OK. Today’s blog is another one of those long ones that's could be a little controversial. But it’s one I felt like I needed to write nonetheless. It’s actually one that has eternal implications. Hopefully it will cause those of you who'll read it to really consider their beliefs (and their theology) to make sure that what they are trusting in is actually correct and true (i.e., biblical). So here we go: )
I purchased an i-phone when we first came to Brazil back in 2011.’ I still have the same phone that I bought back then. It’s a 3GS. That’s right, a 3GS. I know all my ‘techy’ friends back in the States are mocking me right now. But don’t laugh. It still works fine. And, yes, I realize there’s been a few newer generations of i-phones that’ve come out over the last 3 years, and although it’d be nice, I haven’t felt the need to buy a newer phone just because there’s a newer model. That, coupled with the fact that I’ve become a cheap-wad as I’ve grown older doesn’t help either. Anyway, the plan is to just keep using this one until it dies: )
Well, even though I have this older phone, I can hardly ever use it because we have close to ‘’zero" phone service at the camp (where we live). I pay around R$113 per month for my current contract (which includes voice, text and data) through a Brazilian company called TIM. But about the only time I’m able to use it is when we’re in town (which isn’t often) because there aren't a lot of cell towers in the jungle: )
So, I had the idea of cancelling my contract and switching it to ‘credits’ instead. You know- that’s where you can put a certain amount of money on your account and then you use all of the minutes/data/texts you’ve paid for and then you just add more money (credits) to it as needed, right? I’d already fulfilled my two year contract (for the R$113 per month) so it just seemed like the most cost effective thing to do since I never come close to using what I’ve been paying for.
So I went to the TIM Store, 40 minutes away (where I originally signed-up), only to find out that they had changed locations. So, I traveled to the next town and walked-in to that TIM Store, waited my turn and then sat down with the representative to tell them I wanted to cancel my contract and switch to credits.
When I began to explain to the TIM employee what I wanted to do, she stopped me (mid-explanation) and told me they couldn’t do that there. She said I needed to go to the TIM Store at the mall, which is smack-dab in the middle of downtown Curitiba (another 30 minutes away), because only they could do it!
What? You’re joking, right? That makes absolutely no sense at all. You are TIM, right? And I signed-up for the is plan in a store just like this one so why can’t I change my plan here too? But rather than arguing with her I just tried to understand that this is a different culture and things are different here (things like customer service, haha)- So I bit my tongue and we walked back to the car scratching our heads in disbelief.
Getting to the mall is more difficult than it sounds. Not only do you have to navigate all the downtown traffic, you also have to park in the parking garage 100 stories underground and then take a series of escalators, elevators and staircases just to get inside of “the mall.” But I needed to change my contract so we decided to do it.
After we navigated the downtown traffic, descended into the belly of the beast (a.k.a. the mall-underground-parking-garage), climbed numerous stairs, rode an array of escalators, and stood in a few elevators we finally made it to “the Mall TIM Store.” Tadah!!!! Finally.
We went inside, waited our turn and then I started to explain to the TIM employee what we wanted to do and guess what? He stopped me (mid-explanation, of course) and told me that they couldn’t do that there. He said, “I needed to call the number on my bill and they could do it over the phone.”
OK. At this point I’m ready to smack someone (in love, of course, haha). I mean- don’t these employees know how difficult it is to get to their stores to begin with? Not only have they wasted my time, but they’ve wasted my money as well (at least R$50 in gas)! Someone’s got to pay for this. Why are they giving people the wrong information. It’s not right and it’s not fair.
Well, surprisingly, my frustration only lasted about 2 minutes. Stuff like this happens ALL the time here. So, rather than blowing a gasket, I’ve come to grips with the fact that it doesn't do any good getting mad about these things- because it’s just the way it is.
So we went back to the car and drove back the hour and a half to our house NOT being able to accomplish the thing we had set out to do. And all because someone, that should've known what to tell us, gave us the wrong information.
But, as we were driving home, something came to my mind. It’s something that’s similar (people giving the wrong information) but that has far more reaching ramifications. Eternal ramifications. It’s something that’s widespread and that’s actually happening in the church right now. There are pastors, teachers, evangelists and a lot of “christians" who are giving people the wrong information when it comes to salvation and eternal security. And the consequences are far more severe than just being sent on wild goose chase- running all over town wasting time and gas. There’s eternal consequences at stake. Give me just a few minutes and I’ll explain.
In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says,
“Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. On that day (judgement day) many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Wait a minute… I grew-up in a Southern Baptist Church and I was taught that all I had to do was confess with my mouth that Jesus was Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him (Jesus) from the dead and I’d be saved (Romans 10:9). Why is Jesus saying that there will be people that are calling him Lord, Lord that will be shocked and surprised that day as they’re turned-away from Heaven because, although they called Him Lord, they didn’t do the will of the Father while they were here on earth- so they’ll be denied access?
