hole.  It should be noted that "The Admiral" was a Superstar Center in an era where the NBA was at its peak for Centers.  This included Hakeem Olajuwon's peak years in the league and in the 1995 Western Conference Finals the Rockets beat the Spurs in a series that showed Hakeem dominating the 1995 NBA MVP David Robinson.  It also didn't help that Robinson's prime came when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen built a six Championship dynasty in Chicago but I guess every other superstar would be seen left in Airness and his Robin's dust as well.  So the media finally decided to pick on Robinson and use his Faith as a center point of that.  They labeled him soft, to friendly, and not having the courage to win it all due to him wanting to be a "Bible thumper" instead.  Being injured for the 1996-97 season may have been the final straw the attack him with in the eyes of the media bashing him.

    

Years of collecting Division Titles and no NBA Finals appearances could have tempted "The Admiral" to lose his cool, point fingers, or talk back to the media big shots.  Instead he grew even stronger in his Faith and Prayed more and asked for God's Spirit.  As God does give his Spirit without limit (John 3:34).  Finally the Lord brought a solution yet sacrificing situation to him in 1997.  The Spurs drafted another Superstar big man in Tim Duncan and now many thought this was pushing Robinson out the door.  An athlete with a huge ego could have demanded a trade or stirred up trouble int he locker room.  Robinson saw it as a way to give up his main superstar status on the Spurs in order to win his First ring.  Just as Jesus gave up his life so we could be free from sin forever, Robinson used that example and gave up some fame to help him and the Spurs finally win it all.  In 1999 the Spurs defeated the New York Knicks 4-1 and Robinson finally hoisted up the golden NBA Title trophy.

So as you can see Sports is not seen as "is it okay for one to proclaim their religion during it".  It is more like Sports is another platform that God uses some of his select people to worship him, glorify him, and bring glory to his name.  God also uses this through Music, Movies, TV shows, and other venues.  Unfortunately the popular day media brings its lies into the fold and turns it into what it is not.  I myself use my Fitness gifts to worship God.  Yes Ive been blessed to perform Pushups and God gave me the vision to work at it hard enough to the point where I could do 1,000 or more Pushups inside of 60 consecutive minutes.  I've put on displays of that at various plateaus.  I will say Bible verses and praises to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during my workouts and thank him for Saving me through his Death and Resurrection.  Last year in L.A. I completed a Perfect Pushups Season (2010-11) by doing 1,100 Pushups from 1:20 PM PT - 2:20 PM PT on Friday, April 1, 2011 on the L.A. Beach of Manhattan Beach, CA.  Yes what I do isn't as media popular as what Tebow and Robinson do which I am kind of glad because to media can;t turn it into what IT wants to turn it into.  I am thankful, like many other athletes, to use the physical gift to glorify God.  As I close, just look at my victory poise from last year on Manhattan Beach and see my eyes are fixed on Heaven praising God.

 

http://jzpushups.blogspot.com/

David Robinson's Testimony

Tim Tebow's Testimony (Video)

Tim Tebow Prison Sermon

Deion Sanders Testimony video on YouTube (other parts are available to right of video)

True Dreams and Visions of Jesus Christ saving people

Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Famous Christians

WELCOME TO JZ PUSHUPS

GOD AND SPORTS: THE ONLY WAY TO WIN IN SPORTS

FINAL FOUR MEMORIES


EASTER WEEKEND

Sunday, March 11, 2012.

Thank you Lord!  My first blog on the day my blog site opens.  It is also Selection Sunday as well for you Basketball fans.  I myself am a huge basketball fan.  For those basketball teams heading to the tournament they need to be at the top of their game.  That quest to be at their best started last summer.  Many believe at this time of the year the coach should run his players into the ground and that hard work increasing will automatically increase the team's chance at greatness.  This is a myth.  Rest is the key to playing at your best in these tournament games.  For those teams they are what they are now.  Increasing performance and working super hard to be in seasoned shape and tip top performance happens in the off season for the individual and in the preseason for the team.  As the season goes on your team should progress in its performance and the goal is to be at your best in March, and for some, April. 

