Tuesday, March 10, 2015

March 11, 2015

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2


These verses affirm what you probably already knew, God has a pattern by which He expects you to live. When you live by that pattern you please Him! Living by this pattern helps you know Him and discern His will! In short, God's pattern that pleases Him is submit to Him and surrender to His will!

The fact that God has a pattern for how to live life makes it correspond closely with the game of baseball. Baseball is played according to a defined and enforced pattern. The pattern is to connect with the ball at home plate, then run to first base, to second base, to third base and back to home plate for a score. To play by any other pattern will result in an out not a score.

So, when someone (even a Christian) claims it doesn't matter how they live, they either don't understand baseball or don't care.

Anyone who applies that belief to baseball will not make it past the T-Ball level of the game. No Little League coach in the world will allow a player on his team who refuses to run the bases in the proper order. Even a T-Ball coach would not be happy about it.

That person who believes, even sincerely, that it doesn't matter how you play the game will be quickly confronted with the error of his thinking! Maybe the first time a little person smacks the ball off the tee and runs to third it seems cute and funny. But each time after that it becomes increasingly less funny. Eventually it becomes irritating. A player like that contributes nothing to his team.

In the same way, one who claims he can be a Christian and live according to his own pattern makes a claim as foolish as that of the misguided T-Ball player. That person will not enjoy life or faith. He will be a liability to any team he would belong to.

This is why we are studying the "Home Run" life for these 40 Days! It clearly illustrates how God's pattern is a winning life!

How will you play the game today?