Thoughts From Hebrews - Day 2

                                       Hebrews 1:4-9,14

⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
⁵ For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;
    today I have become your Father”?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,
    and he will be my Son”?

⁶ And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

⁷ In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,
    and his servants flames of fire.”

⁸ But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
    by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

 ¹⁴ Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

 

      As I picture Heaven, with the angels all around and Jesus sitting on the right hand of the Father, who is a Spirit and not three Gods but one and where is the Holy Spirit... You can see that I have trouble picturing it. But anyway, there is Jesus and what is He doing? First of all He is holding all things together which is no small task. Then we see Him judging which means giving out a whole lot of bad news and punishment 24/7. He doesn't get to go home, go to bed, and say, "Wow, that was a tough day, I need to rest" - He is always at it. Yet one of the things that distinguishes Him from the Angels is He is overflowing with joyfulness. In the midst of all He does, there is an overwhelming joy. And why is there that joy?

 

      Maybe it's like this. I can come home from work and ask Karen, "How was your day?" and some days there is joy and some days not. What distinguishes the joyful days from the non-joyful ones usually has something to do with the kids, either ours or the grandkids. If something great happened to our kids she is all excited and can't wait to tell me. If she got to spend the day with the grandkids she smiles and laughs as she recounts their escapades. You see, her joy is related to her children. In the same way, God gave Jesus a family and it is us, the Church - those who have believed and received. We are the source of Jesus' joy! We are the source of the angel's consternation, but we ignite Jesus with joy!

 

       The very thought that in a little while we will be called to be with Him forever fills Him with joy in Heaven. Personally, I would say, as I picture Heaven, I see Jesus with a sad face. He is sad about the sin, sad about all those who are rejecting Him and mocking Him. He is weeping for the Jews, His chosen people who have disowned Him. He is infuriated by child abuse, murder, prejudice, abortion and He is this powder keg that is about to explode on humanity but the rainbow promise is holding Him back. But that is not at all as He is described here. Maybe the angels are like that, but here it says that Jesus' overwhelming quality is joy. The thought of us overwhelms everything else.

 

        What should knowing that do to us? It should inspire us to do the same. We should be people of joy because we are looking forward to seeing Him again and being with Him for all eternity. That should far overshadow all the garbage going on down here. Second it should make us want to live lives worthy of that love for us. We should desire to be pure and Holy and a possession worth wanting. Lastly it should cure depression, self-loathing, worthlessness, etc. to know the God of the universe loves you this much and thinks that you are that special. The Psalmist says, "Why so downcast O my soul - put your hope in God."

Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects for 2018

 This is my annual list of prospects by position making up a 24 man team. (I couldn't get 25)This is only done by statistics, I haven't laid eyes on them other than watching some spring training games on TV and a few games when Biloxi comes to Tennessee. The statistical evaluation is very old school, too, because I still like RBI's and I think strikeouts are bad. Also, outside of errors, I don't know much about their defensive prowess. For example, Hiura didn't even play defense and he will be on my list and Corey Ray may be a gold glove center fielder but since he hit in the .230's in low A he won't be included. So here goes..

SP
    Last year's picks of Woodruff and Hader are already having success in the majors and Burnes is  making good progress. Although Perin , Brown, Ponce, Derby, Supak, Jankins, Herrera had good years, I am going to leave them off

Corbin Burnes RH  22y/o  6'3" could be helping the Brewers in their playoff run judging from his
                             8-3 record  1.67 ERA  145 IP  140K  .200 Avg.  WHIP .95

Michele Vassaloti RH  17 y/o 6'2" in DSL. My annual guy to get excited about in the Dominican
                                  league that never pans out. If not for Arcia, I say shut down the team. Maybe
                                 this will be the guy to redeem it. Just started 9 games but had an ERA of 1.63
                                 38IP  32K  Avg. 178  WHIP .80

Adrian Houser  RH  24 y/o 6'4" recovering from TJ surgery showed, albeit in a very limited return
                                the stuff that made him a coveted piece in the Gomez, Fiers trade. Had an
                            ERA of 1.02  17IP  27K  Avg. .143  WHIP .74  Let's see how he does in the AFL

Josh Pennington  RH  22 y/o  6'0" Low A  ERA  2.78 32IP  31K  Avg. .208  WHIP 1.02 Finished
                          on the DL and had limited innings so I don't know what that is all about, all I
                          know is that Thornburg trade was a doozie.

