An All-Star kind of day.

Chapel was not normal today. Little did I know, there was a Down Syndrome benefit game beforehand, and baseball was pushed back 2 1/2 hours. On the upside, I got to see a bunch of local celebrities and All-star baseball players.

The stadium was mostly full, and I was in the dugout waiting to see if I should stick around or just come back later. I was hanging over the dugout rail with a bunch of reporters and cameras on the other side. Suddenly there was an introduction and out of the opposite dugout came a line of celebrities dressed in red and white t-shirts. They were made up of local singers, a comedian and TV personalities, none of whom I knew. They stepped onto the field to a thunderous applause and then walked into the opposite end of my dugout where they paused for pictures.

The reporters began to clamor for them to come over, and they then walked toward us and were about to surround me. I decided I should move or tomorrow's paper might have a celebrity group photo and a headline of "Who the heck's that guy?"

The dugout filled with celebrity players and event volunteers so I had a seat under the dugout camera to wait it out. Then the Dominican players came out. A lot of big names. Jose Bautista, who had a huge year for the Blue Jays this year. Pedro Martinez had been there for half an hour signing autographs, but he walked onto to a wave of noise. David Ortiz. Vladimir Guerrero. Jose Valverde. I had a hard time hearing the names over the noise and lousy speaker sound where I was sitting, but I could recognize several of them by face.

Then Ubaldo Jimenez came and sat next to me under the dugout camera. A hard-throwing young pitcher, I drafted him in mid-rounds in fantasy baseball 2 years ago. He was one of the best pitchers in the game and made me look like a total genius.

I knew he'd be pitching in this slowpitch charity gam, and I reached over and slapped his shoulder.

"Ubaldo.  Good luck."

He smiled and reached out to shake my hand. His hands are huge. The ball must feel like a golf-ball when he throws it.

"Don't throw out your arm or anything," I joked.

He laughed. "I'm just gonna pitch covering my face," he said as he held up his mitt.

Pedro Martinez was taking the mound as Ubaldo and I sat there under the TV camera. Then a security guy I'd been chatting with came up and asked for me to take his picture with Jimenez. I took his cell phone and hopped down. They posed quickly and I snapped the shot. I sat back down and a procession of people would stroll by to say hi or get a picture. All with Ubaldo. None with me. (What's with that?)

Pedro was battling Guerrero out on the mound. One of the most feared pitchers in my time against one of the most ferocious hitters. But this battle wasn't exactly fearsome. The softball came in like Aberdeen city-league, fat and slow. Vlad took his trademark vicious cut but popped up sky-high to the infield on the first couple pitches. Finally he connected and sent it soaring over the temporary softball fence. The crowd roared and David Ortiz danced out of the dugout toward the mound, mocking Martinez for giving up the longball.

When Ubaldo finally pitched, it was mostly to the girls who clearly hadn't swung a bat in a while. His face was safe. The one good rip he saw was to Jose Bautista, who had 43 homers this past year, but here he pulled several foul and then lined out to third.

Later, the celebrity women went up on top of the dugout to dance between innings. The cheerleaders do that during the regular games, dressed in as little as they can get away with. These ladies though had on jeans and complete t-shirts. One of them showed up late and I let her use my hands as a step to scramble up with the others.

They were joined in their dance by several kids and young adults with Down Syndrome, and they all boogied down to the music, as the crowd clapped and sang.

It was a fun event and I think the people got their money's worth. I hope they raised a lot of money, too.

We finally had a game, too. The stadium was emptied and then re-filled. Abby brought the kids to their first game. It was Malachi's birthday, and I got to introduce him and the girls to the Escogido first baseman that I've gotten to know. He's a lefty, too, like Malachi, and talked to him about playing first base and baseball in general. The kids will remember that a long time.

A fun day. Just wish I would have taken my camera. Could have gotten some good pictures.

God and The Faithful Screw-up

Are you a screw-up? The Bible records stories of many failures, sins and shortcomings. Even its greatest heroes, with one Obvious Exception, are shown to be men and women of shortcomings. Sometimes devastating shortcomings.

Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith, is a wonderful example of sin, faith and salvation. This chapter contains a long list of Bible heroes, the names we heard in Sunday School, and shows their great examples of faith. It is an inspiring compilation, and has sometimes made me say, "Wow. If only I could somehow live up to that list. Those guys were awesome."

