by Stan Mitchell

Bob and Earl, two buddies, were great baseball fans. They watched about sixty games a year. One day, while discussing their favorite subject, they wondered if there was baseball in heaven. "I'll tell you what," Bob declared, "If I die first, I'll find out, and let you know."

The sad day came when Bob died and went to heaven. A few nights later, his buddy awoke to the sound of Bob's voice from beyond the grave.

"Bob, is that you?" Earl cried.

"Of course it's me!" Bob answered.

"That's unbelievable!" Earl exclaimed, "So tell me, is there baseball in heaven?"

"Well," Bob answered, "I've got good news and bad news."

"Tell me the good news first," Earl requested.

"OK. The good news is that, yes, there is indeed baseball in heaven."

"That's wonderful! So what could the bad news possibly be?"

"Oh, that," Bob replied. "You're pitching tomorrow night!"

Theologians have been unable to confirm the existence of baseball in heaven, but one thing in this story can be verified. Life is uncertain. We have a finite amount of it left, and we do not know when it will be we who are, well, pitching in heaven. Before we know it, we will be over there, trying to find out who's on first...

It's a good idea to work on our game while we have the time. We've got to keep our reflexes sharp, and our game in tune. There will come a day then The Manager will look over the roster. We all want to "make the cut," right?

"A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out -- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil to be condemned" (John 5:28,29, NIV).

Play ball!

by Richard Mansel

Committed Christians stand out in areas of morals, patterns of life, and outlook. They seem odd to most people. Why do they act and live as they do?

I am currently on a weight loss plan where I have lost 33 pounds since May. Technically, it is not a diet but a lifestyle change.

Likewise, Christ calls us to a lifestyle change rather than a temporary alteration. He said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, NKJV) and "be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).

A man I knew was in the midst of a terrible storm in his life. His wife had left him and her boyfriend had called the police claiming he had assaulted him. Subsequently his children were taken away and placed with his wife. He came to me in tears, we studied and one week later he was baptized. About a month later the charges were dropped, his children were returned and she agreed to return on a trial basis. He never attended worship again.

That young man wanted a salve rather than an enduring solution. Doctors face the same problem with their patients. They dispense medicine to cure the underlying problem with the patient's condition. However when the pain stops, the patient forgets the medicine. When the young man's problem was resolved, he felt the medicine was no longer needed. He simply went back to his life, unchanged. Neither he nor the patient were completely healed of their infirmities. They mistook the removal of pain for the actual cure.

Jesus wants Christians to develop a completely different mindset. He commands us to see everything in a new light; not with artificial lenses but with a new perspective. He asks for a radical change that some simply cannot handle (Matthew 19:16-22). He asks us to be "born again" to be completely different while retaining our individuality (John 3:3-5).

Jesus calls us to consider all our actions and reactions to various situations. In most cases what he would have us to do will be unnatural as the transformation occurs (Romans 12:1,2). For a shocking example, Jesus said we should "love our enemies" and pray for those "who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matthew 5:43,44).

As with most of the things God has asked us to do, they take concentrated effort. We can operate in this life on automatic pilot, doing what comes natural in all situations. Even animals can do that. Instead Jesus asks us to see everything from the new perspective he has given us. People are seen as souls, enemies as neighbors, language, dress, and lifestyle are to be seen as evidences of the Christian life. We think of our new manner of life in a spiritual sense and weigh things toward heaven. We are then closer to what Christ was when he was on earth (Matthew 5:13-16).

Christians are simply acting with new perspectives and motivations. They realize their efforts bring greater peace, satisfaction, and guidance as children of God. They are "in" but "not of the world" (John 17:11-17). They follow a different path dictated by God's word because they know this is the only path to eternal life in heaven (John 14:1-6; Revelation 20:11-15). And that is worth any effort!

by J. Randal Matheny

We sometimes feel unfulfilled, with one or more needs unmet. Perhaps a husband or wife doesn't give us enough attention. Parents may have neglected or abused us as children, and we still ache because they didn't provide us the home life we needed. Maybe we're high achievers who haven't reached the mark yet. Or some strange urge -- homosexual feelings, in-the-know hunger, a cruelty streak -- drives us to act out indecent or perverse behaviors.

