Thursday; October 26

If you know much about me at all you probably know that I am a Texas Rangers fan … let me rephrase that, I am a HUGE Texas Rangers fan. Jeane and I are such adamant supporters that we spent our first anniversary at the old Arlington Stadium in 1982 and have watched them in various stadiums throughout the years. Like most diehard fans, I have experienced a lot of ups and downs, but watching this year’s team has been a lot of fun. As the 2023 Rangers prepare to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series I have done some reflecting on other good Texas teams. The last times the Rangers appeared in the World Series were in the early 2010s and one of my favorite players from those teams was an outfielder by the name of David Murphy. I was disappointed when Murphy left the Rangers for the Cleveland Indians in 2013; however, when I mentioned my appreciation to an Indians fan who was going to Arizona for Spring Training he surprised me by coming back with an autographed baseball. My David Murphy ball is one of my prized possessions, but there is something that makes it a little extra special. In addition to putting his name on the ball, he also wrote Galatians 2:21. When I looked up the reference it read, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”. While this may not be the best known verse, it is a great reminder of the love of God. I am sure that Murphy worked hard to become a major league ballplayer, but it is evident that he understands that Christianity is based on grace, not reliance on what we can do to help ourselves.

As we sit at the brink of the 2023 World Series I am excited about this year’s possibilities. However, we must never lose sight of the ultimate contest – the battle between good and evil where, thanks to the grace of God, good can never be defeated!

Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more