Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Michael Young. All-Star Game MVP.

That makes three of the last four All-Star games in which a Texas Ranger has starred in a key role in advancing the American League's win streak.

In 2003, it was Hank Blalock (Tori's favorite Ranger) homering off Eric Gagne. Two years ago, it was Alfonso Soriano who captured the MVP. And last night, it was the most underrated player in the game coming through on an 0-2 pitch with a 2-run triple to right center.

Now, if the Rangers could only translate those stellar mid-July performances into pennant winning performances in September!

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One of the really neat things about having a sitemeter on my blog is the ability to see where people who read this blog are located.

In the last 100 visits to this blog, there have been visitors from 15 different states (Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia) and 3 foreign countries (Brazil, Cambodia and Peru).

Thank you, my dear readers, for blessing me with your presence in reading my blog. I hope what you gain here blesses you as much as your drop-in visits bless me.

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This morning, I am tardy getting my blog posted because of the need to have the carpet cleaned in our house. Those stains, primarily caused by the hapless spills of two little girls I adore, needed removing.

In ten days, I'll be giving a keynote at the Tahoe Family Encampment. The theme this year is "Blessed Assurance...Secure Forever." Paul Methvin has asked me to kick-off this year's encampment by speaking on "But If I Sin."

How would you tackle the problem of "sin" in an encampment with the over-arching theme of "blessed assurance"?

I keep coming back to Zechariah 3.1-7 and the intervention of God in the judgment of the high priest, Joshua. In the text, Joshua is presented before the Lord for an evaluation. And, as in the story of Job, Satan is also present. Satan is present to point out the stains on Joshua's garments, a metaphor speaking to Satan's interest in pointing out to God sin in Joshua's life. But the story turns when, God in His gracious intervention, clothes Joshua with new garments, hiding the sin stains Satan so wishes to expose.

Paul would say that baptism does for us in the New Covenant what God did for Joshua during the Old Covenant: "for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Gal 3.27).

That is blessed assurance, to know that baptism becomes the cloak that envelopes the believer in the blood of Jesus that is able to hide our sin stains.