Playing Texan: Can't Miss for the weekend of Feb. 28-Mar. 2

     Here are the four things you can't afford to miss this weekend in the world of sports. (All times EST)

1. ACC Men's Basketball- (4) Syracuse (26-2, 13-2 ACC)  vs. (12) Virginia (24-5, 15-1 ACC):Saturday 4pm (ESPN); As conference play winds down, the one and two teams in the ACC face off in a top 25 showdown that will decide the ACC regular season champion and #1 seed in the conference tourney. This game could also have a major impact on both teams' NCAA Tournament resumes.
2. NHL-Pittsburgh Penguins (84 pts., 1st in Metrpolitan) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (84 pts., 2nd in Central):Saturday 7pm (NBC) (at Soldier Field);The NHL's Stadium Series concludes with a prime time matchup between two teams at the top of their divisions. The Pens have a commanding 5-game lead in the metropolitan and are all but assured to have home-ice advantage through at least the Eastern semifinals. The Blackhawks are level on points with St. Louis but are losing the wins in regulation tiebreaker by two games (30 to the Blues' 32), meaning that, while not a must-win, Chicago definitely needs to keep this thing out of overtime.
3. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series-The Profit on CNBC 500k:Qualifying/Friday 6:30pm (Fox Sports 1), Race/Sunday 3pm (Fox) (at Phoenix Inernational Raceway); This weekend is a big one for NASCAR, as the new, Formula One-style qualifying debuts for the Cup cars. Another major storyline is seeing if Dale Jr. can pick up back-to-back wins, which would virtually make him a lock for the new Chase Grid.
4. NBA-Chicago Bulls(41-26, 4th in East) vs. Dallas Mavericks(36-23, 6th in West):Friday 8pm (CSN-Chicago/Fox Sports Southwest);With a slow weekend for the Association, this is the only matchup even remotely worth watching. Chicago is trying to pull ahead in the race for the division title while Dallas, coming off a buzzer-beater win against the Knicks, are fighting to stay in the playoff hunt in the West.

To Serve or Not to Serve

Yesterday Governor Brewer of Arizona vetoed a bill whose supporters said it was designed to protect religious freedom while it's opponents compared it to Jim Crow laws. The bill has come out of the recent debate on whether a business owner can deny services to a person or persons based on their sexual orientation. A federal judge has also struck down a Texas law that states only a male and a female can form a marriage relationship. A higher court is reviewing the decision right now. This debate has been raging for years but recently has gone into overdrive. Both sides feeling alienated at one point by the government. The debate is causing folks on both sides to draw lines in the sand and to stop talking to one another. The pro-gay rights side is calling the other side hateful and homophobic while the other side is countering that the pro-gay rights side is immoral and a threat to society.

First of all, I am a Christian first and foremost. I love this nation but this nation is not my hope. Even if all of society disagrees with me, I will still hold true to what is right and what is good. Homosexual acts are a sin. Everything that I have read in the Bible tells me this is true. I cannot stand by and be a moral relativist in any area. This does not mean that someone who is gay is not a Christian. We have a God who came to this Earth and died for all of us and anyone who accepts Him is accepted by Him. So for my fellow Christians who identify themselves as gay, I would strongly encourage you to speak with your minister or priest. Some ministers and priests will say it's a sin and others will not say it's a sin. As Christians, we are responsible to God for our actions. Our greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is why all should examine themselves on a regular basis and ensure they are following the teachings of the Bible. This would include seeking the council of someone who is much wiser in the scriptures than themself. If you are not a Christian then these rules do not apply to you. You more than likely see Christianity as a bunch of rules that determine who goes to Heaven and who goes to Hell. That is not Christianity and I would hope that you would explore it. You will find that our Hope is in Christ. That someone must be punished for our sins and that someone was Christ. We are no longer slaves to sin or to the law. We die to sin daily and the law reminds us that we can never meet God's standards. That does not mean that we do not try to live like we should. It just means that we know that our behavior will never be good enough to get us to God. 

As for us Christians who are not gay, we need to remember that we are just as broken as any other human being. We get hung up on individual sins quiet often. If someone gossips, it's a sin but not such a bad sin. If someone is gay, it's a huge sin. If you're a Christian then you should know that sin is sin. We are all rebellious. We have all been the enemy of God. So what this comes down to many times is behavior modification. We want to take those who are not saved and change their behavior before Christ has called them into His kingdom. Many times we are reminded that we are Heaven's ambassadors here on Earth. Following that logic then we should know that an ambassador does not go to another country to change it's laws. They are there to represent their country. They are still subject to their country's laws and they are there to help their fellow countrymen in that foreign land. Why is it then we are so concerned about the behavior of foreigners that do not understand our way of life or our way of thinking? The best way to represent your nation is to serve others in the host nation. That means as long as we are not violating the laws of our homeland then we are to serve those around us. This is the essence of Christianity. Christ was the ultimate foreigner. He was God living with His creation. He was the Creator living in the same kind of body as His creation. Yet, He served us and on a daily basis. He served the prostitute. He served the woman with multiple husbands. He served the tax collector. He even served soldiers of the occupying force. He never once violated His law in doing so. 

