(1) Vindicate me, O Lord, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart.
3 For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.
If we desire to grow spiritually, we place ourselves before the Lord and allow Him to search and to strengthen our hearts. He gives us the ability to walk with integrity - reflecting the presence of the living Christ in us. He strengthens our hearts and leads us in His ways, developing a sense of passion for the things of God and a desire to walk in the knowledge of His will. His inner strength can work in us to empower us to demonstrate what we say we believe.
The Bible speaks to the development of Godly character in this passage from Philippians chapter 2:
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Tonight, as the World Series opens at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, you will have the return of the Royals to the series after falling short last year against San Francisco. And, the New York Mets, after a much longer hiatus, will be the opponent.
And, keep your eyes on second base, because you're likely to see two individuals who have a deep faith in Christ. On the New York side, it's the player that has lit up the postseason, setting a record with homers in six straight postseason games, a new record. Marvin Olasky of WORLD has been writing about the NLCS MVP, Daniel Murphy, who, as you may remember, ignited some controversy back in the spring. Olasky says, "Never before to my knowledge, in baseball’s long history, has a player so pilloried in March set an extraordinary all-time record in October."
Just a few days ago, Marvin wrote about what happened in March. He writes about a "silencing that took place on March 3...
Meanwhile, on the other side, with a Christian GM, Dayton Moore, in charge of the Royals, you would expect a different outcome. And, one of the leading players in the Royals organization is someone whom Tampa Bay Rays fans came to admire. Ben Zobrist was traded to Oakland last winter, and in July, he ended up in KC.
The Beyond the Ultimate website of Athletes in Action has a short bio of Ben and his dedication to the Lord. It states that he was a pastor's son and accepted Christ at an early age. According to the piece, Ben said regarding his college decision: “My senior year I realized I was going away from home and was going to make my own choices...So I was scared, not knowing what was ahead, and I started worrying about the future. I hit my knees in prayer and said, ‘Okay, Lord, whatever You want me to do and for whatever reason You are allowing this fear into my life, I want You to take it away. My life is Yours and I am not trying to be in charge. As for sports, You can have that too." He added, "I gave everything over to Him. If God wants me to do something else with my life, then that is where I want to be.”
Upon entering major league baseball with the Rays, he got off to a rough start, apparently. He was demoted to AAA ball. He recalls: "God allows things to happen the way He wants, and we need to accept it joyfully and to love Him through things that don’t happen the way we would like in life. He said that, "Being sent up and down in both 2007 and 2008 was a great lesson for me. I had a prideful and wrong attitude of success." Zobrist is quoted as saying: “God was saying to me, “Keep working, keep glorifying Me; wherever you are, don’t grow weary in doing good for in due time, you will reap.’”
So, in both their lives, Daniel and Ben have faced challenges - this year, Murphy was called out essentially because of his deeply-held faith beliefs. Ben faced uncertainty at the inception of his major league career. Over the past year, he has played with 3 different teams.
But, these major leaguers are up to the major league challenges they face.
So, our lessons for today:
God is our source of strength. It has to be tough to be in the middle of a media controversy, as Murphy experienced. Playing in the spotlight of New York City. Zobrist plays in the heartland, where the bright lights may not have shone as much, but he has learned how to face personal challenges himself. The answer is generally the same - be faithful, do your work as unto the Lord, surrender to Him, and allow Him to give you strength. So, there's a summary...but...
The playbook may seem direct, but living it out is a challenge. We have never been promised an easy road in this life. But, when the challenges come, we know who walks with us in order to face them. God has given us an instruction manual - He has designed certain plays for us, and gives us the resources to execute them. And, while sometimes we may not know what to do in some circumstances, often, I would say that we do know what to do but do not apply what He has taught us.
So, as you look toward second base tonight, remember two guys who have yielded their lives not only to being the best baseball players they can be, but by being at their best for the Lord.
+++++
The Bible speaks to the development of Godly character in this passage from Philippians chapter 2:
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Tonight, as the World Series opens at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, you will have the return of the Royals to the series after falling short last year against San Francisco. And, the New York Mets, after a much longer hiatus, will be the opponent.
