![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() |
Spirituality Information |
|
![]() |
'Im Not A Christian, But I Play One On Sunday
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.jamessnyderministries.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
Pebbles of Wisdom Coming face to face with yourself in the space between the beginning and end of the transitions in your life is a scary place to be. Going backward in not an option. 3 Little Prayers That Strengthen Relationships My mentor, a brilliant Ph.D, with a powerful marriage counseling ministry recently shared 2 shocking statistics with me:1. What are Angels? Angelic Guidance Explained Angels are making their presence felt everywhere. Once I started opening myself up to the draw of the angelic realms little reminders are catching my eye along the way. The Jabbok Experience Jacob had sent his family on across the river Jabbok. Now he's alone in the night with the river; this smooth talking, manipulating, deceiving Jacob. Why The Universe Is User-Friendly After All! "Everything in the universe is a pitcher brimming with wisdom and beauty." -Rumi, 13th Century Sufi Poet and Mystic Is the universe friendly?On the surface this seems an absurd statement. Quick Reference Guide for Tarot Card Meanings Obviously, if you really want to learn about the meanings of the tarot cards and use them well, you'll spend time studying them and understanding the nuances of each card's interpretation. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a cool party game and want to impress your friends, this "cheat sheet" should provide you enough of a clue about each card's meaning that you can fake your way through a reading. Response - Ability Divine Source The time has come for the mass population on Earth to respond with each of your Divine ability to connect to your Higher Self, God, Holy Spirit, or whatever name you may give to your Highest and purest Spiritual connection to All That Is in the universe.This is the "I AM" Presence within you. Theory on PRAYER Oxford dictionary defines PRAYER as "a request for help or expression of thanks made to God". But I strongly believe that prayer is not mere seeking or demanding or requesting. An Open Invitation "All you who are thirsty, come and drink." ISAIAH 55:1, NCVThe most incredible invitations are not found in envelopes; they are found in the Bible. Heart Matters-- What Matters Most With excitement and anticipation I jumped on a plane last Thursday evening to Florida to visit my family and fish some with my dad. Six hours after arrival I painfully watched while many types of medical professionals frantically, yet methodically temporarily stop my father's heart in order to prevent it not to matter twenty minutes later. Understanding a Tarot Card Reading Getting the most from a Tarot card reading relies on the reader's ability to perceive not only the symbolic meaning from the spread, but also the mystical significance. Although every card of both the Major and the Minor Arcana possesses its own individual symbolism within the representative images on the cards, it is the deeper, spiritual enlightenment of the cards that leads to a greater understanding. A SPIRITUAL SOLUTION - Wisdom From The Fulfillment Forum Books & Study Courses A few men and women are universally successful but such superior seeming geniuses usually lose so much empathy for we lesser souls that their relationships become selfish and self-defeating. Many end up alone and unloved, in a prison of their own making, as Michael Corleone did in The Godfather. The Woodstock Effect: And Weve Got to Get Ourselves Back to the Garden Woodstock, the watershed event for a generation, had a far greater impact on us than anyone could have guessed back in the late 1960s, when it was first conceived as a commercial venture by four entrepreneurs looking to promote a music studio they proposed to build. While the actual festival on a dairy farm in New York's Hudson Valley was not without controversy and many less-than-harmonious components, the storied Woodstock spirit of Oneness that shines through it all is emblematic of our age-old desire for a higher way of relating with one another; of a more loving existence-the existence of our origins-and our destiny. Spirituality: Impersonating Jed McKenna "No man is a prophet in his own country."That line keeps running through my mind as I sit over lunch with my sister who I haven't seen in several years. In Search of a Teacher of Spirit: Eleven Conscious Considerations Many of us are on an inward or outward path-to Enlightenment, to our Higher Selves, to our eternal connection with Source. We are called to this for reasons only the individual can describe, or more often, just know, and in the course of this Path, we often connect with other like minded (Light minded?) beings. Getting Beyond Imperfect Examples & Resistance, to Receiving Loving Guidance & Help from the Father As soon as he saw me I saw him. It was freaky. Some Evidence of How We Are Spiritually Connected It has long been surmised that emotional trauma can lead to physical illness. It is also conceptualized that such toxic trauma fragments may exist at the level of our energy fields. The 5 Elemental Codes: Seeing Your World Through the Eyes of Universal Understanding (Part 1) This article is the 1st part of an open response to a question that I encountered online a few years ago in one of the many Martial Arts Ninjutsu forums. The question (paraphrased) was:"What are the 5-elements (earth, wind, water, wood and metal) about that I have seen mentioned in books on ninjutsu?"As is so often the case when dealing with multiple personality types, egos, and the need for instructors to justify their positions and philosophies, the question went unanswered. Wisdom Quotes Point - Arguments Just Explain "What does it profit a man to have gained the whole world, and to have lost his soul?" - Jesus ChristYou don't need to be Christian to see wisdom in the words of Jesus. Simple quotes from men and women around the world, from present day or milleniums past, inspire and instruct us, regardless of the religious or spiritual tradition they come from. Jesus Birthday: Sacred Children Series - 2 of 3 I had visions of my daughter for about five years before she finally showed up. She turned out exactly like the little girl in my dreams who had haunted me all that time. ![]() |
home | site map |
© 2006 |