Super Bowl LII in 2018 (Photo Courtesy: Quintin3265 via Wikipedia)
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” — John 15:4-5 (NASB)
In a few weeks, two teams will grapple on the gridiron for the right to become Super Bowl champions. The battle will be hard-fought, and the participants will lay it all on the line to receive the fruit of years worth of labor. The game will have lasting consequences for all who play in it. The victors will experience unimaginable highs while the losers will suffer the agony of defeat.
But very quickly the Super Bowl will fade into our memories, and time will march on to the next grand sporting event. The individuals who experience these highs and lows will have to figure out how to deal with what winning or losing that game means for their lives. The losing team may suffer despair at what might have been. Unfortunately, the winning team members will find that the thrill of victory will not sustain them.
At times in life, we will find ourselves in similar situations. Sure, it will probably not be on such a public stage, but we will face decisions about how we will allow a victory or defeat to affect us. In the end, all of us need to know that winning or losing a game cannot be what defines us.
To “bear fruit,” we must be defined by living in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit without life flowing to and through it from the vine, we will achieve nothing of lasting significance apart from Him. Let’s make sure that we are vitally connected to the One whose victory is never-ending.
— Mark Maenche
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
Chris Paul, right, talks with Donovan Mitchell after a game, Nov. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” — Acts 1:8 (NLT)
Chris Paul announced his retirement from the NBA in February after 21 seasons. He was one of those seasoned players who often becomes like a coach on the court and in the locker room. Fans and general managers are sometimes short-sighted when they see a player’s production diminish; they forget about the value of their leadership in guiding younger players through some of the pitfalls of professional sports. But in many cases, veteran players can deliver messages to new players and they are received better coming from an experienced teammate rather than one of the coaches.
We all need guidance in our lives. There are times when we should allow others to lead us, and times when we ourselves need to lead.
In the Bible, Jesus did everything possible to prepare Peter and the others for His crucifixion and death before the resurrection. But they all still panicked when Jesus was arrested. They knew He was innocent and didn’t fully understand that Jesus was dying as our substitute. Our Savior allowed Himself to be punished for our sins. But Jesus told His disciples that His death was temporary and He would rise again.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection, many of the recent events suddenly made sense and God’s truths sank deeper into their hearts. Then, Jesus reassured them of His continued presence through the Holy Spirit, who is just as much God as the Father and Son. Jesus placed the Holy Spirit in the hearts of His original disciples to abide forever. “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit'” (John 20:21-22).
Soon afterward, all Christians also received the Holy Spirit, just as we receive Him today, as a constant Companion to encourage and guide us on the best path for living. As the Holy Spirit works on us, we learn to put aside selfish ambition, and our goal is to glorify God and follow His plan of sharing the Good News about Jesus with everyone.
If getting saved was our only purpose in life, then we would probably fly to Heaven as soon as Jesus came into our hearts. But God wants us to work toward making more disciples. If we are led by the Holy Spirit, then we are sharing our faith with others. If we are stuck in our little group and not getting outside our comfort zone, then the Holy Spirit is not truly our Guide and we need to change direction.
Life is short and we should not worry about future events. Instead, we should let the Holy Spirit lead us and deliver God’s life-changing words while we have life and breath. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT).
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING JUWAN JOHNSON
Juwan Johnson is a tight end for the New Orleans Saints. He went undrafted in 2020 out of college after spending four seasons with Penn State and a fifth at Oregon. He signed with the Saints after the 2020 NFL Draft and has become an integral part of New Orleans’ offense. In 2025, he had his best season as a pro, with a career-high 77 receptions and 889 receiving yards.
Today on the podcast, Juwan Johnson opens up about how putting Christ first transformed his identity beyond the jersey. He shares about how to lead with a servant’s heart in the spotlight, from handling the pressures of the NFL to finding a deeper purpose off the field.
At the 2025 Track and Field World Championships in Tokyo, American Tara Davis-Woodhall was looking to back up her gold medal-winning long jump performance from the Paris Olympics the year before with another winning result. As always, her coaching team and her devoted husband, Hunter, took their place in the stands to cheer her on.
But there was an unexpected mishap just prior to the start of competition that suddenly forced her to make a decision that could impact her performance. She had a malfunction with one of her cleats and had to decide whether or not she wanted her coach to get another pair of shoes ready or if she felt she could stick with the ones she had on.
As she was wrestling with what to do, her husband spoke up. As a Paralympic runner himself, he understood fully what either decision might mean for her and gave her some wise words: “You’re a freakin’ athlete, and whatever you think is the right answer is the right answer.” In that moment, Hunter was trying to get his wife to tap into her intuition and to trust her gut. Whatever she felt would be the best move would be right. He didn’t want her to do something she didn’t feel comfortable or right about, something that could possibly impact her performance or physical safety. They never revealed what her choice was but Hunter’s advice turned out to be totally correct: Tara won gold at the world championships.
Proverbs 2:6-10 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair — every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.” God’s Word makes it clear that God has placed within us a divine ability to discern right and wrong. Some call it a gut check and others intuition, but whatever you call it, it is undeniable that Lord gifts us with the discernment to make good choices when we run them through the lens of the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
God doesn’t leave us without help in making the tough decisions, but unfortunately we can sometimes bypass that help and go off of some other guidance rather than what we know to be true and right. When we are rooted in the Word and spend time with God, we can trust that inner sense — that prick of our conscience or that nudge in our spirit — and learn to follow it because that will likely be the wise move in the end.
