Category: Mercy & Grace

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Now THAT’S Love

Love is in the air, especially this week, right? I find it fitting that my first shift as a Bradenton Booster Club Spring Training Volunteer lands on Valentine’s Day. If you know me, you are aware that I LOVE the Pittsburgh Pirates…even when they don’t deserve it! In a twist of fate that only God could have orchestrated, I was able to connect with a Booster Club member from back home and he invited me to get involved. I am very excited to be an official member of the club and part of the Pirate family. As my daughter often says, “I’m living my best life!”

Another thing I’ve gotten involved with during my time in FL is the Women’s Bible Study at the church we’ve been attending down here. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit. One of the characteristics of that fruit is LOVE. We learned about different types of love last week, one of which is agape. It is described well in a familiar passage often read at weddings—1 Corinthians 13.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”     

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT      

I can’t speak for you, but those four verses point out how terribly short I fall from demonstrating agape love. There’s a reason—only God is capable of that kind of love! The Holy Spirit working in me and through me is the only reason that I ever get it right. I guess that’s why it’s called the “Fruit of the Spirit”—the source of our “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” is God in the form of the Holy Spirit living inside each of his children.

Agape at its best is in another familiar Bible verse:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 NLT

Now THAT’S love! God went to the greatest of lengths to give us the privilege and honor of being part of His family. I certainly don’t deserve such love. That’s called grace!

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.”

1 John 5:1 NLT

As excited as I am about the opportunity to be part of the Pittsburgh Pirates family, it pales in comparison to being a child of God and part of His family. The Pirates sacrificed next to nothing to invite me into their family; however, God made the ultimate sacrifice—His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ. He doesn’t discriminate—the invitation is there for ALL of us. Have you accepted it? If you haven’t and you’re reading this, it’s not too late. Come, be part of the family. You won’t regret it!

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No Trade

In modern day professional sports, it is rare that a player remains with the same team his entire career. Players often get traded or released by their team based on their performance, or lack thereof. One trade in particular really broke my heart this past winter. My favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, traded away the face of the franchise, Andrew McCutchen, in a cost cutting move in late January. Coincidentally, it was the day after the Pittsburgh Steelers were eliminated from the NFL playoffs. Ouch—-a painful couple of days for Pittsburgh sports fans. It’s not like January isn’t already hard enough in Western PA!

I had grown quite fond of Cutch since he was called up in 2009. Not only did he put the team on his back and make baseball relevant again in Pittsburgh, but he also gave back to the community. His smile and enthusiasm for the game endeared him to the city of Pittsburgh. Trades can be hard…on everyone. I don’t think Cutch wanted to go any more than Pirate fans wanted to see him go. Management decided the time had come to part with Cutch. Why? I’m sure there were several factors—-a soon-to-be-expiring contract, age, recent decline in performance, cost of new contract, etc. Before ownership consulted with me, they just went ahead and traded Cutch. The nerve!! There is no professional athlete immune from the possibility of being traded away at a moment’s notice. Nothing like having the rug pulled out from under you!

While processing this over the past few months, I’ve found great comfort in knowing that I am on a team that will never ever trade me. And if you aren’t already on that same team, you certainly can be. The beauty of this team is that the choice to be on it is yours. You don’t have to stand around waiting to see if you are good enough to be chosen. Your name has already been called.

“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,”

2 Timothy 1:9 NIV

The truth is, we can’t earn our way onto God’s Kingdom team with our performance. We have been saved purely by grace through Jesus. What an indescribable gift!

The Ultimate Gift, Jesus, made this gift of salvation possible. Our choice is simply to receive it and join the team. The Coach will take it from there! No worries—you’ll be on the team for eternity. And there’s not even a bench, so there’s no chance you’ll have to sit on the sidelines and watch!

 

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A Second Chance

If you know me, then I’m sure you know what’s on my mind today—it’s Buctober!! My favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, is playing in the NL Wildcard game tonight. For the second straight year they are hosting the do-or-die Wildcard game. If they win, they advance to the NLDS, but if they lose, their season is over. There is no do over. This one game determines the fate of their season.

My small group is currently studying the book of Jonah. I am always amazed at how much the authors of the various Bible studies I’ve done can glean from just one verse of Scripture. Take Jonah 3:1 for instance—

            Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: 

I breezed right through that without even a second thought. Did you? As it turns out, that short and simple verse is quite meaningful. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16, All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

It is helpful to know what precedes that verse in Jonah. The prophet, Jonah, received clear instruction from God and chose to run far and fast in the opposite direction. The result was one wicked storm, his being thrown overboard by Pagan sailors, and landing inside a giant fish. After three days the fish spit him out on land. That’s my own short version of the story anyhow. Follow that up with Jonah 3:1 and you see a God of second chances. God could have just let Jonah drown in his disobedience. He could have washed His hands of Jonah and written him off. But He didn’t. Why? Because God is merciFULL! When Jonah repented of his sin and cried out to God, God’s response was laced with grace. As children of God we, too, get a second chance, and a third, and a fourth, and a….fill in any number you want when we come to Him and acknowledge our sin. Doesn’t that make your day? Unlike the Pittsburgh Pirates, we can have another chance if we don’t play well today.

With that being said, I certainly hope the Buccos come up big and win the game tonight. I am thrilled beyond belief to be able to be there in person. My favorite doctor would say that I’m wound tighter than a $2 toaster!

Bucs