Truth and consequences

Today's post is inspired by a photo of my friend Jim standing by an exit sign that leads to a small town which I think is in New Mexico.  The sign said Truth or Consequences.

I've written about putting God in a box before.  I hope you'll keep that concept in mind as you read this.  God, just for a reminder, doesn't fit into that box some, like me, try to put Him in. 

A Chief Master Sergeant I used to work for told me once, "The truth is anything you want it to be."  He was correct in a sense and I want to share how that can be true to you by telling you a story about a conversation I had with two young ladies who were at the time standing on my doorstep, trying to tell me about the LDS Church.  I wasn't buying what they were selling, but the same would have been true no matter who would have been on my doorstep trying to sell me religion.  

As they left, one of the young women looked at me and said, "Brother Cooper, we speak the truth."  My reply was, "Sister, the truth is anything you want it to be."  We were both right at the time.  She was trying to sell me her truth.  I wasn't buying because, after looking back at this little episode several times this week as I tried to write this post, I had my own truth.

The consequences of believing what I wanted to about God have been severe.  And I thank God for each and every trial that led me to Jesus and to real Truth.  I'll get to this at the end, I promise.

Looking back, I wonder where I got these foolish ideas about Christianity.  I know where I got the bad ones.  I made a judgment about something several years ago where some folks I really liked were hurt by some other folks who I never really cared about that much.  It literally drove me from church at probably the worst time in my life that could have happened.  I believed, but in looking back, I'm not sure I ever accepted Jesus as my savior back then.  I think I was on that path, but I don't think I ever fully understood what that meant.  I don't think most people do.  I think I bought into what I would consider the biggest lie in the world.  It's simply this and there are so many who still believe it:

I'm a good person.  I do good things.  The good things I do are enough to get me into heaven because God knows my heart.  

Notice how I said this is a lie?  I believe it is because Christ Himself said it's not enough.  He plainly said that the only way to God is through Him. You can't earn your way in with works.  You can't buy your way in.  You can't give your way in.  Being a good person is good.  We all should be.  But it's not enough.  

Statistically speaking, there's a good probability you identify yourself in some fashion to be a Christian.  70+% of Americans do.  I got that number a while back from the Pew research folks.  I didn't just make it up.  That's a very large number, don't you think?  Here's something I'd like you to consider, though, keeping that number in mind:  Do you think that number is reflected in our society?  Look at what's on TV.  Look at what passes for entertainment, movies, and music.  I was thinking about this today because our Pastor asked us about what the world would look like of Christians lived their faith with as much zeal as those of other religions?  I'm gonna talk about this tomorrow a little bit more.

Right now, I'd like to get back to that big 70% number and if I had a better internet connection than my cell phone provides, I'd do some research to see if anyone's ever done a study to see how many of those 70+% of self-identified Christians have actually read the Bible.  I know I never did and that gets back to my truth.

I saw The Ten Commandments.  It's on at Easter, right?  It explains Passover.  I saw Ben Hur.  That explains Easter, too, right?  I knew what Lent was and that you're supposed to give up stuff for 40 days but I never knew why.  I knew about Christ being born because Linus told Charlie Brown.  What I knew about scripture you could write on the head of a pin.  I knew John 3:16 was.  It was a Bible verse held up on a sign at pretty much every Redskins game I've ever seen on TV.  You know, I never took the time to look up what is said.  I didn't even own a Bible.  My grandma gave me one and I treated it very badly.  I tried to read it but never got past the first book when I was a kid.  As far as memorizing scripture, forget it.  

I had my truth and it served me because it's what I needed God to be.  As I look back at the cost of believing that truth, I see so many things that could've and should've been avoided by knowing what real  Truth is. That's where the consequences come in.

My pastor commented on a post, which one I can't remember, a long while back, and said something to the effect that once we find God, He loves us far to much to leave us the way we where when we find Jesus.  Praise God for that!

I'm gonna give you a little bit of a challenge and I hope you really take this one to heart.  I'm going to ask you to look at what I told you was a big lie above and ask you to ask yourself where that lie fits into your truth.  I'm going to ask you if you've ever actually read the Bible.  I'm even going to go so far as to be bold and ask yourself if you believe Jesus was telling the truth about Himself in the New Testament.   

I'm asking you a lot about what your truth is.  And I'm going to tell you something else.  My Chief was wrong.  We make our own truths sometimes.  I do think that's an accurate statement but if our truth isn't based on sound Biblical truth, the consequences are eternal.  

I know some folks who read the blog are believers.  It's my hope you're out there doing your best to plant the seeds of faith in Jesus Christ.  I also know too, there are those that read the blog that consider themselves Christians.  It's those folks I'm trying to reach; he folks that believe that great big lie about being a good person being enough.  It's the folks who posted things about keeping Christ in Christmas on Facebook but don't live a Christian life I'm really reaching out to.  I want to share that Good News of John 3:16.  I want you to know what real Truth is.  

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the LIfe.  He's the King of kings and the Lord of Lords.  I wonder if you know Him?  I thought I knew about Him but the lies I told myself kept me from that right relationship with Him and fellowship with my Creator; my Heavenly Father, my God.  Not reading God's Holy Word, I had no idea what being a husband and father meant and failed at both miserably. Not living those truths will have consequences that will go on for generations.  Think of that, because of the things I did, they will have effects on my kids, which will effect their kids, etc... Consequences I never thought about past a moment of selfish stupidity will have effects for generations.  I never looked at life like that before now.  I see it pretty clearly now.  You can't know God if you've never read the Bible.  You can know about Him without knowing Him.

The Bible says that eventually, EVERY knee will bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  He will judge us and we'll all have to give an account of our actions.  Had things not led me to Jesus, on that day, I'm afraid my accounting of my actions would have resulted in Jesus telling me "I never knew you."  Sometimes, too, I wonder if God, in the state I was in, the truths I believed, ever heard my prayers.  I know He does now.  

I wonder too, if all of you who consider yourselves Christians but haven't read your Bible in a while, haven't been to church lately, or haven't told someone about Jesus in a while to seriously take this post to heart.  If you don't know Jesus as Savior, at least take some time to find out about Him.  If you'd like to know more, BBNradio.org is a great resource!  They have a very unique suggestion of starting a conversation about Jesus which is to ask "Where will you spend eternity?'

Take a look at your truths?  You may have not done the stupid, foolish things I've done, but really look at that thing about just being a good person and think past tomorrow or this week.  Ask yourself where you're going to spend eternity.  

It's funny that as I'm writing this, the pastor on the program on the radio I'm listening to was just talking about folks that choose not to worship with other Christians.  Corporate worship is important and I shared that with you a while back.  Church is for sinners folks.  I go because I need to, something my pastor reminded me of.  Last week, from the pulpit he reminded me that church was more important than football.  Yes, in front of the whole congregation, looking right at me and calling me out by name!  He also told me today during a conversation, that church was right where I needed to be.  

I asked God to give me the words tonight to share with you about Truth and I hope I've done a good job.  It's my prayer for everyone who reads this to think about the consequences of your own truths.  I may not know what's going to happen to me tomorrow, but one thing I know for certain.  I finally found what Truth is:  His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  And I know when my journey in this life ends, I'll be spending eternity in Heaven.