Turtle

Today is Sunday, April 22, 2018. Day 21,955. Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Six days until our next Night of Worship.

Terry Francona turns 59 today. He said, “As a manager, the more consistent you are, the better off you are. It’s easy to be up when things go well. When things don’t go well, the players will follow your lead. So you have to be consistent and upbeat, which takes some work sometimes.” BrainyQuote

The word for today is traduce, a verb which means, “to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation.”

We had a nice day, yesterday, of not doing a whole lot. C went to the library and picked up some lunch while she was out. Then I went and picked up our Kroger Click List at around 3:30 PM. C painted some during the afternoon, while I played video games and learned something new about my new keyboard, getting it set up for this morning’s worship gathering.

The Red Sox lost their third game of the season, last night. And, I suppose, if you’re going to lose, you might as well do it in premier fashion! They only lost 3-0, but not only did they get shut out, they also got no-hit! And I watched every painful moment of it! Sean Manaea allowed only two base runners the entire game, one walk, and one on an error. The error was a possible questionable call by the scorekeepers, but you gotta figure the home town scorekeepers are going to protect the no-hitter if they can. There was also a close call at first base when Andrew Benintendi skirted around a tag to make to first base. He was initially called safe, but Oakland manager questioned the call, and the umpires gathered to discuss it. There was no instant replay review, but they decided that Benintendi had, in fact, left the base path to avoid the tag. The replays showed that they were right. But I wonder, had it not been a no-hitter, if that would have even come up.

At any rate, the Sox remain the best team in baseball by three games, with a record of 17-3. They finish the series with Oakland, this afternoon at 3:05PM CDT.

The Rangers gave up five runs in the seventh inning to lose their third consecutive game. They lost to the Mariners, 9-7.

We are getting ready for our worship gathering, this morning. We worship with The Exchange Church, which meets at 9100 N Beach Street in Fort Worth, TX. The gathering begins at 10:15 AM.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

“O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people:
Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who
calleth us each by name, and follow where he leads;
who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
The Book of Common Prayer

Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. 
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! 
  Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes! 
Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die! 
Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord! 
But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise
Psalm 79:8-13

I wonder, frequently, why God allows “the nations” to say, “Where is their God?” But I have the same faith as the writer of this Psalm. I, as one of the sheep of his pasture, will give thanks to him forever.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:29-31
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Colossians 3:12-13

In all of these verses there is a common thread: that of showing kindness and hospitality to others. Kindness, compassion, forgiveness, fellowship, love, humility, meekness, and patience are to be shown toward all people, but most especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should not, as Edward Grinnan puts it, in Daily Guideposts, “simply tunnel through life,” doing little or nothing for those who are hurting and needy. By God’s grace, we need to pay attention to situations around us, and be ready to serve in any way we can.

Father, you are only just beginning to get me out of my shell of isolation in my life. I have spent far too much of my life with the kind of tunnel vision that Edward describes in his prayer. But that is changing. And I pray that it continues to change, even though I am oh, so comfortable in that shell, like a turtle. Give me compassion and kindness and love toward other people, such that they have never seen before. Help me to even surprise people with love.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Grace and peace, friends.