Freddie Freeman's batting average in 12 seasons with the Atlanta Braves was .295. As my Silver Fox patiently explained to me, that means that for every 10 times he came up to bat, he got a hit slightly less than 3 times. He's also an amazing first baseman. His net worth was estimated at $40 million BEFORE the team won the 2021 World Series, so now it's likely higher.
Jabari Smith is Auburn's first All-American ranked basketball player in 23 years. His free throw percentage is .822. So, he makes slightly more than 8 out of 10 free throws that he attempts. He, of course, also shoots a lot of 3-pointers and makes a lot of rebounds to add to his worth. He is a freshman who will most likely play for the NBA by next year and will begin to compile an enviable net worth.
3 out of 10, 30%.
8 out of 10, 80%.
When I was in Virginia Beach recently for a travel showcase, a group of fellow travel writers and I were given a tour of the Edgar Cayce Association for Research and Enlightenment -- the museum, the library, the meditation room, the labyrinth, the meditation garden, the spa, and wellness center, etc. Edgar Cayce died in 1945, but his teachings are still impacting thousands of people today.
As I understand it, when Cayce was a young boy, his father was drilling him on his spelling word assignment and became angry when Cayce got so many words wrong. That night Cayce slept with his head on his spelling book, and the next morning he somehow knew how to spell all of the words correctly. He went on to display a startling ability to memorize the pages of a book just by sleeping on them.
That ability progressed to the point where he would put himself in a trance-like state and then proceed to answer deep questions about the universe, come up with cures for people's ailments, and share his wisdom on 10,000 other topics!! He became known as "the sleeping prophet." While he was in these self-induced hypnotic states, he would dictate his visions to trusted friends who wrote down what he said/saw. There are over 14,000 of these readings in the library at the center where I visited.
Even though it was said that Cayce was a faithful churchgoer who read the Bible often, somehow all that I saw and heard while I was there didn't exactly "sit right" in my mind. Why were there so many giant crystals placed in the rooms supposedly giving off energy and aura? Someone in our group asked about Cayce's accuracy, and the tour guide said, "He was right 65-70% of the time." There it was. So many people had gone to Cayce for readings and advice, and he was right only 65-70% of the time. They were staking their lives on that kind of accuracy.
Think about Joseph and his life in the Book of Genesis. He was asked to interpret dreams for rulers and was accurate 100% of the time. God gave him the ability and used those opportunities to place Joseph in a position to save His people from starvation when a famine struck the land.
That, of course, led me to thoughts about Jesus. When He came to earth as a baby in a manger, the timing, the circumstances, the location, His role, everything was a fulfillment of prophecies in the Old Testament. Every single prophecy about the Messiah came to pass when God sent His only begotten Son to us. 100%.
Glance through the Book of Matthew.
Matthew 1:22 -- "Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:"
Matthew 2:15 -- "This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:"
You'll find the same in Matthew 2:23, Matthew 4:14, Matthew 8:17, Matthew 12:17, Matthew 13:35, Matthew 21:4, Matthew 26:56, Matthew 27:35. Then the proof continues in Luke, John, and Acts.
THAT'S the kind of accuracy that I'm willing to put my trust in, to believe in for my eternal security. Anything less is simply not enough.
30% accuracy has made Freddie Freeman a millionaire.
80% accuracy will likely get Jabari Smith a lucrative professional basketball contract.
But the gift of salvation offered by the Savior whose birth, death, and resurrection guaranteed the Bible's100% accuracy gives me the assurance of eternity in heaven.
How much accuracy are you depending on for your future? Think about it.