It has come down to the Rangers needing to sweep the Angels next Monday through Thursday in Arlington in order to win 4 of the 7 games.
Last night, the Angels finished off a sweep of their own, pummeling the Rangers in all three games played in Orange County. All you need to know from this series is Ranger starting pitchers had this combined line: 9.1 innings pitched, 30 hits allowed, 18 runs allowed.
Was it woeful pitching or running head-long into the buzzsaw that is currently LAA of A?
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Ron Mehl's excellent book The Tender Commandments: Reflections on the Father's Love has been a powerful resource for me during my study of the Ten Commandments.
In his comments on the first commandment (to put God first, above and beyond all things), Mehl notes the place worry plays in derailing God's will and fouling up our moods. Mehl says, "worry is the red warning light on the dashboard of life, alerting us that we are not putting God first" (48).
What are you worried about this morning? What has distracted your heart from your higher calling? What is dictating your emotional mood swings?
In my life, worry is most often the root cause of my moodiness. I get so focused on fixing my worries that God is uprooted as my protector and sustainer.
If your life has had far too many "red warning lights" on the dashboard lately, then let me share with you this morning some encouragement.
You can't worship God and money both. If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss and worry about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to life than the food you put in your mouth, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more to Him than birds!
Has anyone by fussing, by worrying, ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion -- do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, why not walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color or design quite like it?
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers, don't you think He'll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you? What I'm trying to say here is: relax. Don't be so preoccupied with getting so that you can respond to God's giving! People who don't know God and the way He works fuss and worry over these things, but you know both God and how He works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry so much! You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
