I am speaking at a church in Washington at a men’s gathering tomorrow. Patty and I drove up tonight and are staying in a motel. So, I got to watch the first game of the World Series. It was a good game and fun to watch. I don’t watch baseball during the season, so I don’t have a favorite team, but my good friend Al’s favorite team is the Yankees because he grew up in New York State, so I am rooting for the Yankees. They lost the first game tonight because of a grand slam homer in the bottom of the 10th inning. I wonder how the pitcher felt. They brought him out of the bullpen to face this batter with the bases loaded, and whammo, game over. A lot of people saw him throw that pitch. I am guessing that tonight will be a tough night for him to get to sleep.

Have you ever had one of those kind of experiences where you wish you could just die? Probably, none of us have had as bad of an embarrassing experience as that Yankee relief pitcher, but we all have experienced shame, which isn’t fun. I have had group conversations with many pastors, and we get started telling some of our most embarrassing experiences. Some of them are hilariously funny. While playing a basketball game in High School, my brother grabbed an offensive rebound, dribbled down to the other team’s basket, and made a layup, giving them two points. Everybody in the stands laughed and the coach yelled, oops.

Often, our most shameful experiences are sins we have committed. I am glad that my worst ones are in the past. The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He not only paid the penalty for our sins, but He also felt the shame of them. Because He has felt all of our shame, He understands us and will help us conquer those shameful experiences.