What is the proper role of the government in this entire debate? I do not believe in laws that force someone to serve others (excluding violations of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments). I also do not believe in laws that condone such actions. That might be the easy way out of that debate but so be it. Having said that when it comes to marriage, I believe in a neutral government as well. Marriage is a religious ceremony. The state should not be in the business of regulating marriage. The state should not charge two people between $22 and $82 to enter into a covenant with God. Having said that, a marriage license does not violate God's Law so as a Christian, I was still obligated to follow that law and custom about a week ago even though I disagree with it. Also having said all of that, the state will continue to regulate marriage. That is not going away anytime soon if ever. That means that the state must not make laws that prohibit the free exercise of religion or establish a religion. This means if someone's religion allows them to marry someone of the same gender then the government must recognize it. While I do not condone gay marriage, I cannot condone the government trampling another person's right to freely worship the way they see fit. God gave them the right to freedom of religion, not society and not the government. 

I know many Christians who are worried about the country no longer reflecting their values. To them I say to put their hope and trust in Christ not our nation. I do love this nation and I am happy everyday that I can live in an environment that allows me to worship the way that I see fit but if tomorrow that all ended, I would still have hope. I would still worship Christ.

For those who are gay, please do not feel as though I do not love you. I do love you. I do not look at you as inferior to me. If you are saved by the blood of our savior then I do not think of you as less of a Christian. I will still talk with you, laugh with you and serve you. 

Resolution for the Security Council

The United Nations is an organization that was formed to promote peace and stability throughout the world. It has not been a perfect organization. It has more than enough flaws. One of those flaws has been the Security Council. For those who are unfamiliar, this is the council seen on TV when there is a world crisis. There is a table in the the middle of the room with the United States, China, Russia, France and Great Britain. Then another horseshoe table surrounding that table with ten representatives from other nations. The Secruity Council has the teeth of the UN. It can authorize actions and gives those actions international legitimacy.  The council has authorized actions such as peacekeeping missions. It also authorized the use of force to help South Korea fight North Korea after the 1951 invasion of the south. The USSR missed that meeting. 

There are currently three main problems with the council. It is very difficult to get an action authorized even when there is an obvious need. The five permanent members of the council carry a great deal of power when they do agree on an action. Three of the permanent five members have been surpassed by other nations throughout the world when it comes to power and influence. 

A huge hurdle to getting a resolution passed by the council is the fact that anyone of the permanent five members can unilaterally veto the action. This either leads to no approval for an action or to softer actions to ensure some sort of action. A solution to this problem is to require three of the five permanent members to agree to a veto before a resolution fails. Also allow for an override of a veto. If twelve members of the council agree on a veto, they should be allowed to override a veto.

The next problems are when the five do agree, this gives them a great deal of power and they are not always the five most powerful nations. Under the current system, if the five agree on a resolution, they only need to find four more votes from the ten non-permanent members. The reasoning behind allowing the permanent five to have so much power is because they led the fight against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. To combat this problem of these nations now having so much power, the council size needs to be increased to 17 members (5 permanent and 12 non-permanent). The current system has set areas where the non-permanent members are elected. There needs to be two new areas created in addition to the current areas. Those nations who became independent after the Soviet collapse should always have a member on the council. The next group should be the Commonwealth Nations that are associated with Great Britian. The former Soviet nations had those who were just as much apart of the Red Army as were the Russians. Those in the Commonwealth were either part of or fought along side the British Army. Under the current system, a non-permanent member has a representative for two years on the council. Half are elected on odd years with the other half on even years. The former Soviet republics an Commonwealth Nations need to have three year terms with the election of each not being in the same year. Those other nations should also be allowed to stay in their current areas. For example, Georgia would still be eligible to hold the Eastern Europe seat in years that it was not holding the former Soviet seat. Under this system, there would need to be 10 members to vote for a resolution to pass it.  This would decentralize more power and allow for the council to reflect world power more accurately. 

The Secruity Council has been used to help bring peace an stability to the world at times. It needs to be improved to avoid situations like Rwanda.        

The Wedding Death

Marriage and funerals are very similar. They are both a ceremony celebrating the transition from one life to another life. The death of an old one and the beginning of a new one. 

We do joke in western society that our life is over once we are married. Then in western life, we try to retain our individuality while trying to live life together with someone else. This life with the other person is like no other relationship. We have friends that we live life with but they go home at the end of the day. We live life with our children but one day they grow up and leave the house (albeit less in 2014 than in 1997). We also have significant others. Sometimes we live with that significant other. While many in this situation may spend their entire lives together, this is still not the same commitment as in marriage. I don't doubt they love each other very much but what binds that relationship? Some would say the only difference between this relationship and marriage is a piece of paper. Of course married folks get divorced quite a bit in our society. If you think it's easy to get divorced then you have never been through it. You find out quickly that that piece of papers binds a lot but it's not just that paper. It's the emotional upheaval. It's the ripping apart of a spirit. It hurts and hurts a lot. I don't care what the situation was that led to the divorce the pain is strong.