And why is Jesus telling us that there are gonna be many people, that are busy doing stuff (all religious activity too), and on that day they are going to be forever damned? I thought that if I was busy for Him that I was OK? But that’s not what Jesus is saying here at all. So it seems like we may have been given the wrong information.
That’s pretty serious. Think about it. The fact that, on that day, many will be surprised and shocked to find out that they've believed something that wasn't correct is scary. To be told that just confessing Jesus as Lord or just praying a prayer or just asking Jesus into your heart, or even volunteering in the church and doing all the right things was gonna cut it… and then to make it to the end of your life only to be told, by Jesus, that you’re NOT going to spend eternity with Him- wow! That’s a sobering thought.
And, I guess, what makes it worse is that a lot of people will suffer and be separated from God forever just because they were taught wrongly by people who should've known what the bible teaches about Heaven, Hell and Eternity. Maybe that’s why James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with a greater strictness.”… that’s another subject, but it’s something to think about: )
In another scripture (Matthew 24) Jesus was telling his disciples about the signs of the end times. And the first sign He gave them (vv4-5) was this- He said,
“See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.”
Now the way that most people interpret that scripture is that there will be people in the last days that are coming saying that they are Jesus- come follow them. But here’s the problem with that interpretation- Jesus said many will come and they will lead many astray. Sure, there’s been a few people that've come throughout history claiming to be Jesus. And sure they've had small groups of people (on the fringe) who've believed them, but it wasn't the many like Jesus said there would be.
Here’s what I think Jesus is saying and it makes more sense. Jesus said many will come in His name saying He’s the Christ (the many being preachers, teachers, evangelists, “christians,” etc. that say Jesus is who He says He is) but because of what they believe and what they teach (i.e., an easy believe-ism that requires no repentance or having to give your entire life to Him and making Jesus Lord of your life), they’re leading many people astray. They’re giving people the wrong information (i.e., just pray this prayer, just invite Jesus into your heart, just look up at me and I’ll include you in this salvation prayer, just…).
So what’s the right information? What does it really mean to be a christian? And how can you know that what you currently believe is true and that if you died right now you’d spend eternity with Him? It’s easy to explain and it’s the message of the Gospel. Here it is:
We were eternally separated from God with no hope of ever being good enough or ever doing enough good deeds to be able to repair the bridge that separated us from Him.
He’s holy, He’s perfect and He’s good. And it was going to take someone holy, perfect and good to pay the price for us because we didn’t have the ability to do it on our own (because we weren't holy, perfect or good- right?).
So God willingly sent His Son (Jesus) to incur all the wrath that was due us because of our ‘sin debt.’ And Jesus absorbed the wrath of God for our sins (past, present and future) and payed the penalty that we should've been responsible for.
Isaiah 53:10 says, “it pleased the Lord to crush Him” as He (Jesus) was making the payment for our sins. It pleased Him to crush his Son for our sins? That’s crazy! But that shows us the love that God has for you and me.
Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“
John 14:6
So, knowing that our sins have been paid for and there’s no way to God- except through Jesus- what do we do?
Acts 2:38-39 says this:
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”
So it looks like this:
-Hear God calling you (this is the jumping-off point)
-Repent. Really repent (change your direction, change your heart, change your mind)
-Be baptized (publicly profess that you’re dying to yourself and raising to life in Him)
-Believe/Trust solely in Him and what He did for us (by living for Him not for yourself)
When you’ve really done this- your life will be different. You’ll be different. Your desires and your direction in life will be different. There’ll be no denying it. It'll be more than just praying a prayer to stay out of Hell (like there’s even such a prayer, haha). It'll be more than just walking down an isle and shaking a preacher’s hand. It’ll be more than just volunteering at church and doing a bunch of stuff… sure, those things are all good. But they'll just be the over-flow of what’s really happened on the inside of you.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it.”
Jesus- Mark 8:34-35
I know that this was an abnormally super-long blog today and it was kind of different writing about this rather than something happening here in Brazil. And it's especially weird writing this since 99% of our readers are christians. But for some reason I felt like this was important. Because you’re important. So, I hope this either encouraged you in what you already know or I pray that (for those who were believing something else) that it challenged you to take a hard look at what you believe and study it for yourself (rather than possibly being wrong just because somebody told you differently). Because I feel (unlike the TIM employees here in Brazil, haha) that it's important to give you the right information: )
If you have any questions, doubts, concerns, or maybe you want to dialogue (i.e., debate what I’ve written, lol!)- please feel free to email me at HopeAndLifeBrazil@gmail.com.
We Love You Guys!
Jim
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