This week’s Cephas Hour examines, among other topics, the phenomena of baseball dads in light of our Father’s love. It also touches on the flip side of taking things before the Lord, and the value of a good Bible teacher.

You can listen to the show on demand at its website. The music mix is quite eclectic this time through, so be prepared to leapfrog a bit. Artists during the spoken segments are DeGarmo & Key, Bob Bennett, Rosalie, and Daniel Amos. In the music portion, we have Andy Pratt, The Choir, Kate Miner (on the multi-artist worship album “At the Foot of The Cross Volume One: Clouds, Rain, Fire,”) The Prayer Chain, 77s, Altar Boys, Undercover, Kerry Livgren, Tykus, and Crumbächer. Hope the show helps you.

My day job, which occasionally becomes an evening or night job depending on my shift, is at a sporting goods store. If one is so inclined, it’s an excellent place for societal observation.

The standard cliches about soccer moms notwithstanding, baseball dads provide the greatest fascination. Not all, but many fall into the trap of attempting to live out their own failed dreams of sporting glory through their sons, who, to a one are guaranteed never to make a major league roster. Or minor league. In fact, they most likely will never get into a local rec center pick-up game once their Little League days conclude.

Nevertheless, the dads certainly dress the part, sporting ball caps and jersey tops as they unblinkingly shell out hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on equipment for little Johnny that’s certain to make him the cream of the crop. Whether any child needs a $500 bat and $300 glove is debatable at best. But it’s my paycheck, so I won’t argue.

Instead, l go before the Lord and whisper a thank you that my place in His Kingdom, and my late parents’ hearts, was and is utterly not dependent on how well I swung or swing a bat or my ability to field a ball. Especially since I was, and remain, dreadful at both. No, my place depends on Christ’s love for me, as demonstrated on the cross. My parent’s love was shown by, among other things, their first dragging me to church every Sunday as a child and then bemused tolerance of my teenage zeal when I encountered Jesus during my high school days. I remember and, occasionally with tears, look forward with joy to the coming reunion in Heaven.

Where, hopefully, I can finally play ball at least a little.

Maybe it’s just me, but through the years, I’ve noticed the most challenging part of taking things before the Lord is leaving them there. I suspect I’m not alone in this. While we easily quote and believe in “cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you,” we also are but human and would like to think we have at least some say in righting the wrongs and doing the things.

Which is true. Nothing happens by sitting on our happy selves and wishing for something to be so. However, we also must make ourselves open to His guidance and empowerment through the Holy Spirit that lives inside us. Sometimes we get it right — other times, not so much. In either case, our best action plan is to remember not one of us has sufficient juice to derail God’s intent for our lives.

One of Scripture’s best-kept secrets is that there are no scriptural secrets. Its entirety is upfront to understand as best we can. When Peter wrote, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God, “he wasn’t kidding.

A good Bible teacher is worth his or her weight in gold. You can tell a good teacher by how often they don’t refer to themself. Instead, their entire focus is on helping believers better understand and appreciate the immense depth of Scripture. Nothing else. That said, they do not leave their teaching within the realm of spiritual lessons minus application to the daily. The Bible is not a dusty relic from days of yore. It flows and breathes through all aspects of life, touching all bases and bringing wisdom in places seldom suspected. We should never discount Scripture’s depth and wealth. Let it help you today.