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/
Culver prom limo ..I had the intention of writing about Soul Mates but... Read More
To understand the nature of esoteric and occult secrets it... Read More
My lady Lydia was a Hawkins of the ancestry of... Read More
The passenger had to be carried onto the plane and... Read More
He knew it was going to happen. He wasn't really... Read More
If you would like to learn to read tarot cards,... Read More
We may sometimes consider the difficulty that occurs with our... Read More
The magic of the tarot was obvious to me the... Read More
In looking back at my process over the years I... Read More
I want to share with you something that happened to... Read More
"Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being,... Read More
Oxford dictionary defines PRAYER as "a request for help or... Read More
Every soul that is currently experiencing life on any level... Read More
I always thought Ecclesiastes was like Proverbs. That's probably because... Read More
What type of person grabs your attention and motivates you?... Read More
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA: Of course we may never know the real... Read More
In a recent article entitled "Our Virtual Reality Reality" I... Read More
There is no incident in the life of Moses which... Read More
One thing that Jesus was NOT - was flashy. When... Read More
We hear this word so often and have one thing... Read More
As a child growing up, whenever I was worried about... Read More
As the artist and designer for Ashbach Designs, I want... Read More
I beheld the sky and its wonders and saw AstonishmentI... Read More
I have discovered as I grow older in Christ Jesus... Read More
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken... Read More
Wood Dale limo .."All you who are thirsty, come and drink." ISAIAH 55:1,... Read More
Woodstock, the watershed event for a generation, had a far... Read More
One of the most touching stories in New Testament scripture... Read More
The normal Aquarian preoccupation with rational science is clearly seen... Read More
But my God shall supply all your need according to... Read More
John Eldredge writes in his book Waking the Dead, "God... Read More
We are all here on this plane, thinking to ourselves... Read More
The concept of integrity has arisen often in discussions of... Read More
We all hear of the concept of the "Enlightened Master",... Read More
The formula for spiritual growth is given briefly in 2... Read More
The Orisha are the Messengers of Oludumare, the God/dess of... Read More
Sounds like a tall order doesn't it? But I think... Read More
Meeting someone so attractive, so beautiful. Your heart beats like... Read More
What kind of foolishness is astrology? You read about Sun... Read More
How many of us rush blindly through our days, fall... Read More
Following are 17 questions that can be used as a... Read More
Five verses specify that we are to live by faith.... Read More
Yesterday, a marketing guru asked me a question that left... Read More
Until recently, miracles were usually credited to a supernatural power.... Read More
Almost every spiritual and religious teaching exhorts its followers to... Read More
What is the opportunity here? What is the benefit of... Read More
Let Your Family and Friends Know That You Are A... Read More
When we ask ourselves the question who am I in... Read More
Matthew 2:1-12The Visit of the Wise Men1 Now after Jesus... Read More
"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and... Read More
Spirituality |