The Gospel of Jeremy Lin

He said he made his Sunday school teachers cry—and not with happiness.

But something happened to Jeremy Lin once he really accepted Christ. He's become a man of faith and a very mature 23 year old. Now he says, He said he knows it is important, "To understand that I'm not playing for anything on this earth, I'm playing for my prize in heaven, for the upward call that Paul talks about, that's what I need to remind myself every day when I wake up."

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Excerpted from The Daily: "Op-Ed: The Gospel of Lin"

Jeremy Lin, the Knicks out-of-nowhere phenom point guard, has garnered some attention for his deep personal faith as a devout evangelical Protestant. Below, he reflects on God, his meteoric rise, and his understanding of the right way to live.

“I just try to focus on my team, on playing the right way and playing for God, and I let everything else take care of itself ... I think for me I try to surrender it to God, and just give it up to him, and give my best effort.”
– Feb. 24, after loss to Miami Heat

“I want to make sure I live and play in a God-glorifying way.”
– Feb. 22, after win against Atlanta Hawks

“I’m extremely overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness, and then with that comes the temptation to want to continue to hold on and grasp and micromanage my career, my future, and this team, but learning to surrender that to God, really being diligent in prayer and the Bible, and basically at the end of the day, it comes down to going back to the Cross, reminding myself what my identity is and what my worth is.” 
– Feb. 20, after loss to New Jersey Nets

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SOME OF LIN’S FAVORITE BIBLE VERSES
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
– Romans 5:3-5

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
– Colossians 3:23

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Watch Jeremy Lin's Testimony

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What Lesson Did Jeremy Lin Learn?
6 Lessons On Winning From The Knicks Jeremy Lin 

What Lesson Did Jeremy Lin Learn?

A "nobody" becomes a world wide sensation!

• Last year he bounced around the league, getting cut twice and playing in the Development League. 
• In December he got picked up by the Knicks who also rarely played him and twice came close to cutting him themselves. 
• Eight games ago they were forced to start him because they had run out of players. 

The rest is history. In two weeks his play has captured the imagination of the world. He’s scored an NBA All time record for first time starters, 200 points and had the second most All time record assists with 78! And more importantly the previously lifeless Knicks have sprung to life under his leadership at the point guard position, winning an incredible 7 of 8 games!

He’s the talk of the basketball world! He’s the talk of the sports world! All in two sensational weeks.

What is he doing different from last year?
It’s only one year. He couldn’t have improved THAT much, so “what is the difference”? That’s the exact question a reporter asked him last Sunday immediately after their last game. Here’s his answer…

“Last year I tried to fit in, I wanted to do exactly what they wanted me to do. I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I played too careful, too cautious. I didn’t feel comfortable. I didn’t feel relaxed.”

One thing he learned about that, it didn’t work.

What’s he doing this year?

“This year I decided I was going to play my way. I was going to be aggressive. I was going to do what the coach wanted but I wasn’t going to hold back. I didn’t know if I would get another chance. 

I didn’t know if I was good enough to have a career in this league but if I didn’t make it, it wasn’t going to be because I didn’t give myself a chance. No matter what happened, I decided I wouldn’t back down, I would stay aggressive and on the attack. I was going to give it everything I had. I decided I wouldn’t back down for any reason and that’s what I have been doing.”

One thing we’ve all learned from observing this, that approach works!

The BIG lessons on Winning for us?

1. When you get your chance to prove yourself, your chance to shine, give it everything you have. Be aggressive, don’t hold back. If you played scared, cautious, timid…you have no chance.
2. The same person who has the potential to be a sensational star can turn into a nobody by being too careful and tentative. When you get your chance to perform in the spotlight, that’s not the time to start thinking about fitting in or to start worrying about what happens if you fail.
3. When your moment comes, focus hard on winning and doing everything in your power to make it happen. You do everything in your power to put yourself in a position to win. Give it everything you have and if that’s not good enough, at least you won’t have any regrets

Learn the lesson Jeremy Lin learned…the biggest rewards only go to those with the COURAGE to lay it all on the line when they get their opportunity! 

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Related: 6 Lessons on Winning from the Knicks Jeremy Lin

6 Lessons On Winning From The Knicks Jeremy Lin

There’s nothing like a live example

You can read all the books, blogs and articles you want on winning but never make the impact of seeing a real live example.

Last week Jeremy Lin provided just such a stunning example. 
The NY Knicks were in big trouble. Their season has had a disastrous start. Their coach has been under attack by the fans and media…a lot of suggestions he should be fired. Their desperately needed but injured point guard Baron Davis wasn’t going to be available for quite a while. On top of all this, last week they lost their 2 biggest stars, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire out of action. It was crisis time in New York. Things now could only get worse!

Turned out to be a perfect situation for a miracle.
Only because he had no other choice, last week Coach Mike D’Antoni put in the seldom used point guard, from Harvard of all places, Jeremy Lin, into the starting line up. The team was decimated and they were slumping even with their stars. Now they had no stars and an unproven back up player running the team. Everyone expected the worst but what happened next is the stuff of legend. If you want the whole amazing story check this out.

Here’s the Summary
After 1 week and 4 games, this young star pulled off one of the most electrifying performances in the history of the NBA. He led the Knicks to 4 straight wins, scoring over 20 points in each game. In fact in the last game he scored 38 points as they beat, on national television in front of 20,000 screaming fans, Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers! In one week his story has spread around the world. (Update: he's now won 5 games, and has scored 108 points, the most points of any first time starter in 5 games since 1976, and the biggest name worldwide in sports right now.)

Let’s see what we can learn about winning from this astonishing story:

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare! One day your opportunity will come. At that point it’s up to you. If you meet the challenge you can change your life forever! Jeremy was ready.
2. One dynamic person can change the whole team dynamic. Enthusiasm is contagious! Jeremy plays with energy and a love for the game that has caused the totally average players on his team to play like they are all-stars! Their attitude and energy has turned around instantly.
3. What was bad for others turned out to be an opportunity for him. If you are running a team, treat all your people with respect because the time will come when you need them to step up and deliver. 
4. When he was put in the starting line up, he attacked. He was timid. He wasn’t hesitant. He didn’t apologize about being there. He focused on the job he had to do. He made up his mind to make an impact and to have no regrets. He knew he couldn’t control the results but he could control his effort, attitude and enthusiasm.
5. He deflected praise when things started going well and gave all the credit to his team. He refused to take credit. He kept his team and coaches in the spotlight. He kept his focus on what was coming next. He said “We’re hoping and preparing for the best, expecting the worst and we’ll take whatever happens.” He’s staying humble. He knows it’s only one week and they have a long season in front of them.
6. If you keep working your dreams can come true! As he told the reporter after the Laker game “This is everything I’ve dreamed about happening”. 

Success like this isn’t an accident. 
It happens because people are doing a lot of the right things. The best way to put yourself on a winning track is to learn as much as you can from stories like this and apply the lessons to your situation.

Jeremy Lin has been on a winning track for a long time. He has been working hard to develop his skill, his craft, his command of the game. In the world of professional basketball he was largely unknown, but that didn’t keep him from working.

All happened this past week is that he got his chance to show the world he what he can do…and now the whole world knows!