Even if other sources try to tell you otherwise, don’t let yourself get talked out of what that “knowing” from God is indicating. If you’ve come to know and trust the voice of God in your life and can point to the times when that direction has proven faithful and true, then you can push forward in confidence regardless of how difficult the decision may be. God hasn’t been wrong yet, and He never will be.
Justin Simmons retires as a Denver Bronco, April 19, 2026. (Photo via X/@Broncos)
After nine NFL seasons, including two Pro Bowl selections, Justin Simmons is calling it a career. He made the announcement on Wednesday — 10 years to the day since he was selected in the third round as the No. 98 pick by the Denver Broncos.
He spent his first eight seasons in Denver before playing the 2024 season with the Atlanta Falcons; he didn’t play in 2025. He retires with 32 career interceptions, which ranks second in the NFL since 2016 behind Kevin Byard, and his 30 picks in a Broncos uniform rank sixth in franchise history.
“Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team. It was my heart, my home and my story,” Simmons wrote in an Instagram post.
He was full of gratitude during his formal press conference on Wednesday as well.
“This is more than I deserve,” Simmons said. “This is truly one-of-one. I can’t put into words how thankful I am for the generosity and the hospitality that you’ve shown my family and I. Like I said, this is beyond my wildest dreams. Ten years ago to the day, walking into the building, eyes [wide] like this, not knowing whose hands I’m shaking, but just wanting to make a difference on the field.”
After a standout career at Boston College, Simmons made his mark on the NFL through appearing in 134 games (118 for Denver), including 124 starts. He was a second-team All-Pro four times, a two-time Pro Bowler, the NFL co-leader in interceptions in 2022, and Denver’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee three different times.
The Broncos created a video montage with Simmons recapping his career, including some of the highlights, such as being named All-Pro and earning his first NFL sack — when he took down New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as a rookie.
“Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team. It was my heart, my home and my story.”
His tenure in Denver came to an end after the 2023 season when the Broncos opted to release him in order to save money in cap space. Even then, he responded with gratitude toward the organization that gave him a chance in the NFL.
After the transaction became official, he showed up at the team’s headquarters to say “thank you” and “good bye” to team employees.
“There is so much that goes into playing well on Sunday. Even outside of practice. The nutritionist, the athletic trainer, those in the training room, the people upstairs in the front office who help with logistics, and so many others,” Simmons told the Denver Post in June 2024. “I might not have said ‘thank you’ every day I walked in, but I wanted to make sure that my last time roaming those halls as a player I said ‘thank you’ and took time to let them all know that their work and words behind closed doors meant so much to me and played a big part in my success.”
Denver Post columnist Troy Renck wrote, “Employees who have been with the Broncos for the past two decades could not recall a player more gracious in his departure, more intentional in his purpose.”
Those thank-yous continued to come in bulk Wednesday during his retirement press conference. Simmons thanked everyone from the top of the organization and down, including former coaches, players and other staff members.
He also explained what led to his decision to retire. When the Broncos released him, he still wanted to play football and be somewhere that provided a chance to play in the playoffs, as the Broncos never made the postseason during his time with the team. He felt the Falcons gave him that, though it proved tough to be in a new city while his wife, Taryn, and three kids continued to live in Denver and commute to games on the weekends.
“Literally a week-and-a-half into it, it was the most miserable part of being in Atlanta. It was hard,” he said in the press conference. “I felt like I was parenting on FaceTime. It was hard being away from the kids. It was hard seeing Taryn struggle with them out here — not on her own but without dad it’s hard. I missed my wife. I missed my kids. I missed what was so familiar for eight years. It’s things that I took for granted and you don’t know until it’s gone.”
When the 2025 season came around and he was a free agent, he still wanted to play but felt like he needed to be very specific about where that would be. Nothing panned out with the few teams he was interested in.
“But while I was sitting on the couch cheering for the Broncos and watching some of my guys play around the league, there was a sense of peace that I hadn’t really felt before,” he said in his press conference. “Honestly every day that when by, I was still training, still hoping to play, but every day that went by I felt like my relationship with my family was growing. For eight years, I didn’t have that.
“… It came to the surface, like, it’s just time. Praying about it. We wanted to be very diligent and taking our time, but it was just time. I’ve always been so thankful for the crew that I’ve had around my life, the village of people that it takes because they helped me make that decision.”
Those who know Simmons are not surprised by any of this. His character on and off the field is fueled by his faith in Jesus. He describes himself on X as “an imperfect and unworthy follower of Jesus, saved by grace.” On Instagram, he calls himself a “child of the King.” He has long been outspoken about his faith and detailed his journey of coming to salvation in Jesus in an “I Once Was” video with Sports Spectrum.
In a devotional Simmons wrote for the Summer 2024 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine, he said, “When you’re in tune with the Lord, His signs are glaring. Then it’s ultimately up to you to allow the Spirit to work within you to make you start walking in the direction of that sign. God knows what you’re going through. God knows what you’re praying for. Dive into what He’s trying to tell you. Don’t run away from it.”