Aaron Wilkerson  RH 28y/o 6'3" AA  11-4  ERA 3.16  142IP  143K Avg. 228  WHIP  1.07
                           After his no hit performance through 7IP and 11K in the AAA playoffs he
                           will debut in Milwaukee for the playoff run. Hopefully he will do what our
                            last ignored prospect ,Mike Fiers, did.

Freddy Peralta   RH  21y/o  5'11" AA  ERA  2.63  120!P  169K Avg. .178  WHIP 1.16
                            The Adam Lind trade is going to pay off with this guy

Taylor Jungman  RH  27y/o 6'6" AAA  9-2 record  ERA 2.59 at high altitude Colorado Springs
                               90 IP  82K  Avg. 216  WHIP 1.20. Great comeback year. Has he found his
                              old form? Who knows. My guess is some other team will find out

Jordan Yamamota  RH  21y/o  6'0" A(adv)  9-4  ERA  2.51  111IP  113K Avg. .223 WHIP 1.09
                              What a great year for a guy who put himself on the radar this year


RP
     My last year choices all regressed or quit baseball except for Griep. I'm going to leave W.Rodriguez, Snow, Berberet, Scahill, Owenby

  Nate Griep  RH  23y/o ERA 2.37  30 saves in 33 opportunities  49IP  41K  Avg. .191  WHIP 1.11
                            6'2" at A(Adv)  Surprising that he is having this kind of success at each level but
                            management makes him do a full year at each level.

   Gabe Friese RH  22y/o  6'3" Rookie (Adv) 6-1 record  53!P  48K  Avg. .232  WHIP .96

    Silvestre Berroa  20 y/o LH  DSL  6'0"  ERA 1.32   Avg. .138  WHIP .71 (it says on his status
                               "released" so he may come off this list)

     Nick Ramirez  28 y/o LH  6'3" converted 1B first year pitching at AA and AAA
                              ERA  1.36  Avg. .198  WHIP 1.01


 C
     Brent Diaz  21 y/o RH drafted and played in both rookie leagues  .324/.425/.431

      KJ Harrison  21 y/o RH drafted and played advanced A as DH  .308/.388/ .546

     Left off the list are Leal (status unknown), Susac, Bandy, Garcia, Houle, Heineman,  Ghelfi , and Nottingham - none of which had good enough years to make the cut


 IF

     Maurico Dubon  SS    23 y/o RH AA and AAA  .274/.330/.382  38SB

     Nate Orf    2B  27 y/o RH  at AAA  .320/.397/.507

     Keston Hiura 2B? 21 y/o RH 1st round draft pick this year. Led all of college in hitting
                             Between rookie and low A  .377/.422/.611/ 1.033

     Dallas Carroll  3B  23 y/o RH drafted this year played rookie and low A
                           .300/.384/.486

     Kenny Corey  2B  22y/o LH drafted this year (round 36) played both rookie leagues
                           .328/.415/.456

    Ivan De Jesus  3B 30y/o RH at AAA  Yes, on my list, even 30 year olds get redemption
                           .345/.407/.488

      Left off the list because of disappointing seasons - Erceg, Diaz, Gatewood (161k's)


OF
     

     Tristen Lutz  19 y/o RH drafted this year. In both rookie leagues  .311/.398/.559/.957

      Pablo Abreu  17y/o RH in an abbreviated stint with rookie league .316/.381/.474

     Lewis Brinson  23 y/o RH    AAA  .331/.400/.563/.962

      Brett Phillips  23 y/o LH  AAA  .305/.377/.567/.944  still 129K's though

    Left off the list Monte Harrison. Close but not quite there


    So that is it. Hopefully with off-season moves I will be able to get it to 25. My two favorites - Burnes and Hiura
   

Thoughts From Hebrews - Day 1

                                                   Hebrews 1:1-3

 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. 

