Posts

Posted on

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!

 

Posted on

A Fresh Start

One of my favorite days of the year is Opening Day for Major League Baseball. The reason—-it’s a fresh start for my favorite team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. While suffering through 20 years of consecutive losing seasons from 1993-2012, there has been great need for the fresh start that comes with the beginning of a new season. Expectations are low for 2018 after management traded away the face of the franchise and the ace of the pitching staff within a few short days back in January. As a result, fresh start takes on a whole new meaning this season. And I’m not all that happy about it! However, when the Bucs won 8 of their first 10 games to start this season, I have to admit it was hard to contain my excitement. In spite of the offseason upheaval, I remain a loyal fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I stuck by them through 20 losing seasons, so I guess there’s no need to jump ship now.

Coming off a powerful Holy Week culminating in a magnificent celebration of Easter, I am reminded of a fresh start that easily trumps Opening Day of MLB. Sin separates ALL of us from God. Jesus went to the cross to pay the cost for our sins—-past, present and future. He gave His very own life to reconcile us with our Heavenly Father. That kind of love is beyond my comprehension. But death did not have the last word. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. God raised Jesus from the dead and He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

Ephesians 2:18 NLT

Jesus bridged the gap between us and God. He makes the ultimate fresh start possible. Are you in need of a fresh start? Jesus is offering you one. His blood has wiped your slate clean.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

One of my favorite places to go, besides PNC Park, is The Meadows. They happen to sell my favorite frozen custard. Due to a fire, our local Meadows was closed for over a year. It was a LONG year! They recently reopened and now use Meadows 2.0 in some of their advertisements. Meadows 2.0 is to be a new and improved version of the original one that was damaged by fire. When you accept Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, you become enter your first name here 2.0—a new and improved version of your former self. Being a Christ-follower is the best decision I’ve ever made and you won’t regret it either!

Western PA is finally getting teased with some warmer, more spring-like, weather starting today. That makes Polly 2.0 crave some Meadows 2.0, while cheering on the Bucs of course!

Posted on

Never—It’s a Long Time

Those of you who know me are well aware of my passion for sports. If you follow college basketball, then you know that during late March/early April the NCAA holds its annual tournament, aptly named March Madness, to determine its champion. 16 teams are seeded in each of 4 regions by the selection committee. A team from each of the various conferences receives an automatic bid because it won its conference tournament. Due to upsets in those tournaments and also because not all conferences are created equal, there are teams that get into the tournament that most people have never even heard of.  These teams often get seeded at #16 and have to face #1 right out of the gate. This is a one and done tournament—winners advance, losers go home. On paper, these #16-seeded teams have no chance of winning their first game. In fact, up until 11 days ago, a #16 has NEVER beaten a #1 in the NCAA tournament. History was rewritten on March 16, 2018 when #16 UMBC stunned #1 Virginia in the first round of the tournament. Never is a long time, isn’t it?

This brings to mind the story of David and Goliath found in 1 Samuel 17. David was the baby and runt of his family. He was home tending sheep while his three oldest brothers were out fighting the Philistines with the rest of the Israelite army. His father sent him out to deliver food and check on his brothers one day.

As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, came out from the Philistine ranks. Then David heard him shout his usual taunt to the army of Israel. As soon as the Israelite army saw him, they began to run away in fright.

1 Samuel 17:23-24

Goliath taunted the Israelite army on a daily basis. As a result, King Saul was offering a huge reward to anyone who killed this giant.

David asked the men standing near him, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’                                                                                                                     

1 Samuel 17:26

 When David’s question made its way to Saul, David was called before the king.

“Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”                                                                                                      

1 Samuel 17:32-33

David persisted and laid out his qualifications, or rather God’s, before King Saul:

The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

1 Samuel 17:37

Saul provided David with armor for the battle, but it only made David uncomfortable because it didn’t fit well. So, he picked up 5 stones and put them in his bag. Armed with only his staff and sling, David headed across the valley to take on Goliath. He was greeted by more taunting from the giant.

David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord ’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

                                           1 Samuel 17:45-47

And that’s exactly what happened…

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they turned and ran.

1 Samuel 17:48-51

The odds were stacked against both UMBC and David. On paper, neither had a chance of winning the battle before them. That didn’t deter them though. Instead, they faced the overwhelming challenge head on. UMBC may not have been the most talented team on the court that night, but whatever deficit they faced in skill, they made up for with belief and determination. They didn’t take the court that night hoping not to be blown out by Virginia. They took the court believing they could BEAT Virginia! Likewise, David was not the better equipped of the two. He didn’t even have a sword. He went to battle knowing it wasn’t his battle to win, but rather God’s. He believed with all his heart that God would rescue him from the Philistine.

These stories inspire me. And they convict me. Is there some part of your life where the odds are stacked against you? What is your response? Admittedly, I often keep my expectations low so as not to be disappointed. It’s like a defense mechanism of sorts. I don’t have any trouble cheering on others in their battles though. My walk doesn’t always align with my talk. I believe His promises are true for everyone else, but struggle to believe they are true for me too. Maybe you have similar struggles. I pray these stories renew your faith in the One who makes the impossible possible.

In Mark 9:23, after being questioned by the father of a demon-possessed boy as to whether he could do anything for the boy, Jesus says, “Everything is possible for the one who believes.”

May we all have the same mindset as the team from University of Maryland – Baltimore County and the faith of David.

In this final weekend of March Madness, we have #11 Loyola-Chicago taking on Michigan in one of the semifinal games for the right to advance to the championship game on Monday night. An eleven seed has NEVER made it to the final game. But, we already learned that NEVER is a long time, didn’t we?