I don't think that it's a secret that I love Baseball. Especially New York Yankee baseball. I became a fan of the Yankees while growing up in Norfolk. Before my Grandmother was murdered she would send me Yankee memorabilia. Norfolk had a Triple A baseball team. They were called the Tidewater Tides, now the Norfolk Tides. The Major League Team affiliated with the Tides were the New York Mets. Now my Grandmother, who lived in Denver, confused the Major League Team and sent me all Yankee items. I still remember the Yankee "Piggy Bank" she sent me. I miss that thing.
My parents were not really big sports followers. My dad never had time for such things, and my mom tried to follow Denver Bronco football. So I grew up following Baseball and Football. I loved Sports. My old man could never figure out how I got so wrapped up into sports because he wasn't a big follower. My Grandparents helped fuel my passion. From the time I was about 8 years old I followed the Yankees. I grew up watching guys like Dave Winfield, Chuck Knoblauch, and Don Mattingly. I remember when Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettite, and Mariano Rivera came into the league. I LOVE YANKEE BASEBALL. Maybe a little too much.
What if? What if I spent as much time reading my bible, studying the word, and even devoting some time with God that I do following baseball? What if I turned off the MLB Network or ESPN long enough to be with God? Ah Ha!! That's the trick. We tend to blame Satan for the wedge he puts between us and God. And there is truth to that. The enemy will do all he can do to distract us, to take our attention off God and onto other things. We all have a choice. God isn't a micro-manager. If He were, he wouldn't have put the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden. He placed it there to give us a choice. To follow and obey Him, or not. That's important to hear, because many many many people believe that being a Christian means adhering to strict rules. That's like me saying that I'm a strict parent because I won't allow my daughter to play in the street. We have that rule in place for her safety. God has given us instructions for our safety, and if we don't follow Him we get burned and then we get upset at God. Why? It's not like we were tricked or didn't know better. We know that drinking too much alcohol will cause us to be drunk. We know that doing drugs will cause us to do stupid stuff. We know that stealing is wrong. We know that lying is wrong. But if we do one of those things and something bad happens then we don't want to take responsibility for our own actions.
There is something else I know. WE. LIVE. IN. A. IMPERFECT. WORLD. Sorry to be the one to break the news to you. People die of cancer. Babies die and people are taken from the world sooner than we expect them to. You knew this too didn't you? BUT....here's the kicker...GOD'S STILL IN CONTROL. The enemy may try to make us stumble, the enemy may try to tempt you, and the enemy will lie to you. Here's a lie that Satan tried to put in my mind when my dad died. The enemy tried to make me feel like it was God's fault. I began to believe that lie. Another lie that the enemy put in my head was that my dad was in Hell. Now, one thing that I learned over time is that I don't really know what kind of relationship that my dad had with Christ. I was tempted to turn my back on God forever, but this is what 1 Corinthians 10:13 told me though, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God IS FAITHFUL, and He WILL NOT let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He WILL ALSO PROVIDE the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." How did God provide for me you ask? Glad you asked. He provided a strong church family, a great friend, and a great support system. Without those in place, only God knows where I would be today.
In no way am I perfect. I still stumble. I still fall. But I know that I am never alone. The feeling that I may get at times that it's just me against the world is only a lie. You see, when I die, I know where I will end up. My body will be 6 feet under, but not my soul. My body is only an Earth Tent like 2 Corinthians 5:1 says. I need to do a better job with time management, and my prayer is that we all do a better job with that. I pray that if you're reading this that you know where you're be when you die.
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