Drag to reposition your photo

David L Powell Jr

Male. Lives in Euless, United States. Is married.

About Me

Retired

Home town Imperial, CA

Liked Pages1

2392 Likes

TRUMP TRAIN 2020

Artist, Band or Public Figure

David L Powell Jr

Report this User

Status Update

David L Powell Jr

June 21, 2024 9:55 am

Good words from Kansas. Servants of God, “It wasn’t no lucky catch.” -Willie Mays... View MoreGood words from Kansas. Servants of God, “It wasn’t no lucky catch.” -Willie Mays “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” -Proverbs 22:29 In every human endeavor skill matters. Willie Mays, one of the most skilled athletes of the twentieth century, died this week. Affable as well as gifted athletically, he was known as the “Say Hey Kid.” Mays was among the first wave of Black major league ball players and is often called the greatest center fielder in the history of the game. Of course, as in most of baseball, fans who are of contrary opinion argue for their own favorite candidate for the title. In the 1950s the city of New York was awash with talented center fielders. Was it Willie or Mickey or The Duke (as in Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle or Duke Snider)? Like noses, every fan had his opinion. What is generally not disputed is “The Catch.” Mays made an over-the-shoulder catch during the 1954 World Series that is considered one of baseball’s best plays ever. Mays was a complete player and played a long time. The game has lost a legend. Willie Mays was not a boisterous player, but he was a confident one. When Don Mueller, who played right field next to Mays asked Willie “Is it true you’re the best center fielder in baseball?” May’s curt reply was, “Best right fielder too.” When folks hinted that his famous play in the 1954 World Series was somehow not a matter of skill and ability his reply was classic. “It wasn’t no lucky catch.” That sort of play does not happen by accident. Spontaneity grows out of discipline. He more than paid his dues in the negro leagues before he signed with the major league New York Giants. In the negro leagues players were expected to be both excellent players and noteworthy entertainers. Willie’s circus catches were possible because he had honed such skills for years before he ever put on a Giants uniform in the big leagues. Discipline is a matter of hard work and countless repetitions. Discipline requires that we choose what we want most over what we want now. The Christian life is like that. It is a process of both divine grace and the hard work of righteousness practiced. The process of discipleship is discipline lived out. We love Jesus and want to do his will and bring glory to him. That means we have been both rescued from sin and hell and that we choose the hard work of hearing and obeying God’s word. It means working at killing sin and fostering holiness. We know that this life is preparation for eternity. We know that what lies ahead of us—the celestial city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10)—is far more glorious and important than the pleasures and leisure of the here and now. As disciples we know there is self-denial and submission to God every step of the way. Willie Mays was confident, not because he was insecure, but because of massive amounts of mundane practice and a long record of game day performances. Over his long professional career he proved that he was capable of a level of excellence that only a handful of players ever achieved. Willie, more than anyone else, understood his level of skill. He remained a humble man but he chafed when others hinted that his play was a matter of luck and said so. Another baseball great, Dizzy Dean, famously opined “It ain’t bragging if you can do it.” The Christian life is a matter of pursuing excellence in the things of the spirit. No Christian has anything to brag about. We have nothing except what we have received from God (1 Corinthians 4:7). We can be sure of one thing. Holiness and growth in righteousness is a matter of both working out our own salvation with fear and trembling and of God working supernaturally through us (Philippians 2:12,13). If we want to be excellent in anything, it should be in the pursuit of holiness—being set apart from the world and set apart to do the will of God. To paraphrase Willie Mays, we must realize that the Christian life “is no lucky thing.” Blessings, Pastor Coram Deo

View Less

Be the first person to like this.