If you are like my family and find yourself at the ballpark on Sundays instead of church, try sharing a quick devotion with your team or with your family! Here is one I wrote for this week. Please feel free to use it as you see fit.
Important note: I am a Bible enthusiast and daily reader, but not by any means a Bible scholar. If you find something that needs correcting please let me know and I will get it fixed!
Baseball Devotion – Aaron and Hur
From Exodus 17
Who can tell me about Moses?
(Pause and let them answer)
Moses was chosen by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. God was always with them as they traveled, but it was a long journey and wasn’t easy. Along the way, there were battles they had to fight. One day, they were attacked by the Amalekites, and the Israelites had to fight back. During the battle, Moses stood at the top of a hill and raised his hands toward the sky. As long as his hands were raised, the Israelites were winning the battle. When he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning (Exodus 17:11). So Moses kept his hands lifted as long as he could, but he started to get tired.
Does anyone know what happened next?
(Pause and let them answer)
Moses’s brother, Aaron, and *nephew, Hur, came and held his hands up for him. They also found a rock for him to sit on. One stood on one side, and one on the other; and they lifted his arms in the air until the sun went down. And the Israelites won!(Exodus 17:12-13).
So, how can we relate this to baseball?
(Pause and let them answer)
You can encourage each other on the field. If you see your teammate getting tired on the pitcher’s mound, you could yell some words to pick him up. If a friend strikes out, you can speak words of encouragement. You can remind your teammates what you’ve learned in practice, and motivate each other to keep going and never give up. I bet when Aaron and Hur came to lift Moses’s hands, he felt so much better knowing he wasn’t alone. His teammates were there to lift him up when he couldn’t do it by himself any longer.
In 1 Thessalonians, the Bible tells us to “encourage one another and build each other up.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)
Off the field, what are some ways we can encourage our friends at school this week, or our family at home?
(Pause and let them answer)
One of the best things you can do for someone you love is to share the Truth of the Gospel! Gospel means “good news” and the good news is that Jesus took the punishment for our sins and was raised to life three days later! Because of that, our sins are forgiven, and we can live with Him for eternity. THAT is the BEST news ever.
Lord,
Thank you for blessing us with friends on the baseball field who are like brothers, and can pick us up when we are tired or discouraged. Thank you for reminding us we are not alone. Help us to speak life and truth on the field today, and to lift each other up. Guide us this week, and open our eyes to opportunities to serve you and love others well.
In Jesus’s Name,
Amen
*note: some say that Hur was Moses’s nephew (his sister Miriam’s son). Others say he was his brother-in-law (Miriam’s husband), and others just call him a friend.
Pinestraw Mountain 