After more than three decades of church ministry, I have come to one unsettling conclusion. Actually, I've come to more than one conclusion, but this one is the most depressing.
That conclusion is simply this: all who say they are going to Heaven are not actually on the right path, going in the right direction. Most, of course, have the best intentions, but good intentions don't make up for going in the wrong direction.
Our government insists advertisers adhere to what they call "truth in advertising." I would like to insist on something I call "truth in testimony." By that, I mean what people say about themselves should be the truth. If this could ever be enacted by Congress, some people will have to say, "I'm not a Christian, but I play one on Sunday."
I've always thought of it this way, if you're not a Christian on Saturday night, you're not a Christian on Sunday morning, which may be the ultimate test. Christianity is not a time-sensitive lifestyle turned on Sunday morning and expiring by nightfall.
Christianity is not like St. Patrick's Day, where for that one day everyone is Irish. Also, Christianity is not like a part-time job you take to make ends meet.
For example, take a guy who was in my office one day last month. I never saw him before and didn't know him from Adam. He saw our church, he said, as he was driving by and thought he would stop in and visit. "You have a real nice church here, reverend," he praised.
As soon as I saw him, I knew what he was after. His job was to see how much of my money and the church's money he could put into his pocket. My job, of course, was to make his job impossible.
I've played this game before and, not bragging, I've become rather good at it. Not that I have not lost my share of games, for I have. But after losing hundreds of dollars to scoundrels, I've learned how to play the game.
The key to winning is never letting your guard down, and more importantly, never allow your opponent to suck you into his sympathy scam. One man actually brought with him a little girl he pawned off as his daughter.
Looking into her big brown eyes my hand automatically went to my wallet. I'm sorry to say I lost that one and later found out the little girl was not his daughter.
This man in my office, let's call him "Ralph," had a different scheme. He was trying to impress me with how good a Christian he really was. Although he may not have been a good Christian, he sure knew how to tell a good line. All along, he was trying to impress me that he really knew God.
I could tell Ralph knew God about as well as I knew the President of the United States. It was then an idea hit me.
While he talked to me, I was trying to figure out how I could convince him that he really didn't know God. Sure, he knew a lot of things about God and could quote a bushel full of Bible verses as though that would impress me. Entrance into heaven is not contingent upon impressing some preacher.
I knew Ralph really did not know God personally. My problem was to persuade him of that fact.
It's almost like someone who smokes cigarettes trying to convince someone who doesn't smoke that they don't smoke. The smoker does not smell the smoke but the non-smoker smells it right away. Similarly, I can readily tell when someone doesn't know God personally.
As we were talking, an idea came to mind. Ralph was sitting across my desk from me and between us was my telephone. So I said to Ralph, "Do you know the President of the United States?"
Ralph looked at me a little perplexed with this question out of the blue and said, "Sure, I do. It's George W. Bush."
"Great," I said pushing the telephone towards him, "use my telephone and call him for me."
He laughed and pushed the telephone back.
Thrusting the phone back toward him I said, "You do know the President of the United States, don't you?"
He laughed a nervous little chuckle. "The president of the United States is George W. Bush." Then he shoved the phone back toward me.
"You know him?" I persisted. As he nodded in the affirmative, a worried look embraced his face. I could see he didn't quite understand what I was getting at.
"Ralph," I explained, "you may know who the President of the United States is and you may know a lot about him. But you don't know George W. Bush enough to call him on the phone."
People who say they know God only know things about God. People who say they know Jesus Christ only know things about him. If you don't know God enough to reach Him when you need Him, you don't know Him at all.
I like the Apostle Paul's testimony. He said, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Philippians 3:10 KJV.)
A friend of mine has a favorite saying that he likes to quote; "Either Jesus is Lord of all or he is not Lord at all." That about sums up the whole matter.
About The Author:
?2005 Rev. James L. Snyder.
Reverend Snyder is currently ministering at the "Family of God Fellowship" in Ocala, Florida. More of his articles are available for reprint at his website: http://www.godspenman.com/ Rev. Snyder is available as a guest speaker. He writes a weekly column and is the author of "You Can Always Tell a Pastor; But Not Very Much " available at: http://www.godspenman.com/
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport carFar to many people have become "followers" rather than BEING... Read More
In life, sooner or later, we come to the midnight... Read More
Everything was going wrong.The weight of the world had decided... Read More
THE GNOSTICS, ESSENES AND THE 'OCCULT':Throughout this book I have... Read More
What the Animals Tell Us"I am the Sun's son. I... Read More
What does it mean to be comfortable in your own... Read More
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup) (marine cornel) YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE... Read More
One does not have to live long to realize that... Read More
One cannot read the account of Benhadad and Hazael in... Read More
1. Identify a woman who is "like minded," who has... Read More
WOW ... what a question. But today, while I was... Read More
There is an inherent generosity in the human spirit to... Read More
In a recent article entitled "Our Virtual Reality Reality" I... Read More
Ever wonder what happened to the family dinner hour? Or... Read More
Want more peace and joy in your life? Daily stress... Read More
The famous prayer of Jabez, where Jabez prayed for prosperity,... Read More
A while back the Lord had given me this message... Read More
You can't help but feel a sense of electricity in... Read More
You are a spiritual being. You recognize something in you... Read More
Maybe once in a lifetime, we find ourselves seeking spiritual... Read More
It will all be clear in a minute, but first... Read More
It was in the middle of the night and the... Read More
There is light at the end of the tunnel, but... Read More
You have everything you need: a miraculous body, a phenomenal... Read More
My thoughts can get a little edgy at night. Possibly... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..Most Tarot decks consist of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana,... Read More
It's the most powerful weapon on Earth. It can turn... Read More
Rabbi Kushner in his book "When Bad Things Happen to... Read More
Do you want victory in your life? Do you have... Read More
Though closely akin and sometimes used synonymously, John Rawls distinguish... Read More
The contrast between the two men could not have been... Read More
Many may wonder what is God's will, or how do... Read More
The term spirituality is a confusing term. Usually, when one... Read More
One of the most frightening things... Read More
Life, no matter how we choose to look at it,... Read More
What type of person grabs your attention and motivates you?... Read More
I am disturbed by the tendency of some people to... Read More
1. How can anyone receive direct communication from Divine Source,... Read More
"Mama, save me!"My six year old son jumped into my... Read More
What is the purpose of guilt?Well, let's look at it.Some... Read More
I started reading the book "The Purpose Driven Life" about... Read More
An analysis of Western man's guiding presuppositions, A Review of... Read More
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. --ROMANS... Read More
"In the sixth century of the sixth millennium, the gates... Read More
If we don't behave according to a specific church's doctrine,... Read More
Do you ever feel that what you read in some... Read More
In the movie "Forest Gump" we see Forest succeed in... Read More
Some of my greatest teachers have taught me that faith... Read More
Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11 (NIV) We... Read More
It's an almost unbelievable thought, but could you be getting... Read More
Spirituality |