MYTH #2-BEING A BELIEVER IS ALL IT TAKES

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Most of my life I have bought into the importance of being a believer or more specifically, a believer in Jesus. For years I have emphasized the term "believer" over "Christian", thinking this was the best identity to use that separates a person from the religious form of Christianity.

The damage that is done by relying on being a believer is subtle, but lethal. FIRST-I have come to understand that this heavy emphasis upon being a "believer" is not sufficient to describe what Jesus wants from His disciples. Jesus demands more than this as I'll demonstrate in a couple of minutes.

SECOND-Being a believer becomes a threshold experience-the very doorway into salvation-that Christians rely upon. After sharing a time of counseling a desperate man in the psych ward of a local hospital, I told this particular study group that it was so exciting to see this man's attitude of fear change into a sincere seeking for God. One of our group members quickly said, "So he became a believer?" In other words, "Did you close the spiritual deal and now this non-believer is a believer?" We seem to want this magical moment that a person becomes a believer and then all will be OK.

THIRD-Remembering the day you became a believer-your threshold experience of salvation-becomes a sure sign that your faith is genuine and not being able to nail down that date means that maybe you never actually have come into a salvation experience at all. This, too, can be a damaging experience. Recently, a pastor told one of his elders that if you can't identify that specific time of salvation faith in your life, then you are probably not a genuine believer. That night the elder interrogated his wife and she could not give him a specific day, but she felt she had come into a personal faith gradually. When the elder shared this experience with a group I was leading, he was really saddened by his discovery and it showed in his countenance.

Then I asked him, "When was Peter's specific day?" The elder sat there for quite some time and said, "I don't know." I said, "Troubling, isn't it?" "What about the other disciples? What was their specific day?" The elder saw what I was showing him and said, "So, my pastor was wrong."

The damage is done when we put such pressure on people to "make a decision" to be a believer in Jesus right now. This is why we ask people to come forward at altar calls and why we praise those who witness to the point that they have actually led someone to pray the sinner's prayer. It's all part of our instant approach to life. This wasn't the norm in the life and ministry of Jesus and it isn't the norm today!

FOURTH-To make "being a believer" so paramount, it is too easy to miss out on what happened with the early disciples and rely on man-made sound bites and clichés. Think about it! The early disciples were not "believers" in the sense that most think of it today. They were followers of Jesus and His teachings, but were a work in progress with respect to becoming believers. By the way, that process took them over three years!

To debunk this myth I want to offer some things to think about: FIRST-Demons are said to be believers. In James 2:19 it says: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.

SECOND-The false teachers Jesus mentions are believers. In Matthew 7 Jesus refers to people who act like believers, but that's not good enough. Look at what Jesus says: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Here was a group of people who spoke in the name of Jesus, cast out demons in the name of Jesus and performed many miracles in His name, yet Jesus didn't know them. He had no personal relationship with them.

THIRD-You who are reading or listening to this daily probably say you are believers, too. So, what's the difference? There must be more to it than just being a believer!

Jesus clarifies this. Jesus makes it clear that the only ones who will enter the Kingdom of heaven are those who do the will of the Father. And what does Jesus mean by this? In the next paragraph He illustrates what this means:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Those who do the will of the Father are those who hear the words of Jesus and practice them! That's more than just being a "believer". Don't get caught up in the Christian clichés and sound bites of religiosity. Pray for ears to hear and eyes to see, then listen to what Jesus says and do it. Don't miss this! You must believe, but you must believe enough to follow Jesus and His teachings! Follow Him!

MYTH #1-JESUS IS OWNED BY CHRISTIANITY

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In each of the myths we consider we will answer three questions: 1. The definition of the myth. 2. The damage from the myth. 3. The debunking of the myth. There is no way to be exhaustive in the explanation of these myths, because of the time it takes and there will be lots of overlap as we move through them.

In this first myth-JESUS IS OWNED BY CHRISTIANITY-the definition is two-fold. First, this popular myth believes that Jesus was a Christian-that Jesus would be comfortable with being called a Christian and identifying exclusively with Christianity. Second, there seems to be a sub-myth on this one-that Christ was Jesus' last name. Let's quickly deal with this sub-myth. Jesus Christ is better understood as Jesus, the Christ. Jesus is His name and the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, is His title.

The damage from the myth is many-fold. FIRST-Christians believe they have a corner on the market with respect to Jesus. The by-product of believing Jesus is owned by Christianity is religious, pharisaical pride. This pride leads "Christians" to identify its culture as the right culture-the right way of life. This excludes all other cultures God created, other than the Christian culture, from following the path of God.

SECOND-If you desire to become a follower of Jesus, embracing this myth tends to distract you away from Jesus and the Kingdom. Instead of following Jesus, your focus can so easily become being a Christian or defending Christianity.

THIRD-Non-Christians believe Jesus is exclusively related to Christians and therefore they have no relationship with Him, even though Jesus is so attractive, irresistible and relevant.

FOURTH-Non-Christians identify Christianity with the disastrous and horrendous actions of its past-e.g. the Crusades against the Muslims and the persecution and killings of the Jews-all in the name of Christianity.

FIFTH-Non-Christians identify Christianity with the West and as they develop hate for the West, they develop hate for Christianity (and vice versa). When Christians attempt to convert people who are not Christians, they stir up such anger and hate-especially is this true in the non-Christian cultures of the world. Christians want Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims and whoever else is before them to become Christians-to be converted away from their cultures into Western Christianity. As my son-in-law said, "This is doing missionary work the hard way!" Instead of converting people away from their cultures and into Christianity, why not introduce them to Jesus and let Him do His work in their hearts. Now that's true conversion!

