Luke’s Notebook

This afternoon, I spent some time in the front yard with Seth, Jacob, Caleb, and David. I initially asked Seth if he wanted to play catch for a while. Jacob and Caleb got word of it and asked if they could join. Chub heard of it too and was definitely on-board. So… out the five of us went, breaking up into a couple of groups, tossing softballs and baseballs around. Jude joined us later on. We had a good little practice session there, as I was able to give Seth practice with plays at home plate — that is, catching a ball thrown in from the outfield and applying the tag to the runner.

At 7:30 this evening, we played against the Beavers. We had a close game, but we lost 13-10. I batted 3-4 with a triple and two singles. I actually raised my average up to .593. I’d love to be over .600 for the season, but that would take some doing. Ah well… win or lose, hit or out, it’s still fun.

Well, tomorrow morning a few of us are making a trip west on I-70 in order to catch the Cardinals in Kansas City, as they face off against the Royals this weekend. Should be fun!

Ephesians 4:29-32

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The last two verses are really potent. We’re to get rid of all bitterness, all rage, all anger, meaning there should not even be a trace remaining. And then we’re to replace that with being kind, compassionate, and forgiving.

I’m writing this mainly because I’m reminding myself of this standard. In the world today, it might seem like a pretty good accomplishment to only be somewhat bitter or partially angry. Heck, compared to a lot of people, we figure, we’re probably doing a pretty good job.

But we can’t compare ourselves to where the world is. The standard has been set in God’s Word, and when we measure ourselves using that as a guideline, we realize just how sinful and desperate we are. I know I can think of so many times where I have very much failed to meet that criteria; simply put, I’ve fallen short. After realizing my constant shortcomings, God’s mercy and forgiveness towards me becomes all that more amazing.

I just realized that I’m really into baseball. In talking with my brother Jude about the situation of the Mets/Cardinals game, I told him, “Mets are up 4-3 in the middle of the seventh, and Soup’s on the hook.”

Does anybody have any idea what that last phrase — “Soup’s on the hook” — means? I bet you know this one, Matt.

Tonight’s softball game was won by us by a 12-2 score in six innings. I batted 2-2 with a triple, double, and a walk. This is our sixth straight win. Not bad!

Today, I:

* Wished Philip happy birthday. He turned 16.

* Helped administer two shots to an alpaca.

* Played and eventually won two softball games, batting a combined 5-7, hitting a home run, a triple, a double, and two singles.

* Welcomed Mom and Dad home from their brief trip to Williamsburg.

* Played Xbox with Paul, James, and Seth.

A few days ago, I asked for feedback on what people interpreted the word “believe” to mean, specifically in the context of John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Instinctively, I would think to believe is to know or accept as truth; to have no skepticism or no specific reason to dispute whatever claim being made. While I think those are pretty good definitions of the word as used day-in and day-out by most people, I wonder if the definition of “believe” in John 3:16 is slightly different.

What I mean is, I think to believe in Jesus means more than to just say, “Okay, I can concede that this is a true story.” I think, in this instance, believing requires action on our part. The word “believe” might be kind of a catch-all in the sense of it means those who obey Him, trust Him, honor Him, know Him. In my opinion, believing in Jesus is obeying Him no matter what.

Why is this even an issue? Well, I think it matters because, if true, then people who call themselves Christians but aren’t following God or actively obeying Him, they’re on a path for destruction, yet they might be under the impression that all is okay. If people think that the only requirement for eternal life is to accept that the story of Jesus is true historically, then why would they want to turn from the ways of the world? They could shield themselves with that verse from John, reasoning, “Well, hey, I have no qualms with that story, so I guess I qualify.” If the definition of “believe” is different than just accepting that, then they’re in trouble.

To try to summarize: I think that believing in Jesus is something that is evidenced by the things you do in everyday life. It’s more than just having that knowledge in the back of your head; it’s something that’s living in your heart, where you are striving to be obedient in everything that you do. That’s much different, obviously, than simply knowing an interesting bit of trivia about how some guy named Jesus camed 2,000 years ago and died on a cross.