      What was the job of a prophet? He was to be the mouthpiece of God to people who didn't have God in their presence or His written word to speak to them. That's why he had to be 100% accurate because if he wasn't, then he couldn't be speaking for God. Moses spell out how serious God was about this in Deuterononomy 13

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, ² and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. ⁵ That prophet or dreamer must be put to death ....  Deut. 13:1-5

 Nathan once told David to go ahead and build the temple but God quickly corrected Nathan and then Nathan told David the correct message. Now that Jesus has come, we actually don't need prophets anymore, we have His written word in the Bible and we have the writings of those who followed Him and were taught by Him also recorded. So in order to replace the prophets, the Bible has to be 100% accurate or it can't speak for Him. This passage in Hebrews implies that it is, or will be, because if it wasn't, the job of prophet would not have been made obsolete.

     God spoke the world into existence through His word. God holds the world together through His word. His word is the atomic glue, the great force, that holds the universe together. If God's word is this powerful and this important, don't you think that when Jesus left earth and went back to Heaven, He would have made sure to leave us with His word? Even though the Bible was compiled some 300 years later, don't you think He would have overseen its formation and 100%  innerancy with the same care that He protected His Son from Herod? Yes we have thousands of first century manuscripts to document its accuracy. Yes all but a few lines can be recreated from passages quoted by early writings of 1st and 2nd century saints. We can document its accuracy well, but can we say it is Truth and it speaks for God? Yes! The writer of Hebrews says a resounding, "Yes!"

Thoughts From Romans - Day 1

                                                Romans 1:1-7

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. 6 And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

        "...to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake", "...called to be His holy people"
 

These lines caught me off guard. It's almost as if Paul is telling us that we have been saved to obey - how archaic is that! We don't hear much of that today. We have reacted so far the other way for fear we are not preaching or sharing a gospel of grace, that we shy away from telling people, "OK, now that you are saved, you need to obey." If people are living together they need to move out and get married. If people are cursing, they need to stop. If people aren't attending church, they need to be encouraged, no - urged, no - confronted to be obedient to not forsake the assembling of themselves. If people aren't tithing, they need to be spoken to. If people are gossiping, they need to stop. And the list goes on. We instead think of the passages like "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", forgetting that Jesus said, "Go and sin no more", in the same passage.

     The key is found in the reason for obedience. It is seen in verses 6 and 7. We are called to be God's people. We are representing Him. If we do things that don't accurately represent Him, we are giving the world a lesser view of Him. We are in effect violating the commandment, "Don't take the name of the Lord in vain". By saying we are His and then to misrepresent Him, we are making Him common. We are in effect blaspheming Him with our lives. He is Holy. He is sinless, and as a child of His we must honor Him by being like Him. Not only that, but if we truly love Him, we will want to make Him happy. Not only that but if we realize it is that sinful behavior that caused His son to die on the cross, we are disagreeing with God's assessment of the wickedness of this behavior and making light of God's ultimate sacrifice.

       So the question is, what do we do with the verse "Before you take the speck out of someone else's eye, take the plank out of your own"? First of all, this is a blog. I am writing to you who I don't know and praying God would convict you of sin in your life that needs to be forsaken. I don't know you so I'm letting you judge your plankeye while I look at my own. Secondly, I feel the point of that verse is as we go to others about their lives, we go humbly as fellow failures and say, "Help me flee from this sin and let me help you. Let's support each other and be accountable to each other as we strive to follow Christ in a manner worthy of Him."

