The original “Pitching For The Master” was published for 12 years beginning in 1964 and ending in 1975. It had a mailing list of over 10,000 and was sent out free of charge by request only. It was discontinued when I retired at the end of the 1975 baseball season after spending 20 years as a pitcher in professional baseball. Since then I have spent much time in preaching, teaching and writing.
“Pitching For The Master” was republished in September of 2006. After five issues, it was discontinued due to my wife’s third cancer. My wife Alice died from her fourth cancer on March 22, 2008. With the passing of time, the urge has hit me once again to publish “Pitching For The Master”. This paper fits within the overall program of Lavon Church of Christ to reach others with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This newsletter is designed to teach the fundamentals of the gospel of Christ. We especially wish to distribute the paper to those places within easy driving distance of the Lavon church building. I am not afraid to tackle some controversial issues if it fits within the framework of basic, old fashioned teaching about Christ. In the last five issues of this paper I have dealt with the basic issues of the authority of Jesus Christ, the harm of religious division, how to have fellowship with God, and fellowship with one another in the local church and other such things. I am not big on speculation and so I will document the things I write with scripture. Your letters and responses are always welcome. If you don’t agree with me, express yourself and we will have a good discussion. I would much rather talk about religion than sports. You can reach me by calling 214-957-4259. Or you can E-mail me at lindymcdaniel41@yahoo.com.
“A Conversation In Wylie”
I am always looking for opportunities to talk to people about Jesus Christ. Recently I was in the waiting room at a doctor’s office in Wylie, Texas. I noticed a young man of about 35 years sitting not far from me. He had on a short-sleeve “T” shirt with something about “Jesus” on the front. His arms were covered with tattoos.
So I said to him, “I guess you got converted after you got those tattoos?”
He said, ‘Yes sir, I got these tattoos while serving time in prison.” (You see, the great advantage of being 73 with white hair is that people call you “sir!”)
So as I often do, I asked him about the circumstances about his learning about Christ. He said, “Well sir, I had reached bottom in prison, having suffered the consequences of my lifestyle and bad choices, and this preacher came and talked to me about Jesus and so I believed in Jesus and was saved by the Holy Spirit that very day, and I have never regretted it”
I said, “Well that sounds very interesting. May I ask you a few questions about this?” He replied, “Why, certainly!”
I asked him, “Do you know how the apostle Paul (Saul) was saved?” He said, “Why he was saved on the road to Damascus!” I said, “Well, if he were saved on the road to Damascus when Christ appeared to him, why was he told to go into the city and there it would be told him what he must do (see Acts 9:6)? Also, he was struck blind and did not eat or drink for three days (see Acts 9:8-9). Does that sound like a saved person to you? If he were saved, he certainly didn’t act like it. And when the preacher Ananias came to him, Saul was told, ‘And now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name’ (Acts 22:16).” Note: Paul related his conversion on three occasions found in Acts 9:1-19; 22:6-21; 26:12-18.
My new friend, obviously having some knowledge of the Bible, quickly responded, “I have been baptized!”
I said, “That’s good for Jesus commanded it (see Mark 16:16). But why were your baptized? Was it to wash away your sins?” So we got into a good discussion on the purpose of baptism.
Going back to our earlier discussion, I said to him, “You said that Saul was saved on the way to Damascus. Well, we know one thing for sure, that this was when he came to believe in Jesus. Certainly, he had a life changing experience. And we can agree that he was saved when he did what he was told to do. Saul called upon the name of the Lord by doing what the Lord had said. I hear a lot of people say they were saved immediately by the Holy Spirit, or by praying the so called ‘sinner’s prayer’, or receiving ‘mourners bench’ salvation; but I have never been able to find such things in the Bible. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write the book of Acts which documents many cases of conversion. That is a great book to study as to how men and women are saved.
We ended our conversation as the young man had to leave. He said, “I am working on my degree to be a counselor so I can help other men who got in trouble like myself. When they see my tattoos, it helps me to relate to them.” I said, “Well, I wish you good fortune in all of this and I’m sure you can help a lot of troubled young people. Keep studying the Bible.” He said, “I will, and I am glad to have met you.” I gave him some baseball stuff since he was a fan, and invited him to come and visit our congregation.