Yesterday, I had a chance to visit the new Busch Stadium for the first time. Paul and I went over to film some segments for “Cardinal Country,” and we stayed for the Diamondbacks/Cardinals game in the evening. While in the Cardinals dugout prior to the game, Jeff Suppan came up to us and said hi. He and Paul had talked about video stuff during a couple of previous trips Paul made to the ballpark. It was nice to meet him. He was very friendly, and he’s really into videography.

The new stadium is very impressive. There’s a beautiful view looking out towards centerfield, as you can see the old courthouse and the Arch. In fact, I have a photo that I snapped right before the Cardinals won. The view is from the lower level of the press box.

Pretty neat, huh? It’s hard to really see the Arch, but it’s there, in right-centerfield.

All in all, I give the new Busch Stadium very high marks. The stadium is much more open than the old park, it’s so much more fan-friendly, there are a lot of nice scoreboards, and I just really love the view out in centerfield. It’ll take some getting used to, as the old Busch is all I knew for 20 years, but I think I have already taken a liking to the new place.

By the way…

I’ll try to soon explain why I was so interested in what everybody thought about John 3:16 and the word “believe.” Maybe I can do that tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for the comments and e-mails, guys. I really appreciate your insight. If anybody wants to elaborate further, what I’m really wondering is what your definition/interpretation of the word “believe” is from John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

So in that context, what does “believe” mean?

Softball at Citizen’s Park

Tonight, we played softball against Muehl’s. We had another very close game, but we managed to hold on to a one-run lead and won the game 8-7. I batted 2-3 with a single, double, and a walk. That brings my average up to .580 for the year, which is a little higher than I finished at the end of last year.

This win gives us a four-game winning streak. For complete coverage of our softball team all throughout the summer and fall, check out The Sports Page, which Jude heads up.

This is a community project, so get out your thinking caps.

I want to know your definition of the word “believe.” Simply, what do you think it means? Please elaborate as much as you would like to explain how you interpret the word. What does it mean to believe in something?

By the way, I know there are a lot of people (both on Xanga and FamTeam) who might read these posts and never comment. I’d like to invite you to step out now and leave a comment, as I would really appreciate different perspectives. Thanks.

Tonight’s softball game was pretty unique. The outfield was covered with a pretty thick coat of fog, so it made things pretty interesting. The grass was wet, too, as we had some rain earlier in the day.

Anyway, it was also unique because we went into extra innings. A 7-7 tie took us into the eighth inning against Mueth’s Tavern/Curt Smith’s. We shut them down in the top of the inning, and in the bottom we had a chance to end the game. Jude batted with the bases loaded and one hout. He hit a fly ball into right-center, and it was deep enough to score Rob, who represented the winning run. So we won the game 8-7 in eight innings, and it was a big, big win for us. I batted 1-2 with a sacrifice fly, an inside-the-park homer, a ground out, and a walk.

By the way, in case you’re wondering why I was 1-2 when I got out twice, I shall explain. The way the scorekeeping works, if you hit a sacrifice fly and drive in a run — that is, you, say, pop the ball up, but somebody tags and scores on the play — that doesn’t count as an at-bat. So even though I got out that at-bat, it doesn’t go against my average. It’s a good rule.

Psalm 130

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

2 O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,

O Lord, who could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness;

therefore you are feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning,

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

8 He himself will redeem Israel

from all their sins.

If God kept a record of sins, who could stand? Who could compare themself to God’s commands and be held blameless? I love the verse “…with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.” Not partial redemption, not forgiveness with an asterisk next to it, but full redemption. Amazing!

In other news…

We won our 7:30 softball game against the Bellevillains by a score of 10-0. I batted 2-3 with a pair of doubles. I also subbed for a team at 6:30 and batted 2-4 there. I got to play first base for that team, so that was nice. I almost always play outfield, so I appreciate the opportunity to revisit first base every now and again.