Coach Buckley’s football practices were brutal. I was only 11, but I still remember them to be grueling, agonizing and dreadful. The trademarked practices had tons of running and repetitive drills, all without scrimmaging! Many players wouldn’t make it through the practices without losing their lunch, and many of them quit. Even my best friend had his parents pull him from the team.

But, even though the sacrifice was great, the return that season was sweet. We earned a perfect record and no team even scored on us! Our team, the Braddock Road Sharks, brought fear to all 11-year-olds who dared to play football. Our practices with Coach Buckley were not marked by complexity but by simplicity. Drills, drills and more drills. We went over the basics in every practice. Coach stressed the fundamentals of the game and the fundamentals of each position.

Great coaches always stress the basics. They understand that focusing on the essentials makes their players compete at their highest level. Coaches who assume that fundamentals don’t need to be stressed throughout the year are usually looking for a new job at the end of the season. You can never get away from the basics. If fundamentals are the keys to success, then what would be the fundamentals of being on God’s team? What are the basics that our Head Coach, Jesus Christ, would want us to do?

In 1959, legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, while holding a football in front of him, said to his Green Bay Packers: “Let's start at the beginning. This is a football.” Could it be any more basic than that? In the same way, I think Jesus stands up in front of us each day and holds up the Word of God and says, “This is a Bible.”

Over the next 8 years, Coach Lombardi transformed the Packers program by sticking to the basics. They were in a class by themselves, winning six divisional and five NFL championships and achieving two Super Bowl victories. Do you realize that Jesus Christ desires to transform your life in an even greater way than that? Follow His direction and start taking in the Word of God. Read through the Bible, and it will change you. Spiritual victory is directly related to time spent in His Word. Position yourself to let Him speak into your life.

Today, let’s keep it simple. Start with the Word of God and focus on the spiritual fundamentals. Just open the Bible, read it, study it, meditate on it, linger in it and let it soak into you. Our enemy will try to distract you and prevent you from cracking open the Truth, but if you want clarity and spiritual success in your life, keep it simple.