The same can be applied to our fitness work.  Using my Pushups as an example every year at May 29 since 2006 has been the start of my Pushup regiment year.  Three to four times a week I do Pushups throughout that day and this continues all the way until Spring Break.  I know I need to have my body healthy and rested throughout the Pushup year so I can have my best performance when I am on Spring Break, which is like the Super Bowl/Final Four of My Regiment year.  Eating and sleeping right, which I will elaborate more on in future blogs, is the key.  So this is a tip I give for those setting goals and wanting to achieve high fitness levels, and that is find a certain date to start your workouts and find a later date of when you will want to have your Super Bowl/Final Four.  Going back to my first season in my Pushup regiment for example in 2006-07 I would be doing 500 Pushups a day 3-4 times a week.  Eventually my strength and stamina increased and it went up to 750, then 1,000.  By Spring Break 2007 I did 1,100 Pushups from 11:40 AM CT - 12:40 PM CT on Wednesday, April 4, 2007.  Over the years I have progressed as well.  In the 2010-11 Pushups Season I vowed to perform every scheduled workout on my calendar for that season and to do 1,000 or more Pushups inside 60 minutes each workout.  Friday, April 1, 2011, on a beach in Los Angeles the goal was more than complete as I completed 1,100 of them. 

So in my blogs I will give key tips on helping and informing you with reaching your desired fitness levels.  I will also touch base on the spiritual side of it as many aspects in life are key to reaching your goals.  To close, its a beautiful warm day here in Northwest Indiana today and I for one will go enjoy it.  God Bless!

JZ

GOD AND SPORTS: THE ONLY WAY TO WIN IN SPORTS

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Welcome back JZ Pushups fans.  I would like to dig more into the Pushups route and how it relates to pro athletes.  Well for one doing 1,000 Pushups in a day and having a Workout regiment on it, and definitely doing 1,000 or more Pushups in 60 consecutive minutes, are pro sports level in itself.  Could Kobe Bryant do 1,000 or more Pushups inside of one straight hour?  What about Shaquille O'Neal?  Well until you give me proof that they have then the answer to that is no.  Two former pro athletes that I know work on Pushups are Ricky Henderson and Herschel Walker. 

Back in the Summer of 2002 when watching a FOX Saturday Baseball game, the Red Sox were on and they started talking about their current Red Sox Ricky Henderson.  Something they talked about him I took close notice of.  The announcers started talking about how Ricky Henderson would do Pushups and Situps instead of Weight lifting like most other Baseball players.  According to sources:  Henderson himself said he can do 65-100 in a row.  He also has done 1,000 in a day or 500 in a short period of time.  He simplifies this as well, just do five sets of twenty to get to 100, or twenty sets of ten to get to 200.  Henderson has outlasted many of his Baseball companions by sticking to this exercise routine...and the proof is All Time Stolen Base Leaders, World Champion with the Oakland A's in 1989, and a career that lasted 1978-2003.  That's Incredible!

Herschel Walker as well has made a living off of Pushups.  The guy has a physique that is a fitness museum.  Thing is he didn't need to bench press a truck like many of these other athletes do to gain that physique and great conditioned athletic temple.  Since High School Walker has done a Fitness Regiment that includes daily performances of 750-1,500 Pushups and 2,000-3,500 Situps.  Walker had a Hall of Fame Football Career (inducted in 1999) and has racked up many accolades over his lifetime.  However, the first thing he is famous for is his great workout regiment.  Many Fitness and Workout videos over time feature Herschel Walker.  Walker also goes for eight mile runs at times in his regiment.  He has recently taken up an Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) career and despite being 50 years old he could pass for his twenties with his fitness levels.  The regiment is a reason why Walker is doing very well at the MMA level.  As a matter of fact he is undefeated at 2-0.  Many other MMA fighters stick to a training regiment similar to Walker's.  No weights or other high tech machines needed, just the heart, desire, and discipline to do these exercises.

  

There are other athletes that have come to use Herschel Walker's and Ricky Henderson's Pushup Workouts.  Walter Payton would do Pushups as well and make the short trip to Chicago suburb LaPorte County and run up the tall and steep Sand-Dune called Mt. Baldi.  Pushups are a great way to keep your body in great shape.  It's a free exercise as well.  So put away your wallet because no need to purchase all that expensive weight room equipment.  Herschel Walker and many other unique athletes will attest to that.

JZ

Herschel Walker Biography

More on Herschel Walker's Exercise Routine

More on Ricky Henderson's Exercise Routine

More on Pushups