Topic: The Mickey Mantle story [Jentezen Franklin Ministry Devotional 17 December 2020]

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The Mickey Mantle story

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2Co 5:17 NLT

Mickey Mantle is one of the true legends of baseball history. He played two thousand four hundred and one games for the New York Yankees from 1951 until 1968, hit a record eighteen homers in twelve World Series, and was placed in baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1974. The crowd loved him. He was famous. He was rich. But he still felt empty inside, so he turned to alcohol. In a Sports Illustrated interview, he once described his long battle with liquor and his heartbreaking problems with his family. The interviewer then asked, “So how are things going with you today, Mickey?” He replied, “I haven’t had a drink in eight months. I’m starting to get my life back together, but I just feel like there’s something missing.” Do you feel that way today? Have all the things you’ve achieved or acquired failed to satisfy you? Mickey Mantle finally discovered how to fill the hole in his soul. Near the end of his life he found what he had always been looking for—Jesus Christ. Another famous former baseball player, Bobby Richardson, led him to Christ. At Mantle’s funeral, Richardson told of helping Mantle receive the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior. On his deathbed Mickey Mantle said, “I am trusting in Christ’s death for me to take me to heaven.” Home run! And what Jesus did for Mickey Mantle, He wants to do for you too. “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”