Nathan has done the impossible—he has turned me into a baseball fan. Admittedly I don’t watch but one team, the Rays, but that’s still a lot more than I ever watched before.
Now that I know more about the game, the statistics mean more too. I recently ran across this one: On June 2, 1922, Stuffy (John Phelan) McInnis, a first baseman for the Indians, ended an errorless streak of 1700 chances. That means 1700 times in a row he caught every ball or tagged every player or threw every ball straight to get a man out. The streak began in 1921 when he was still with the Red Sox, and ended 163 games later. I have watched games this year alone where a Gold Glove winner had two or more errors in a single game.
All Stuffy McInnis had to rely on was himself and his own unaided ability. Why is it that we can’t run rings around this statistic? Why can’t we go more than a single day without a sin? “But I’m only human,” I keep hearing, and yes, I understand the concept of being too sure of oneself (1 Cor 10:12). But it isn’t me I am counting on, is it?
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. (1 Cor 10:13) Tell me, don’t you think God is faithful?
Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Pet 1:5) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Cor 10:4) Do you doubt the power of God?
Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials… (2 Pe 2:9). Do you think God doesn’t know what he is doing?
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (Jude 24). Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:25) Are you questioning God’s ability?
Yes, those passages speak of things we have to do too, but if you think what you do is the main ingredient in overcoming sin, you are already thinking too highly of yourself. When we try to overcome sin, it isn’t our own skill we are counting on, it’s the power of God. He has promised he will help us and that nothing will happen that we cannot handle. He has promised us everything we need, every weapon available, to fight the adversary, and he has promised that those weapons are more than sufficient to get us through any ordeal. If we don’t make it, it’s because we forgot to rely on him and his help. We may never go 1700 chances without a sin, but surely we can do better than we have in the past.
Stuffy McInnis got his nickname because every time he made an amazing defensive play people said, “That’s the stuff!” God has all the “stuff” we need. Now let’s get out there and use it.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5
Dene Ward
Now that I know more about the game, the statistics mean more too. I recently ran across this one: On June 2, 1922, Stuffy (John Phelan) McInnis, a first baseman for the Indians, ended an errorless streak of 1700 chances. That means 1700 times in a row he caught every ball or tagged every player or threw every ball straight to get a man out. The streak began in 1921 when he was still with the Red Sox, and ended 163 games later. I have watched games this year alone where a Gold Glove winner had two or more errors in a single game.
All Stuffy McInnis had to rely on was himself and his own unaided ability. Why is it that we can’t run rings around this statistic? Why can’t we go more than a single day without a sin? “But I’m only human,” I keep hearing, and yes, I understand the concept of being too sure of oneself (1 Cor 10:12). But it isn’t me I am counting on, is it?
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. (1 Cor 10:13) Tell me, don’t you think God is faithful?
Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Pet 1:5) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. (2 Cor 10:4) Do you doubt the power of God?
Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials… (2 Pe 2:9). Do you think God doesn’t know what he is doing?
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, (Jude 24). Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb 7:25) Are you questioning God’s ability?
Yes, those passages speak of things we have to do too, but if you think what you do is the main ingredient in overcoming sin, you are already thinking too highly of yourself. When we try to overcome sin, it isn’t our own skill we are counting on, it’s the power of God. He has promised he will help us and that nothing will happen that we cannot handle. He has promised us everything we need, every weapon available, to fight the adversary, and he has promised that those weapons are more than sufficient to get us through any ordeal. If we don’t make it, it’s because we forgot to rely on him and his help. We may never go 1700 chances without a sin, but surely we can do better than we have in the past.
Stuffy McInnis got his nickname because every time he made an amazing defensive play people said, “That’s the stuff!” God has all the “stuff” we need. Now let’s get out there and use it.
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5
Dene Ward
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