Welcome to Tuesday....."Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave....." Play Ball !!!!!!!
"Centerfield" - John Fogerty
Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes Park as we get ready to see a whale of a game today folks....Make sure you have your hot dogs and beverages bought and you are in your seat for this one, it is sure to be one you won't want to miss one minute of the action......other games on tap for today are:
We'll have those scores for you as the game progresses....
More than likely on radio or television today, something similar to the above will happen. Announcers will be following each of the above listed games, which is the schedule for today, and keeping fans up to date on how their favorite team is competing. The "Boys Of Summer" are back and ready to get the season started as the fight for pennant races and ultimately work towards the World Series. A recent study has shown that football has actually replaced baseball as "America's Past Time", however, you would be hard pressed to convince fans of the game that fact actually exists. So with the bases loaded and the count 3 balls and 2 strikes, here is the Musical Notes tribute to America's game.
Other than "Take Me Out To The Ballgame", the song "Centerfield" by John Fogerty is played sometime during most major league and many minor league baseball games. It represents a salute to the game from Fogerty who, when "Centerfield" was released in 1985, had just spent nine years away from creating music. John Fogerty was the front man for one of the biggest rock bands of the late '60's and early 70's.....Creedence Clearwater Revival. With their bluesy sound and sometimes provocative, protest lyrics, Creedence became an overnight success. Fogerty would release 2 albums for Fantasy records after Creedence broke up in 1972. He would not release another album until 1985's #1 hit, Centerfield. Centerfield the album and it's title track returned John Fogerty back to adoring fans and introduced the next generation as well as baseball fans around the world to a voice that was a radio standard in the prior decade.
Many people know "Centerfield" by the phrase "Put me in coach". The player is begging for the opportunity to show his skills at the game. After many years of training camps, exercise and proper diet, batting and catching practice, and study of the opponent's game, he feels he is ready for the coach to have the confidence in him to put him in the very prominent spot of centerfield. "I'm ready to play...today!" The eagerness to use his skills and put them on display for the entire stadium, possibly the world, to see is infectious. Given the opportunity, he might even reach these standards:
"Ozzy Smith"
To become skilled at any position on an athletic team, many hours of preparation are required. It is no different in our Christian life. We are immediately saved and secure with our eternal destination at the point of our salvation, but we aren't instantaneously prepared to get in the batter's box with the enemy on the mound. If we hope to achieve skill in any endeavor of our lives we have to put in the time to be prepared when the coach says, "Ok, let's see what you can do!"
There will be times you strike out. The #1 batting average in Major League Baseball as of today is .500, held by Jed Lowrie of Oakland. Of his 26 times at bat, he has struck out 13 times. (For those of you who are "glass half full" types, he has 13 hits). Of those 26 times at bat he has hit only 3 home runs. (For you stats guys, that's a .115 home run average). Lowrie has spent most of his life to be prepared for this time of his career and he has gotten a hit on only half of his attempts. Does this mean he should stop stepping up to the plate?
In our Christian lives, our success or failure is not easily quantifiable. In fact, you may not see some of the results of your efforts this side of heaven. Does that me we shouldn't be prepared? Does that mean that we should stop going to the plate? In 1 Peter 3, we read the encouragement to be prepared for when we are given opportunities, even when those opportunities cause us uncomfortable times.
1 Peter 3:14-16
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)Paul put it this way when writing his second letter to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:1-3
King James Version (KJV)
4 I
charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall
judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (emphasis, The Notes)
How is this achieved? This article from Lifeway Research provides some insights:
"Spiritual Maturity Comes Through Intentionality"
What it really boils down to is how much effort, how intentional are you when it comes to being prepared to be "instant in season and out of season"? Sounds like we should be prepared all of the time based on what Peter and Paul wrote. Personal Bible Study and prayer, group Bible Study and prayer, private and corporate worship times, fellowship with believers, and accountability with one another go along way to getting us prepared to be in the game. It will take the same kind of effort that a baseball player uses to be prepared to play in his game. Hours and sometimes years will be needed to have us prepared. The difference for us is that we are already on the winning team and our Coach is always their to cheer us on.....it's the wind up....here comes the ball.....we gotta pray and swing.....watch it till it's going...going...it's gone!!!! C'mon now!2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; (emphasis, The Notes)
How is this achieved? This article from Lifeway Research provides some insights:
"Spiritual Maturity Comes Through Intentionality"
"Home Run" - Geoff Moore and The Distance
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment