Tamika Catchings is a world renowned professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA.
After graduating from high school where she was named a WBCA All-American, she became one of the star athletes at the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team.
Though she grew up in the church, her faith only became real to her in her senior year at the University of Tennessee when she suffered a season-ending injury just months before the WNBA draft.
When she realized all she had was God at that point, she says God gave her the peace and the strength to make it through. Though her injury kept her from playing her first year at Indiana, she gained a new perspective on faith, basketball and God.
In 2001, she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. In 2002, she had an all-star rookie season. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history. She is a six-time WNBA All-Star Selection, made the All-WNBA Team six times, and was the 2011 WNBA MVP.
In 2004, 2008, and 2012, she helped lead her teams to gold medals in the Olympic Games. She currently serves as president of the WNBA Players Association.
Looking back at her faith perspective, Catchings said, “Peace definitely came from God. It came from realizing I needed to remove my focus from basketball back to God.
“It seems like every single time I have been hurt, it has been the same thing. It’s been that you get so caught up in what you are doing that you forget to give him the glory.
“It is hard to be a Christian in the WNBA; and I think it is because of so many different stereotypes. Just trying to walk with him and not be pulled by all the negative forces from the outside.
“I think that what I do with my platform is that I live my life as Christ-like as I can. (Jesus) is definitely my savior. He’s the one that walks beside me through my ups and downs and the one that keeps me focused on where I am going in life.
“He protects me. He provides for me. He guides me and he leads me,” Catchings said.
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This is the “chief of sinners,” Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International, reminding readers of what the Bible says, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” like you and me.
Just as Tamika Catchings gave her life to Christ, may I encourage you to do the same. Here is how:
First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.
But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.
The next phrase, “that he gave his only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and he was buried and rose again.
Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in him.” The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in him” means to trust in him, to depend upon him, to rely on him, or to have faith in him for your salvation.
Our next phrase, “should not perish,” refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.
And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in heaven with God.
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth to the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved … For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray this simple prayer:
Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ’s sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!
Remember, friend: Believe by faith. Share the faith. And keep the faith!
Daniel Whyte III has spoken across the United States and in more than 25 foreign countries. He is the author of over 20 books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry that publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader.
Find out more at danielwhyte3.com. Follow Whyte on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or Facebook.
