Leviticus 20:24

I didn't really need God. I'd always depended on my own abilities and my own drive, and I'd done pretty well with that. I thought of myself as a decent person. God received his due on Sunday morning. The rest of my life belonged to me. But God saw it differently. He divinely arranged for Byron Ballard to be my teammate and roommate in Double A ball. Byron showed me scriptures in the Bible that proved I needed more than a Sunday morning God, I needed a Savior. I read the words, watched Byron's life, and knew that he was right. In April of 1981, I asked Jesus to be my Savior. I surrendered my life to Him. It was the most important and the best decision I ever made.

As I grew in my new found relationship with Christ, I soon realized that although I made the decision that April to give my life to Christ, He chose me long before that to be an heir of the gift of His salvation. God chose me. He looked at all of the work of His hands, the billions of souls He created, and He set His sights on me. What an awesome thought! God chooses us. He pursues us. We simply respond to His invitation (John 15:16). He sets us apart for Himself. It's like picking teams in grade school. God hand picked me to be on His team - even though He knew what kind of player I would be.

Excerpts from "Comeback," pg 68