It can inspire us to live better lives, which is good. But it can also lead to despair if, (no) when we fall short. We've committed our lives to following Christ, doing what He wants, leaving the old, destructive habits behind, and then, wham. We screw up. A thought, a word, a deed that we know we shouldn't have done, but there it is. Done and no taking it back. No better than last time when we swore we'd do better.

We know that's not what God's looking for in his followers. He's looking for guys like Noah, the only righteous man in a wicked world. Or Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who followed God around the world and began a mighty nation. Or Moses, Joseph, David, Peter and Paul. Those are the guys God is looking for. The pillars. The rocks that God can build on. Not the losers.

It's easy to doubt ourselves, and ask if we're really even saved at all if this is what we have to show for it.

Read Hebrews 11. Sometimes it can make you feel like a little-leaguer visiting the baseball hall of fame, looking at the pictures and stats of Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle and others. It can be a bit intimidating. But a closer look tells a different story.

As we read the details of these Bible characters, we see flawed individuals. And unlike the great baseball players, they aren't commended for their accomplishments, but for what happened right before they acted. They had faith. They still messed up. Some of them messed up a lot. But they had faith in the One who never errs.

Take Noah. After being identified by God as a light in the darkness, after 100 years building the ark and one year floating around with God and the animals, after rebuilding in a new world, after all that, he goes out one night and gets drunk and makes a fool of himself. The Bible says he was at least 600 years old at that point. I'd say that's old enough to know better. But it still happened.

Abraham is an amazing example of faith, as are his son and grandson, Isaac and Jacob. Yet they were often insecure and afraid, lying and cheating their way through life. And not just early on, but throughout. Now they also had good works to show, but they never completely overcame their sinful nature.

But, what if they would have? What if they would have done just good deeds all the time? What if you and I did? Here's the interesting thing. By themselves, good deeds don't get us any closer to God.

Heb 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please God." Doing good without faith in God doesn't help. It then goes on to say that to come to God, we first must believe that He exists, and then that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. So, pleasing God, gaining access to God, doesn't come by what we do, but by what we believe. And even then, we don't have to get it right the first time.

Consider Sarah. Not ironic that she made it onto this list, but ironic for why she made it. Verse 11 says "she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised." You remember that story? The women who literally laughed when the angel told her she would bear a son. Not exactly a moment of great faith. But Sarah came around. She is listed here in the faith chapter, for the very act that initially was her greatest failure of faith. Jaded by years of longing and believing for a child and coming up empty, of seeing God bless others but never her in this way, her response was cynicism. But she came around.  She decided to have faith. And a nation was born.

Read the all of Hebrews 11 again soon. Rahab the prostitute is listed. Not a very noble profession there.

David was a man after God's own heart, but he was guilty of lust, adultery and murder. Try running for president with that on your record and see how it goes. And for David, like so many others, this was after years of walking with God and living by faith and working righteously. You'd expect a little more.

Gideon is on the list, faithless coward that he was. Over and over he asked God to prove that He really would be there for him. With all the questions for the angel and the dry fleece and the wet fleece, he wanted to be really, really, really sure that God wouldn't leave him hanging if he went out on the limb for Him. But he finally chose to have faith, and he acted on it.

Several more names. Several more similar stories. If I were Satan, I might say, "Really, God? That's your list? That's your all-star line-up right there? You sure that's what you want to go with?"

To which God would respond, "Absolutely it is! Only with some more names to add besides." Because in verse 16 he says, "Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Did you hear that? God is not ashamed of them. God is not ashamed of you. He knows what they did. He knows it and He wrote it down so you would know, too.

And why is God not ashamed of us? The sentence before. "But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country." That's why. Again verse 6; "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." He is proud of us because we seek Him; we desire a heavenly land; we want to be where He is. That's it. That's what comes from faith. And that's what gets us to God. Besides, God doesn't need us to be perfect heroes. That's His job.

Now, if we do have faith, James 2 clearly teaches that our actions will begin to show that. Faith without works is dead faith. But it isn't the actions themselves that make us worthy. It is the faith in God, and then a desire to be with Him.

So the review questions. Are you a screwup? Do you have faith in God? Do you long to be with Him? If you answered yes to these, you will fit in well with this list of "the heroes" of faith that God is waiting for.