To fill needs, people seek drugs, alcohol, food, sex, work, thrills, sports, or games. Just as marketers find a niche and fill it, Satan opens up a myriad of quick fixes for whatever ails us.

What is your need? Any need. Every need. List one, or list them all.

Now make a list of where you go to meet those needs.

Israel thought she had needs that God wouldn't or couldn't fulfill. But other gods could.

Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Psalm 81.8-10, ESV

God's cry to Israel belongs on every newspaper and network news today.

Our feet tread the wrong path, and God calls out to us change direction. He admonishes, corrects, chides, waves his hands high in the air to get our attention. One of his long-time appeals is, "Listen to me!" Because he knows best.

Every person, place, or thing that we seek out to fill our needs becomes a god. When we ignore the Lord's provisions or fail to trust him to supply all of life's needs, we will seek out other sources. That's why Paul will call greed idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Money promises security, importance, power, but it's an empty promise, as all gods make. For this reason, Jesus calls it "the deceitfulness of wealth" (Mark 4:19).

Memory of what God has done for us drives us to him for our present need. Israel's benchmark was God's deliverance from Egypt. The church recites the crucifixion as its day of creation and makes a case for God's goodness by every action of his in history.

Fullness to satisfaction is God's trademark. He is not a stingy, begrudging Deity, but "gives generously to all without finding fault" (James 1:5). Saints are obese! Not from lack of exercise, lack of sharing, lack of selflessness, but because God is generous. One preacher said no matter how fast we shovel out the blessings, God has a bigger shovel.

God is filling! So when I have a nagging need or an unfilled urge, I know just where to go.

by Phil Sanders

The next time you feel God can't use you, just remember people he did use:

Noah was a drunk Abraham was too old Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a greedy liar Leah was ugly Joseph was abused Moses stuttered and was violent Gideon was afraid Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer Rahab was a prostitute Jeremiah and Timothy were too young David had an affair and was a murderer Elijah was depressed and suicidal Isaiah preached naked Jonah ran from God Naomi was a widow Job went bankrupt John the Baptist ate bugs Peter denied Christ three times The disciples fell asleep while praying Martha worried about everything The Samaritan woman had had five husbands and was living with a man Zacchaeus was too small Paul was too religious Timothy had stomach troubles And Lazarus was dead!

God used them anyway. And He can use you to your full potential. You aren't the message; you are the messenger.

Instead of making excuses like Moses did, have faith in what God can do through you to make a difference in the lives of others.

Paul said, "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12,13).

God is more interested in your availability than he is your ability. Are you willing to let him work in your life and work through you?

Some things you can do: Invite a friend to worship soon. Send a card or give a call to someone sick or shut-in. Encourage a child. Strengthen his faith. Give a tract to a friend.

Who knows how much good God can do through you, when you are willing to let go and let God work?

By Michael E. Brooks

"If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience sake" (1 Corinthians 10:27).

In my experience one of the greatest concerns for those traveling for the first time outside their area of experience is the food that will be available to eat in the place of destination. We are aware that different people and cultures have widely varied dietary habits, and we are not always sure whether we will find the food of others to be appetizing or even healthy. Some like their food highly spiced, others like exotic meats or other things not customarily eaten by the travelers.

Campaigners in certain South American countries identify the menu as "curried mystery meat," and practice the advice of Paul quoted above -- "Don't ask –- you may not want to know what it is." In other places that is not normally a problem, but the menu is still greatly different from what people usually eat in Alabama. For instance in Bangladesh it is usually much spicier, with a lot more rice. No problem, I like it.

But it is not really that important that I like it. If I did not, and continued to serve the Lord by coming to such places, I would need to eat it anyway. Paul himself "became all things to all men, that [he] might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Food is only one area where that principle applies. And evangelism is similarly only one type of service in which we must adapt. Every Christian must learn that his own preferences and "comfort zone" will often be abandoned if he is serious in serving the Lord.

Nowhere in Scripture do we read that we may do only those things we like to do. Nowhere are we invited to tell God how he can use us. Always and invariably we read that it is God who gives gifts, God who opens doors, and God who holds us accountable for our resources.

In Corinth some Christians may well have been limiting their evangelistic opportunities by refusing to visit in homes where the wrong food might be served. Paul taught that such limitations are neither necessary nor desirable. We must be willing to expand our capabilities in areas of custom and expedience that the Lord's work may be accomplished.