        So quit claiming God's grace as an excuse for bad behavior, you have already used your quota when He saved you. Start living an obedient life because that is what He called you to.

Thoughts from Psalms - Day 9

Psalm 42 & 43

For the director of music.  Maskils of the Sons of Korah.

¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember
    as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
    under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
    among the festive throng.

⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

⁶ My soul is downcast within me;
    therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
    the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.
⁷ Deep calls to deep
    in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
    have swept over me.

⁸ By day the Lord directs his love,
    at night his song is with me—
    a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹ I say to God my Rock,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?”
¹⁰ My bones suffer mortal agony
    as my foes taunt me,
saying to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”

¹¹ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

Vindicate me, my God,
    and plead my cause
    against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
    deceitful and wicked.
² You are God my stronghold.
    Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
    oppressed by the enemy?
³ Send me your light and your faithful care,
    let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you dwell.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

 

           What is salvation. Most of us growing up in the church or even sharing the gospel focus on the fact that we are sinners on our way to Hell but God sent His sinless Son to pay the debt for our sins by dying on the cross so if we, by faith, receive this payment for our sins as a free gift, we can go to Heaven some day and enter into God's family. All that is true but it somehow misses the point that it seems we have to stumble upon some day and usually when we read passages like this one. Look at verses 1 and 2. You see the psalmist panting for God. You see Him thirsting after God. Or look at Psalm 63

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.
³ Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

      These are words of a person in love with God. You see salvation at its core is a restoration of a relationship with God that was started in the garden, destroyed by sin, and restored by the atonement of Christ for our sins. Now we can boldly enter His presence thru the rent veil and communicate with Him and Him to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit living in us. This is the crux of the difference between Christianity and every other religion. Religion is do this and don't do that and if your do's outweigh your don'ts maybe you can get to "Heaven". Christianity is not religion but a relationship where a personal God enters into a personal relationship with mankind. He says "come to me and I will wash away your sins." Unlike religion where we have to do everything, in Christianity, God does everything. The disciples understood this in John 6. Jesus had just talked about eating His flesh and drinking His blood and the followers who were looking for things to do to get to Heaven couldn't put this on their checklist so they left. Previously in this chapter they had asked

 “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

    They didn't understand the answer but Peter did. Jesus asked those remaining,
 

“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

        He understood that we aren't coming to a teaching, though there is that, we aren't coming to do works, though we do - we are coming to a person. We are coming back to God through the person of Jesus Christ. That is Christianity. That is salvation. And the Psalmist in Psalm 42 and 63 expresses this so well in that he is craving for a nearness, a closeness, the presence of God and he is miserable until he gets that.

       This leads us to the questions, Do you pant for God? Do you know God? Do you meet with God? Do you have a personal relationship with God?

        I growing up in church didn't even realize that this was in play even until the age of 30. I thought Christianity was, once you were saved, doing stuff. If you would have asked me "what makes a "good Christian", I would have answered, "going to church, reading the Bible, witnessing, praying, avoiding sin" and a bunch of other lists. What I didn't realize was that praying, for example, was not to get stuff but the privilege of talking to God and entering His presence. Reading the Bible wasn't a spiritual exercise that made God happy but rather Him speaking to me through His living word. Witnessing was more than offering salvation but it was the opportunity to tell people about the one I love and complete my joy.

       So panting or thirsting or craving a deeper relationship with God is what makes a "good Christian". Do you have that or are you following a checklist of do's and don'ts. If you are tracking with me and agree with me, you probably are saying, "To be perfectly honest, I don't have that." Do you desire it? That means you are on the right path because the first step in getting a heart that pants for God is knowing you need it and as G.I.Joe said, "Knowing is half the battle." Like I said, this isn't generally what we are taught in Church. So cry out to God and tell Him you want this more than life itself because as the Psalmist says, "His love is better than life." If you have ever experienced this closeness, you know that suddenly everything in life pales compared to this.