Yes, folks, these are some of my closest friends showing that we will never grow up. It is definitely awesome to watch and makes me laugh everytime I see it, because if I was there, even though I could care less about the Dodgers, I would have been raising the flag high and going nuts...cause that is what we do.
Let's see, after Christ came alive in me by the mercies of God, mind you, not for any good I had done or will ever do to have this right standing before the Father of Mercies, I went to a Milwaukee Brewers slash Oakland A's game in Wisconsin and there Rickey Henderson made history by stealing a milestone base, stopping the game to celebrate; and having been to Oakland to see them get stomped by the visiting team, don't remember who it was, I was a little taken aback at all the zeal and human emotion that swelled during both these games, like the waves of the sea swell up before crashing on the sea shore.
ReplyDeleteI thought, hmmmmm, where's the Christian beef?
I am reading a booklet again. I have read it several times.
I want to post a small portion that speaks loudly to me as I realize the shame of it all when it comes to American Christianity:::>
Einar Billing, Our Calling, penned in 1909, page 29,
[[I would rather mention a point less emphasized--how the same situation prevails in regard to suffering. We often speak big words about it, as if we yearned for martyrdom. Then God probably sets us in a position where we meet all kinds of small irritations and inconveniences. Immediately we begin to complain and fail altogether to realize that, although they are so insignificant, just these constitute the martyrdom God has sent to test our powers. Learn first to find a proper place for them in your calling-- and this requires above all that you soberly treat them as they really are, small things--then it will be time to see if God wants to assign to you greater sufferings.]]
Wow, that resonated in my heart and soul as I listen to all the debates on life today in the USA. How the Church world wide has gotten to the level of toleration of this world and the devil is beyond me? I don't think the Church in America could handle the kind of "sufferings" described here:::>
Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--
Heb 11:33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
Heb 11:34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
Heb 11:35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.
Heb 11:36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated--
Heb 11:38 of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
I truly am not sure I should be thanking God I was born in America or what?
I am more mindful of this verse now, more than ever:::>
Rev 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
Any ideas?
God forbid we would question the Church's ability today to suffer like those folks described did in Hebrews 11. I know some Christians are suffering today, somewhere, somewhere? But, seriously, not here in the USA.
Maybe it is time for God to begin His judgment with us so He can get along to the world?
When is it the last time this was preached at the pulpits across America:::>
1Pe 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
1Pe 4:13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
1Pe 4:14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
1Pe 4:15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
1Pe 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
1Pe 4:19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Although the Dodgers are infamous for choking in the 7th inning, they still are, and forever will be, my baseball team. I've spent countless hours and $$ at Dodger Stadium. (They don't charge $20 for parking and $50 for tix, like the Mariners do.)
ReplyDeleteSo how may God be glorified in such an exhibition? Let me count the ways...
Even abhorrant behavior glorifies God by showing how righteous He is, and that He is right about our sinful condition.
The ability for the pitcher to hurl a ball about 100MPH and put it squarely in a box 1' x 3'...
The ability for a batter to swing a bat much faster and make contact with said ball...
This is not evolution...it's by design.