Can we continue the sports theme for one more day? The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series for the first time in their 56-year existence, defeating the Tampa Bay rays in five games. I didn’t have a dog in the fight: the Rockies have had one World Series appearance, back in 2009, and they’ve been recently setting records for losing.

Not the Brewers:

The were Milwaukee Brewers were the best team in Major League Baseball all season. They were far and away the best for the first three weeks of October, the sport’s most crucial month. And they were the best during the 123rd World Series…

After staking their claim at the top of the sport all season long, it culminates here: For the first time, the Milwaukee Brewers are champions of the baseball world, and they deserve it.

There is simply no facet of baseball and of winning games at which the Brewers do not excel. Only one team scored more runs. They ranked fifth in steals, first in walk rate. They led the majors in batting average and on-base percentage. They did not rely on homers but could go deep when needed and ranked seventh in average exit velocity. In run prevention, the Brewers ranked second in team ERA and second in strikeout rate. The team defense was in the top five to 10 in most leading metrics.

The Brewers are a small-market team with a relatively low payroll, and they defeated their opposite, the Los Angeles Dodgers, sweeping them in the playoffs, 4 games to 0. After game 3 of the World Series, which put them up 3 – 0 over the Rays, the question was, “Can they close it out or will they try to coast to victory?” Here’s your answer:

“We’re focused on winning tomorrow,” Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick said. “We’re going to treat it like a Game 7. We obviously know that one more win can get us a nice trophy, but it’s really just win every pitch, every inning, every at-bat. That’s kind of what got us here.” – Reported on ESPN

“Win every pitch, every inning, every at-bat. That’s kind of what got us here.”

That was a good attitude going into game 4, which they lost in 12 innings. The game was tied 2-2 from the 6th through the 11th innings. The Brewers hit a home run to go up 3-2 in the top of the 12th, but the Rays came back to win 4-3. The Brewers’ response after the game?

“This stuff is not supposed to be easy,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said. “It’s supposed to test you.”

“It’s going to be hard,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “When you’re achieving something like this, it’s going to have its adversity.”

Wow. Then they went out and won the fifth game 4 – 1, winning the World Series. It’s clear they had mastered the fundamentals of baseball and they persisted in deploying them.

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and Determination alone are omnipotent. – Attributed to Calvin Coolidge

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way… Paul, recorded in Philippians 3.12 – 15, ESV

On Sunday, October 25, Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix ran “62 yards” for a touchdown. Of course, the actual run was longer. It looks to me as if he took off running from the 28 yard line, making it a 72-yard sprint. It’s a fun play to watch (unless you’re an Arizona Cardinals fan):

There are a couple of lessons. First, quarterback Bo was just “delivering the cheese.” It was obviously a called pass play. He didn’t expect the whole left side of the field to open up in front of him. He certainly wasn’t mentally prepared to sprint 70 yards for a touchdown. But he did. No doubt Bo had trained, including running wind sprints, even though he ordinarily wouldn’t be expected to run that far.

When the opportunity comes, it’s too late to train.

Train yourself for godliness. (1 Timothy 4.7)

Second, it was a solo run but a team effort. Note, especially in the replay on the video, the action of two of the Bronco receivers. When they saw Bo take off, they kept running their routes (one right, one left) as though Bo were still looking for someone to throw to. They drew their defensive guys away from Bo’s track. That’s quick, selfless thinking.

He must increase; I must decrease. – John the Baptist (recorded in John 10.30)

There are always lessons from sports.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. (1 Corinthians 9.24, ESV)

Micah reminded us in chapter 4 that the purpose of knowing God’s law is so that we may “walk in his paths.” Micah 6 answers the question, “What does that look like?”

“With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

Nope. It’s “simpler” than that:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6.6 – 8, ESV)

Simpler? Remarkably simple.

• Do justice
• Love kindness
• Walk humbly with your God

Compare Jesus’ answer to the same question: Love God, love people.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Matthew 22.36 – 39, NIV)

Yesterday, I promised an answer from Micah 6 to the question, “What does it mean to walk in God’s paths?” But first, we need to look at a very well-known verse from Micah. It answers the question: “Where will the Messiah be born?”

Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler on the cheek with a rod.

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5.1, 2, NIV)

The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day were well aware of it when the wise men showed up in Jerusalem:

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2.3 – 6, NIV)

And Luke 2 tells us that it took a decree from the Roman emperor to get Mary to Bethlehem. Else, he would have been born in Nazareth:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2.1 – 7, ESV)

You don’t think God manages the world?

Micah 4 contains a promise for “the last days.”

In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Micah 4.1 – 2, NIV)

Note that the purpose of learning God’s ways is so that we “may walk in his paths.”

And there will be peace:

…They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the LORD Almighty has spoken. (Micah 4.3, 4, NIV)

But the last days haven’t arrived yet. Now, as when Micah was written, there is war.

Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the LORD will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. (Micah 4.10, NIV)

There will be the Babylonian Captivity, from which Israel will return. But this sounds like today’s headlines:

But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!” (Micah 4.11, NIV)

But God has a plan. Those enemies will be destroyed…”in the last days.”

But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations.” You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. (Micah 4.12, 13, NIV)

When? We have no idea. So let’s go back to the beginning:

He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. (Micah 4.2, ESV)

There’s no other reason to learn about God! All the issues going on today – LGBT…, AI, politics,… – how does God want ME to live? Not how does he want others to live!

Stay tuned for a specific answer from Micah 6.

Continuing with Micah’s theme of false prophets, the game only works for so long:

This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them. Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.”(Micah 3.5 – 7, NIV)

Meanwhile, God’s prophet has a job to do, and it has nothing to do with predicting the future:

But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin. (Micah 3.8, NIV, emphasis mine)

And he proceeds to do just that:

Hear this, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel,

• who despise justice and
• distort all that is right;
• who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.
• Her leaders judge for a bribe,
• her priests teach for a price, and
• her prophets tell fortunes for money.

Yet they look for the LORD’s support and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.” Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. (Micah 3.9 – 12, NIV)

“…Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble…” And it was:

But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand…And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire… (2 Chronicles 36.17 – 19, ESV)

Back to Micah, which we introduced on Friday. Micah 2 opens with why God is judging Judah. Note that it’s not for lack of religious activity as in, “You people don’t go to church enough!” Religious activity isn’t mentioned. The sin is in how other people are treated:

Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance. (Micah 2.1, 2, NIV)

The consequence:

Therefore, the LORD says: “I am planning disaster against this people…” (Micah 2.3, NIV

As often happens, the solution is “shoot the messenger:”

“Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” (Micah 2.6, NIV)

Then Micah observes:

If a liar and deceiver comes and says, “I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,” that would be just the prophet for this people! (Micah 2.11, NIV)

We have no shortage of such “prophets” today. Some are seminary-trained men running for public office. Many of them touting their “religious heritage” while saying exactly the same things that others in their party are saying. Talarico in Texas and Hamilton in Kansas come to mind.

Sometimes there really is “nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1.9)

I don’t know why this is the only “holiday” in which the “eve” gets more attention than the day! Halloween = “All Hallows Eve” or the Eve of All Saints’ Day.

All Saints’ Day is a celebration of all Christian saints, particularly those who have no special feast days of their own, in many Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant churches. In many western churches, it is annually held on November 1…It is also known as All Hallows Tide, All-Hallomas, or All Hallows’ Day.

And by “saints” we include ALL believers who have preceded us in death. Some churches remember them on the Sunday nearest All Saints’ Day; others, the Sunday after Easter. It’s not a bad practice – remembering “the great cloud of witnesses.”

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 11.32 – 12.2, ESV, emphasis mine)

Halloween? Not in this blog, but stay tuned tomorrow for a remembrance of All Saints Day.

No, long-time friend and faithful blog reader Laura McGlothlin reminded me that today is Reformation Day, the anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. Martin Luther’s objective was to prompt discussion on reforming the Catholic Church.

One of Laura’s missionary colleagues, Mark Giebink of Teach Beyond, wrote this acrostic to teach key elements of the Reformation. Thanks, Laura and Mark!

