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Related Articles and information About
Churches I'm 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: 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/
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Gospel Artist
jaMaL Prepares
to Release his
Debut Single 'My
Best Days'
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Los Angeles, CA,
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When you think of
today’s gospel music
entertainers,
legends like Kirk
Franklin Smokie
Norful, and Tye
Tribett come to mind. |
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Now it’s time, not
only for Gospel
music fans, but the
music industry as a
whole, to witness
the next music
legend in the
making… jaMaL. With
talent and wisdom
beyond his years,
jaMaL is taking the
nation by storm with
his new movement
“Soul Therapy” and
debut single My Best
Days from his
forthcoming album
“JuSt MuSiC” set to
release late summer.
jaMaL describes his
debut single, My
Best Days, as a
hearty stew of
“gumbo”…the recipe
includes a
refreshing blend of
Jazz and Urban
Gospel, fused with a
cup of the Classic
Hip-Hop sound of the
mid 90’s, a pinch of
Musicianship and
sprinkled with a
teaspoon of Soul
that will have your
head bobbing,
fingers popping, and
taking you back to a
time when urban
music was an art
form and not just a
hobby for actor’s
and street thugs.
jaMaL’s inspiration
for “My Best Days”
came when he felt he
was at his lowest,
he says “I was in
service and heard a
message that God
designed just for
me.” After service
adjourned he went
straight to the
studio with God’s
message in his heart
and wrote/produced
his debut single My
Best Days. jaMaL
goes on to say, “The
purpose of My Best
Days is to encourage
and inspire. When
you are having the
worst of your days,
surely at the lowest
point of your life,
the only way to go
is up! Trust God and
know your best days
are due to come.”
“My Best Days” is
already in rotation
around the country…
Nashville’s renowned
reverend and WVOL
radio personality
T.J. Graham says,
“jaMaL has something
special from God…his
music can, and will
move the next
generation of gospel
and urban music
lovers.” jaMaL has
produced hits for
award winning
R&B/Gospel artist
Kenny Lattimore who
says “jaMaL’s
production style,
mic skills, anointed
life, performing
talent and
musicianship puts
him at the pulse of
a musical
revolution.”
For jaMaL it’s more
than “JuSt MuSiC”,
it is a chance to
unashamedly reach
out to someone that
doesn’t know Christ,
while inspiring a
generation for the
better in a world
that has become numb
and over-exposed to
immoral and
un-ethical images
and messages we see
and hear everyday in
the media. Now you
too have a chance to
experience “My Best
Days” and give
yourself a little
Soul Therapy. |
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Church Links
The Bible Gateway
http://www.biblegateway.com
Bible Study Tools
http://bible.crosswalk.com
Bibles in many languages available
online at
http://www.ibs.org/bibles/index.php
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