“Reading The Newspaper”
A few days ago I was reading in the newspaper about surveys showing that people are turning away from organized religion due to hypocrisy, scandals, T.V. preachers always begging for money, and the making of ridiculous claims of “health” and “wealth” if one will only join their church. Do these people really represent Christ or are they impostors? This has led to wide spread skepticism and unbelief. This is not new, for Jesus Himself predicted that such would happen if His disciples did not dwell together in unity and faithfulness. But just because we see evidence of this sham on every hand, this does not mean that the way of Christ has failed. It just means that disciples must be true to Jesus Christ in the midst of an unbelieving world. Paul stated that the enemies of Christ are both within and without. I am often amazed as to how the message of Jesus Christ has been perverted in our day, and so I spend a lot of time getting people to learn about Christ directly by reading the Bible itself rather than getting their information from second hand sources.
This week I read in the Dallas Morning News, Wednesday, March 18, 2009 where there is to be a Christian Book Expo in Dallas which will include atheists authors, including Christopher Hitchens, who travels the country debating Christians. That should be interesting. The article goes on the speak about a three hour religious debate that occurred in 1975 between the atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and Rev. W.A. Criswell, and according to several writers of the paper, Madalyn O’Hair got the better of him. As I understand it, they went back and forth as to which has done the most damage to society, Christianity or atheism. No doubt, from an historical perspective, arguments can be made on both sides. But such rehearsing of history such serves no value in determining the teaching of Jesus and the practice of the early disciples. For that information we must go to the Bible itself, for even Jesus Himself predicted that bad things would be done in the name of religion and that the love of many disciples would grow cold (see Matt. 7:15-23; Matt. 24:9-13, 10-11). Even the apostle Paul predicted a great falling away from the faith, and such a movement would have little in common with the true teachings of Jesus Christ (see 2 Thess. 2:3-12; 1 Tim. 4:1-4). So what people do and say in the name of Christ means little if such was not authorized and taught by Christ. The many crimes throughout history committed in the name of religion prove nothing concerning the founder of Christianity. Atheists often fail to mention the great crimes committed in the name of fascism or atheism. Any historical argument, in order to have weight, must show a direct link to the teachings of Christ and the practice of the early followers.
A similar argument could be made with reference to our nation. Can we blame the founding fathers of our nation for the way our government is now operating? Our present failures do not constitute proof that constitutional government, as envisioned by our founding fathers, has failed. Especially when our leaders no longer honor the constitution. But that is quite another discussion that time does not permit.
“Atheist’s Greatest Argument”
“If there is a God, why does He allow the innocent to suffer?” Atheists boast that this argument cannot be answered. In the first place suffering is one of the great topics in the Bible. There are many reasons for suffering in this world including the power of the Devil (the prince of this world), a failure to respect the laws of nature, disobedience to God, national disasters, and other things, some which we cannot know or understand. We now live in an imperfect and sin cursed world and nothing is made better by blaming God. Much of this is explained by the Bible. Satan not only uses unlawful pleasure to tempt people, he also uses pain and suffering to create disbelief in God (see Job 1). By rejecting God and the Bible, we are left with no answers as to the problem of human suffering. Are people better off by rejecting Biblical standards such as “loving your neighbor as yourself”? Are people better off when it is alright to lie, steal, bear false witness, violate your neighbor’s wife, etc. Is it better to live in a godless nation or in a nation that recognizes God and His standards. We all have experienced the sorrow that comes from the innocent suffering, especially when it comes from wicked hands. But, as Christians, at least we have answers and are quite confident that our God is the God of all comfort (see 2 Cor. 1:3). Suffering has caused some people to reject God while others are driven into the arms of God. Many of the great songs, literature, and works of art have been influenced by religion and especially the experiences of sorrow. On the other hand, where lies the hope of atheism? As many great atheists have said, “All hope ends at the grave.” They could have also said, “Life was not too pleasant either.”
We at the Lavon Church of Christ still celebrate life and experience the joy of Christ on a daily basis. We are not afraid of death, for Christ has the keys of death and of hades (see Rev. 1:18). John wrote, “blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on! . . . . so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them." Rev. 14:13.
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