Dear Hearts.
Donald Miller, in his excellent book Searching for God Knows What, tells about going to a Bible college where he taught one of the classes. Speaking to this group of Bible students, he told them he was going to present the plan of salvation, but he was going to leave out one key element, and they were to listen carefully so that at the end they could tell him what it was.
He began by saying that mankind is sinful and separated from God, and he pointed out many of the sins of the culture — euthanasia, abortion, homosexuality, drug use, etc. He talked about the need to repent and backed it up with several scriptures. He used a real life example of a bridge being out, and how a man shot flares just over the top of cars to get them to stop and not drive over the bridge to their death. He again quoted Scripture that talked about the wages of sin being death, and how we were to avoid spiritual death at any cost. He talked about the beauty of morality, and told the story of a man who avoided being unfaithful to his wife when faced with the opportunity, and how his marriage blossomed after that and became better than ever. He talked about heaven and how wonderful it would be — streets of gold and gates of pearl with a beautiful river running through it. He said all this could be theirs if they only believed, repented and honored God. Not only would heaven be theirs, but real meaning and fulfillment would be realized in their lives right here and now.
He then asked the students what was left out of the story. There was absolute silence in the room. Now these were students who had grown up in evangelical churches. They attended a Bible college where they had studied theology. They had read the Bible and taken classes in both Old and New Testament. Only weeks before had taken an evangelism class and knocked on hundreds of doors in an attempt to lead people to Christ. Miller said that the students sat there for several uncomfortable minutes. Finally he wrote, “None of the forty-five students in the class realized I had presented a gospel without once mentioning the name of Jesus.”
He then asked the students what was left out of the story. There was absolute silence in the room. Now these were students who had grown up in evangelical churches. They attended a Bible college where they had studied theology. They had read the Bible and taken classes in both Old and New Testament. Only weeks before had taken an evangelism class and knocked on hundreds of doors in an attempt to lead people to Christ. Miller said that the students sat there for several uncomfortable minutes. Finally he wrote, “None of the forty-five students in the class realized I had presented a gospel without once mentioning the name of Jesus.”
Friends, my prayer for you this year is that you will take a hard look at your life to make sure that Jesus Christ is indeed the object of your faith. No one is saved by their works or religion. The only way to receive eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9) A man once asked the specific question, "... "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...." (Act 16:30-31) "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Act 4:12) The Christian life is not about going through a few steps so we can avoid hell and get to heaven; it is about a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ!
My prayer for you this year is that you truly come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, because if you truly know Him, you will desire that everyone around you know Him too! You will come to realize that there are only two kinds of people in the world: those who are saved, and those who are lost. You will give your time and your resources to promote this "good news" of salvation and realize that no sacrifice or gift is too great or too small to help someone embrace Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You will support your church by your presence and your tithes and offerings because you desire to worship the One who has saved you from sin and the grave! You will desire to be encouraged together with the family of God and will alter your schedule in order to meet and pray together believing that Jesus answers prayer as the writer of Hebrews declares, "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16; 10:25).
My prayer for you in 2016 is that this will be the year your loved ones will be saved, and that together we will willing laborers together for Christ and His harvest field (Luke 10:2). Remember that I love you and love being your pastor! Bro. Trey Lewis