–Mark’s acrostic–

R eform – it was Luther’s desire to purify or reform the Roman Catholic Church, not to split it. 

E very believer a priest – this was one of the main teachings of the Reformation – that all had access to God through Christ alone.

F aith alone – ‘Sola Fide’ Inspired by passages like Romans 3:28, Luther claimed that salvation was only by faith- not works, sacrament, etc.

O ctober 31, 1517 – formal start of the Reformation (1517 – 1648)

R omans 1:18 – “a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. . . the just shall live by faith.”  One of the passages that deeply impacted Luther

M artin Luther – (1483-1546) – a German priest, professor, hymn writer (promoter of congregational singing), married to Katharina Von Bora (6 children)

A uthority of God’s Word- another key tenet of the Reformation

    “I cannot submit my faith either to the Pope or to the Councils, because it is clear as day that they have frequently erred and contradicted each other. 

     “Unless, therefore, I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture. . . I cannot and will not retract. . . Here I stand, I can do no other. So, help me God, Amen.”

T ranslating Bible into common languages – Martin Luther translated the Bible into German to give access to all people; coincided with Gutenberg Press invention.

     Also translations were done in Dutch [1526], French [1528], Spanish [1569], Czech [1579 – 1593]

I ndulgences – one of the main things Luther taught against (addressed in the 95 Theses) – that you could somehow buy your way into heaven.

      “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” Luther was vehemently opposed to this practice.

O ther reformers – Calvin, Zwingli (Reformed), Menno Simmons (Anabaptist/later Mennonites),  Knox (Presbyterian), Wycliffe, Hus (Anglican), etc.

N inety-five Theses – debated and criticized the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, but concentrated on the selling of indulgences and other church doctrine and practice

–end of Mark’s acrostic–

Again, thanks to Mark Giebink for this acrostic and my friend Laura for passing it on.

We would do well to remember that we are all always needing to be re-formed. Personally and corporately. We should all always be looking for our next area of growth. Praise God for the past, yes, but not stuck there.

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21.5, ESV)

PS “…we are all always needing to be reformed” including the Roman Catholic Church which eventually implemented some of Luther’s ideas. For sure, the sale of indulgences went away. I was pleased to read this snippet in (current) Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnificent Humanity. Speaking of the Church’s witness in the public square, he wrote:

…the Church – along with other Christian denominations and believers of other religions – must make her voice heard,… – Paragraph 27

(The Roman Catholic Church has not always referred to the rest of us as “other Christian denominations.”)

PPS This blog essentially reprises what I published on October 31, 2023.

Our reading plan brings us to Micah, one of four prophets of the 8th century, B.C.:

Micah, the final member of that powerful quartet of writing prophets who burst on the world scene in the eighth century b.c. (Isaiah, Hosea, and Amos were the others), like virtually all his fellow prophets—those charged with keeping people alive to God and alert to listening to the voice of God—was a master of metaphor… (From The Message)

Here’s the ESV intro:

Micah prophesied in Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (about 750–700 B.C.), at about the same time as Isaiah. It was a time of prosperity, and Micah denounced the wealthy, who were oppressing the poor, and warned of impending judgment. The northern kingdom actually fell during Micah’s ministry, in 722, and Judah almost fell in 701 (2 Kings 18–20). The book contains three sections, which alternate between words of warning and messages of hope. Micah told of a day when there would be peace among all nations, who would then be able to “beat their swords into plowshares” (4:3), and of a royal deliverer who would save God’s people from all her enemies. This deliverer would be born in Bethlehem (5:2).

And Micah starts with a boom:

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.

All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. (Micah 1.1 – 6, ESV)

Note that the vision is for “Samaria AND Jerusalem…for the transgression of Jacob AND for the sins of the house of Israel.” Remember, two different countries, since the divided kingdom of 1 Kings 12.

The problem is that the Northern 10 (Israel) was founded on idol worship – the golden calves – and they spread their sin to Judah:

For her [Samaria’s] wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem. (Micah 1.9, ESV)

Buckle up. And remember: “prophecy” is less about the future and more about how we’re supposed to live today.