Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates has been through an unlikely journey to the NFL, having just been as a brick salesman in Houston, Texas, a year and a half ago. Over the weekend, Bates kicked an impressive 52-yard clutch field goal to tie the game for the Lions, who would go on to win the game
Bates was interviewed after the game on his amazing field goal that played a crucial role in his team’s victory. As the reporter noted how unique his story is, having traded bricks for kicks, Bates encouraged viewers to see the work of the Lord through his journey, demonstrating how He can make the impossible happen.
NBC reporter Melissa Stark asked the Detroit Lions kicker in a postgame interview, “And just recently, you are a brick salesman. you thought you were out of football. so what does this mean to you to come back and do this in your hometown area?” He began, “I think it just shows how good the Lord is.”
He continued, “He’s so faithful. and man, my story is, if anything, i just hope people, hope people can see jesus through my story. and, i mean, that’s what I’m thinking I’m here to do is not make or miss or be a good king or a bad kicker but spread the love of Jesus, so hopefully I’m able to do that on the stage.”
“I thought the dream was dead. I thought football was done, so I had to move on and do something else with my life. Luckily, the Lord had something else in store,” Bates said in other comments. “I think it almost feels too scripted, it’s too good to be true,” he told the Houston Chronicle.
In other news related to Christianity and football, The Christian Tribune reported on former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow recently explained the core of the Gospel that Jesus Christ died so that we may be free from sin. Romans 8:1 — “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”
“Guys, in Christ Jesus, we have been set free, so that now there is no condemnation,” Tebow continued. “The Creator of this universe, our Heavenly Father, is a just judge, but He’s also a loving father that knew that sin had to be paid for. My sin had to be paid for. And so He sent His son Jesus down to this earth to live a life that I couldn’t live, and He chose to die a death that I deserve to die.”
“That punishment was placed on Jesus, that condemnation was placed on Him, the guilty verdict was placed on Him so that when we believe in Him, we would be set free. Because His scars set me free. That punishment is now why we don’t have to sit in condemnation because it was placed on Jesus, our King, our Savior, our ransom. So we don’t have to live in condemnation. We get to live set free because of what Jesus has done for us,” he said.
Watch Bates below:
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