NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Senior offensive lineman Michael Aitcheson represented the Kentucky football team with a personal testimony of faith during the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Breakfast held Wednesday at the Opryland Hotel as part of the Music City Bowl activities.
Aitcheson and Clemson running back C. J. Spiller each spoke briefly during the event, which included players from both teams, along with members of the general public. The keynote speaker was David Ring, who has become an evangelist despite having to deal with cerebral palsy his entire life.
Here are some excerpts of Aitcheson’s talk.
“I’m blessed to be here. Every good and perfect gift comes from God,” Aitcheson said.
“Proverbs 22:6 says, ‘Train children in the way of the Lord, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.’
“As a child, my mother took me to church and taught me the way I should go. For most of the time I did the right things, but there was one thing I was missing — a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“In the spring of 2003, a friend invited me to church, and it was then that Jesus Christ touched my life and saved me. Like (the apostle) Paul, I can say that I was chief among sinners, but the same grace that saves the prostitute and the drunkard on the street corner saves me.
“Two verses that are very important to me are Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 3:17. Galatians 2:20 says that ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.’ Colossians 3:17 says, ‘Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’
“My goal is to give God the glory in everything I do, to deny myself, take up my cross, and accept the challenge of doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Aitcheson concluded his talk by encouraging everyone in attendance to accept the same challenge for their own lives.
The Kentucky football team returns to practice Wednesday afternoon at the Vanderbilt University practice field.
The Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented by Bridgestone is set for a 1 p.m. EST kickoff on Friday at LP Field in Nashville.