Marriage is death. It is the death of the individual. It means that the needs, wants, desires and dreams of the individual have to mesh with another individual. It means something more than compromise. Compromise means that two people agree on something that makes them happy about parts of it and not so happy about other parts of the deal. In marriage, both need to be happy with the end result. They must agree they are doing the best for their marriage. If one party even thinks that part of the agreement hurts them in someway or is less than desirable, the marriage will have a huge strain. 

The individual is very important in western society and seems to be essential to American life. This puts marriage at odds with our values. We want our cake and eat it too. We want to still be an individual when it fits our interests and a couple when it fits our other interests. In a marriage, the two become one. When it comes to a person's body, the left leg cannot decide to run while the right leg decides to walk. It does not work. In our society, we are told to pursue what will make us happy. We want to get the most out of life for ourselves. If the career requires moving then move, no matter the cost to the marriage. Go back to school and get the next degree, no matter the cost to the marriage. Doing these things are not bad things. In fact, they can improve the marriage. Sometimes there may not be any other choice but to do these things. Before making these decisions, the couple must make sure there will be no resentment. They both must be willing to make the changes or not make the changes without any regret. They must know the good of the marriage outways the good of the individual. 

I am sure that some will read this and think it is backwards thinking. They will say that two people can pursue their own interests and still keep a marriage together. I would say to them that the key is putting the other's needs ahead of your own. If one has a great opportunity then encourage them to take it and support them fully. Also make sure that your opportunities never sacrifice any part of the marriage. The marriage must be priority one. 

There are many examples of God's relationship to us. Savior, father, brother and friend just to mention a few. The one that will be the ultimate relationship with God will be His marriage to the church at the end. We are reminded as men to love our wife as Christ loves the church. That means to protect and to sacrifice. He gave up everything. Not just talking about His life but also separation from the Father just out of love for us. So when we are told to love like Christ, it means much more than a feeling. It's an action.  

Stand Up or Stand Down

We live in a world where people say keep to yourself. What is right for me may not be right for someone else. If I stand up to this injustice then I will be seen as small minded or intolerant by some. If I stand up to that injustice then I will be seen as anti-God by some. My voice is way too small and does not matter anyways. Why should I worry about what happens to another human being? It does not matter in my life. These attitudes give evil a strong foothold in this world.

What is right for me may not be right for someone else. This attitude assumes there is no absolute truth in this universe. Even if one believes that all things are relative they must at least recognize that everything is relative is the absolute truth of the universe. This attitude also assumes the other person has considered the subject at hand from any other perspective other than their own. They may have never heard of your point of view. While you probably won't change their mind right then and there, you may get them to question their own and that is always a good thing.

If I stand up to an injustice, I will be seen either as intolerant by some or anti-God by others. I don't know how many times that I state my views on something and one side is calling me stupid and the other side is calling me amoral. Many times people have not thought about an issue or subject. They have heard what others have told them and they trust what those people (religious leaders politicians, celebrities, family, etc...) say without thinking critically about the subject. This leads to them to demonizing those who think differently. 

My voice is too small and I don't matter anyways. This is the attitude that so many people have in today's society. This is what those with the power want us to believe. If a team believes they are going to lose in the locker room, they will find everyway to lose on the field. This reason not to do something becomes less and less true as technology allows us to reach more and more people. Even if you do not use technology, you can at least influence your friends and family, you can vote, you can protest, you can write letters to government officials and so on and so forth. I do use technology to put my points of view out there. If I see an injustice, I will post on Facebook and Twitter. I know some do not like going on Facebook or Twitter and seeing serious topics and I get that. They want these items for entertainment. For those that feel passionate about something these can be a great tool to inspire others toward a cause.

Why should I are about others? You should not care about others unless they directly effect (or affect, I still don't know which is which) your life. That is of course you believe there is nothing more than this natural world. We are just biological organisms that function for a short time and then waste away to the point of non-existence. If this is your point of view please remember this quote from Martin Niemoller.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- 
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- 
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

If you do believe there is something more than this natural world then you should remember that we have a common bond. That we are all created in God's image and that every unopposed evil act distorts that image more and more.

Rangers 2014

It's almost baseball season. I can't wait. This year will be special one. I already have tickets to three Rangers games and will be visiting two other major league parks.

This will be a crucial year for the Rangers.  If Rangers fans had been told five years ago that by the 2014 season, the team would have been to two World Series, a new thing called a wild card game and a game 163, they would have said finally.   They would say that baseball life is finally good. Instead in 2014 there are grumblings of a World Series defeat that was grasped from the jaws of victory.  

This offseason they made a huge splash by trading Ian Kinsler to the Tigers for Prince Fielder.  They also signed Shin-Soo Choo. These two left handed bats should enjoy the Ballpark.

I am predicting Yu Davish will start a pitching run similar to that of Greg Maddux in the 90s.  The rest of the pitching staff is a huge question mark especially with Derek Holland being out early due to an accident with some stairs.  Neftali Feliz will be back but will he be a starter or closer? 

I am not sure why I am writing this about the Rangers other than that I am ready for baseball season. I am pretty sure that it does not make sense and there is no theme other than to say, "It's time."