By Jannie Linney
In the world of today, Christianity is treated so many different ways. It seems as if so many just make up their definition of what Christianity is. To our surprise, Christianity is still the same today as it was back in the Bible book of Acts. Early in this year the Lord spoke to me and said, “Many people thinks the Bible says what they believe.”
I let that soak in because He told us in His word, “My sheep hear my voice” [John 10:27]. I knew He was showing me that we need to bring our thinking and believing around to what the Bible says. Let’s look at a few things.
Game: Some act as though Christianity is just a game. Pulling the playing board out on Sunday, [when convenient] then back under the bed through the week. Then post on FB all week that looks nothing like a Christian.
“To do evil is like a sport to a fool” [Prov. 10:23]. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the Mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I , not as one that beateth the air; But I keep under my body, and bring it under subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” [1Cor.9:24-27]. I didn’t write this, this is Bible! He is saying that when we run a race, there is one that wins, His name is Jesus and if we are in Him, we win too. He plays to win and does not do foolishly as the beating of air. That he is temperate in all things, using self-control. Play to win, this life is not a game, but in reality is our eternity. Don’t lose by default!
Gamble: Remember, we don’t want to beat the air doing things that don’t count. That is also a gamble. Spin the Roulette wheel, where it stops nobody knows. Flip a coin, heads we win and tails we lose. I remember a time in the Bible where they drew straws to see who would take Judas’s place. The lot fell on Matthias. For some reason, he was ever heard from again. Later God chose Paul. He wrote about 2/3 of the New Testament and did many signs and wonders. What are you gambling your eternity on, fact or faith, Traditions or The Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ? The facts are real, but fact can be changed by faith in Jesus Christ.
Gift: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” [John 3:16]. God gave the gift of His only son, that every man, woman, child could be with Him for all eternity. That is the Gift of salvation. We simply have to choose Him, believe and receive. That is how we appropriate what He has already done. Glory !! “For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” [Rom.6:23].
Wages are earned. A person earns the paycheck of eternal hell, through sin and by not choosing Jesus as Savior. Jesus went through the most devastating horror that could be placed upon any man. He took all the sins upon himself from the beginning of time to the end of time. No movie can portray the whole truth. The Bible says He did not even look like a man by the time they got through with Him. For that awesome Gift to us, He deserves our praise and our total commitment to Him.
“Presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. Conforming not to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we might prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God” [Romans 12:1-2]. What is your faith connected to, Game, Gamble, or Gift?