And, keep your eyes on second base, because you're likely to see two individuals who have a deep faith in Christ. On the New York side, it's the player that has lit up the postseason, setting a record with homers in six straight postseason games, a new record. Marvin Olasky of WORLD has been writing about the NLCS MVP, Daniel Murphy, who, as you may remember, ignited some controversy back in the spring. Olasky says, "Never before to my knowledge, in baseball’s long history, has a player so pilloried in March set an extraordinary all-time record in October."
Just a few days ago, Marvin wrote about what happened in March. He writes about a "silencing that took place on March 3...
...when Murphy—a Fellowship of Christian Athletes regular—forthrightly answered a reporter’s question about a spring training visit by gay ex-player Billy Bean, baseball’s official “ambassador of inclusion.” Murphy said, “I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual. That doesn’t mean I can’t still invest in him and get to know him … but I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent.”
That’s when Mets management told Murphy to shut up. The chilling effect of that incident was evident throughout the baseball season, as no other active major leaguer to my knowledge said anything about homosexuality. To his credit, Murphy, after the key game in the Mets’ divisional series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, was not silent about Christ. “There was a lot of prayer going on out there,” he said, “just asking for peace and just talking to Jesus and asking for peace those last three or four innings.”But, it had been announced in the spring that Murphy “will no longer address his religious beliefs and will stick to baseball."
Meanwhile, on the other side, with a Christian GM, Dayton Moore, in charge of the Royals, you would expect a different outcome. And, one of the leading players in the Royals organization is someone whom Tampa Bay Rays fans came to admire. Ben Zobrist was traded to Oakland last winter, and in July, he ended up in KC.
The Beyond the Ultimate website of Athletes in Action has a short bio of Ben and his dedication to the Lord. It states that he was a pastor's son and accepted Christ at an early age. According to the piece, Ben said regarding his college decision: “My senior year I realized I was going away from home and was going to make my own choices...So I was scared, not knowing what was ahead, and I started worrying about the future. I hit my knees in prayer and said, ‘Okay, Lord, whatever You want me to do and for whatever reason You are allowing this fear into my life, I want You to take it away. My life is Yours and I am not trying to be in charge. As for sports, You can have that too." He added, "I gave everything over to Him. If God wants me to do something else with my life, then that is where I want to be.”
Upon entering major league baseball with the Rays, he got off to a rough start, apparently. He was demoted to AAA ball. He recalls: "God allows things to happen the way He wants, and we need to accept it joyfully and to love Him through things that don’t happen the way we would like in life. He said that, "Being sent up and down in both 2007 and 2008 was a great lesson for me. I had a prideful and wrong attitude of success." Zobrist is quoted as saying: “God was saying to me, “Keep working, keep glorifying Me; wherever you are, don’t grow weary in doing good for in due time, you will reap.’”
So, in both their lives, Daniel and Ben have faced challenges - this year, Murphy was called out essentially because of his deeply-held faith beliefs. Ben faced uncertainty at the inception of his major league career. Over the past year, he has played with 3 different teams.
But, these major leaguers are up to the major league challenges they face.
So, our lessons for today:
God is our source of strength. It has to be tough to be in the middle of a media controversy, as Murphy experienced. Playing in the spotlight of New York City. Zobrist plays in the heartland, where the bright lights may not have shone as much, but he has learned how to face personal challenges himself. The answer is generally the same - be faithful, do your work as unto the Lord, surrender to Him, and allow Him to give you strength. So, there's a summary...but...
The playbook may seem direct, but living it out is a challenge. We have never been promised an easy road in this life. But, when the challenges come, we know who walks with us in order to face them. God has given us an instruction manual - He has designed certain plays for us, and gives us the resources to execute them. And, while sometimes we may not know what to do in some circumstances, often, I would say that we do know what to do but do not apply what He has taught us.
So, as you look toward second base tonight, remember two guys who have yielded their lives not only to being the best baseball players they can be, but by being at their best for the Lord.
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