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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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The
Colorado Rockies opened their baseball season with an
away game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals earlier this
week. Jeff
Francis, the left-hander, who tied the franchise
record with 17 wins last year, was the starting
pitcher for the Rockies.
He walked his first batter with four straight
pitches. Then
he walked the next batter with the same number of
pitches. A
third batter reached 1st base after the
next four pitches.
17 of the first 19 pitches that Francis threw
were off the mark! To
make matters worse for Francis and the Rockies, the
Cardinals managed to get four runs in the 1st
inning with a two-run double from Rick Ankel and a
two-run single from Yadier Molina.
The second inning also proved to be quite
painful for Francis as Albert Pujols hit a solo home
run to increase their lead. A major league pitcher is often judged on the basis of his earned run average, or ERA. This number represents the average number of earned runs given up by the pitcher per nine innings. Calculating the runs earned by the Cardinals while Francis pitched, he was on his way to beginning the season with a 19.31 ERA – a horrendous average for a major league pitcher! But
then something remarkable happened:
it began to RAIN! And then
it POURED! With
one out in the third inning and the Cardinals leading
5-1, the game was called due to a downpour. The stats
of the game were erased, and the game
was rescheduled. Francis’
disappointing performance was forever erased from the
record books. * Jeff Francis is not the only one who has had a horrible performance at times! We too have “missed the mark.” ALL of us have made “errors” – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our “ERA,” which could be called “Errors Recorded by ALL,” is off the charts due to our mistakes. But
due to His great love and His desire to forgive us,
God has “sent the rain” to provide the opportunity
for us to have our record wiped clean. God will “wipe the record clean” of those who: believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed) in Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16). He will continue to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7). With those who recognize their need for a Savior, we exclaim: “Bring on the Rain!” God has promised that when we humble ourselves in faith and obedience, He will bring “showers of forgiveness” into our lives. Won’t YOU trust and obey Him? -- David A. Sargent, Minister Church
of Christ at Creekwood * Information gleaned from AP sports writer, R. B. Fallstrom. Thanks also to Garrett Bookout of the Bear Valley church of Christ in Denver, CO, for reporting on this event with another excellent application in Daily Bread. http://www.bearvalleycofc.org/ To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchzip.com Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
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