“Do you really believe this stuff?”

“Yesssss, with every fiber of my being. I believe it.”

It was an interaction with someone in the hallway yesterday. Have you ever noticed how often short, intense and meaningful conversations can happen almost instantly? There was a shift within me. It was so powerful, I was afraid I scared the person I was talking with. I followed my comment with a ‘let’s crush it’ high five. Friends, I am not fooling around here. Believe. Don’t believe. The truth exists whether we believe it or not. That’s a huge relief to me. I don’t have to convince you or anyone else to believe. The only person we short is ourselves when we delay or derail the truth reaching our heart.

Many years ago now, I started solo ministry in a small Mid-Western town that greeted me with seven funerals the very first month I was there. SEVEN!! Those who died ranged from a beloved school administrator who died after fighting a long battle with cancer to a brother of a prominent family who died of HIV-AIDS in California. The others included two twenty-something guys who died tragically while road drinking, a brutal suicide and elderly people who died at a ripe old age. Each story incredibly significant paved the way for me to make significant impact in the lives of the living for the Kingdom Jesus died to bring us.

Yes. I believe it. I hear the Apostle Paul in my mind as he wrote to the Corinthian church: "Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.  It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.” One translation says, "otherwise you believed in vain.” I hate to be made a fool of and I am no fool. Truth to truth. Jesus Christ is the real deal. Plain and simple.

"Otherwise, you believe in vain." Oh, man, that strikes a chord deep within my soul. It gets me going. Winds me up. I’m telling you. I respect death. A friend who recently went through a devastating loss called death ‘ominous.’ He is so right. Death is to be respected. It is the ultimate end and we will all face it ourselves and multiple times with people we love, like and hate. There is something more powerful than death that inspires me to keep working in the vocation I work and keep pushing as hard as possible. It’s regret.

There is a scripture that illustrates what I mean. It is located within the interchange of the Apostle Paul and King Agrippa in Acts 26. Paul has been brought up on charges which put him in front of the Roman court where he shared his life changing gospel story and almost convinced King Agrippa to believe in Jesus. “Almost Christian.” No friends, that is not acceptable to me. Almost Christian is someone who is missing out on the greatest thing that has ever happened in human history. The evidence is remarkable. There are people who’ve dedicated their lives to the truth of Jesus and many of them died believing in the confidence of their place with him for eternity. Witness testimony is often more compelling than the bible story. It is the very action of God in a blood and guts kind of reality.

This brings me back to Abraham and his long journey to the place of sacrifice. I know how hard, long and demanding that climb can be. I’ve made that same climb myself and with hundreds of people during my ministry. I’ve got stories that would curl your toes, pop your eyes and make you run to the altar and give your full heart and life to Jesus Christ. But, I don’t tell those stories because we have a tendency to compare our stories with the life events of others. That’s not helpful. You must climb your climb. I can help. I can encourage you. I will even carry you to the next place so you can rest. But, to that mountain you must go. You must sacrifice your Isaac there. There cannot be two kings of your heart. Abraham was interrupted and he received a ram. Blood was spilled. Atonement was made. But, there was still more.

The ram was not the Lamb. God made sure His promise to Abraham (Genesis 15) was lived out until the fulness of time arrived and Jesus could take over from the ram sacrifices to become the Lamb of Sacrifice. Believe in him. Believe in it for yourself. It’s worth your time and effort. Become more involved in his Kingdom building business. There is so much to do and so many lost people who are ‘almost Christian.’ Don’t let a moment of regret go by wishing you had one more shot at at a conversation with someone about Jesus. If there was ever a time that we could do great things for the Kingdom, it is now. Believe. Even if everything within you screams it’s a bogus lie. Become aware of why that voice is working so hard to convince you that it’s a lie and why everything within you wants to believe Jesus is true. Believe.

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:29 NLT

Pastor Jen