In debunking this myth I want to share four observations: FIRST-Jesus never used the term "Christian". The term is found three times in the New Testament. The first is in Acts 11:26:
 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. This seems to be a derisive comment by those in Antioch at this point. The second occurrence is in Acts 26:28:
 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" The third time the term "Christian" is used is by Peter in I Peter 4:16: However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

When I use the argument that Jesus never used the term "Christian", I am saying that He had something so different in mind than to offer a label to be worn or an organization to join-all to be foisted upon the cultures of the world. If Jesus were trying to change people's cultural identification, He would have actually done so. When Jesus encountered a person from another culture with other gods and traditions, He was not concerned with "converting" them away from those backgrounds. He was primarily concerned with a person's relationship and trust in Him. Take the Roman official-the one Jesus said possessed more faith than any other person in all of Israel; Jesus didn't warn him to beware of the many Roman gods nor did He urge him to join the synagogue or any other organization.

SECOND-Jesus had a better term. Most Christians love to use the ID, "believer" or "born again". What's interesting is that with a couple of exceptions "believer", "believe" and "born again" are used only by John in his Gospel. John and all of the other Gospel writers-Matthew, Mark and Luke-use the same and most prominent terminology as they quote Jesus. All five Gospels are in agreement about the terms "follower" or "follow". This is Jesus' designation of those who are in relationship with Him-followers.

Without a doubt the best use of the term "Christian" is to be a "follower of the Christ". Used in this way following Jesus retains the power of a movement. However, most take Christianity as a religion, religious system of beliefs and an organization to be joined, which kills the movement by definition and practice.

THIRD-There is nothing wrong with being a Christian or even a Western Christian, if that's your cultural background. But there is something far better and that is to be a follower of Jesus. The largest spiritual movements in the world are happening among Animists in Africa, Buddhists and Hindus in Asia, Muslims and Jews in the Middle East, atheists and agnostics in China and even Christians in the USA. This movement numbers in the millions who do not identify themselves with Christianity or Western Christianity, but sincerely and enthusiastically call themselves followers of Jesus. They love and worship Jesus!

How can this be? Because Jesus is more preeminent than we have let Him be. He is so much greater than any Christian can ever lift up and He must be lifted up. As He is lifted up Jesus will draw all men and women to Him, because He is the most attractive, the most irresistible and the most relevant ever. If the Creator-God were to ever take on flesh and become man, God would look like Jesus.

When Paul was in Athens (Acts 17:22-31), he stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship-and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations (cultures), that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by human design and skill." That divine being is Jesus and He must not be limited to the Christian box and culture. God set up all cultures in order for them to reach out for God and find Him.

No, Jesus is not owned by Christianity. He is the unique Son of God! This Kingdom Manifesto of Jesus-the Good News-is for everyone. It is not exclusively for the Jews or the Christians. Jesus is all-inclusive. He is the ultimate answer for everyone everywhere. Jesus. Simply Jesus.

WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT?

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As we move along in debunking several life myths we will spend most of our time with what I like to call "mything out on Jesus". There is a general myth that continues to emerge. For the most part, we have moved beyond the "mamby-pamby, meek-and-mild" Jesus that was pictured in the movies for so long. The Jesus in movies today is more rugged, yet he still has eyes that are set in a scary sort of way. You wouldn't leave your child with this Jesus. He is just a little weird and alien-like.

The genuine Jesus I want to introduce to all who will listen is attractive, irresistible and highly relevant in your life-personal, family and professional. Jesus and His teachings applied in your life will help you make sense out of life, make relationships work, make a difference in your world and make positive life changes as you face the struggles of life. This is why the old question of "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" or WWJD? really is a most valuable measurement.

Recently, I have come to realize how relevant Jesus is in every dimension of life. Jesus fulfills all religious longings in every culture. Jesus reverses the direction of man's search for God. The good news is that God is searching for you. Jesus dissolves alienation at every level. He has also proven to be highly effective in global peace negotiations.

There is another dimension that we have found to be true and that is that Jesus knows your business best. Most people in the corporate world would never even have the thought that Jesus could have any business relevance to their particular skill or expertise. However, we are demonstrating that this is dead wrong. Now, having worked in the self-help world at the highest level with the best motivators-business, spiritual and psychological experts on making life work most effectively, I know that the principles used by these experts and gurus have come from one source-JESUS.

There is an incident where Jesus came to the shore where several of His disciples were. Let's check out what happened: Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Think about this situation. These businessmen (fishermen) were experts-highly skilled in their chosen profession. Jesus comes along, after they have been fishing all night without any success. He then offers them some professional fishing advice: "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." They took the advice from this non-professional bystander and found His advice to be most successful.

To me, this incident illustrates how effective Jesus can be in your profession, too. It isn't something that requires proof; it requires practice. It requires testing it out. As we debunk the many life myths that revolve around Jesus and His teachings, I am counting on you testing Jesus out in your life.

More than anything else, Jesus brings common sense into the world. This common sense is the result of living life according to the universal principles of life Jesus taught. When you follow these principles, your life makes more sense, relationships work, a significant difference is made in the world and in the midst of crises you will be empowered to make positive life changes to get you through the piles of life. To illustrate this common sense approach to life, I want to share with you one of my favorite stories that speaks for itself to demonstrate viewing life from a higher perspective:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, only a little while.

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions! Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Now, from this story do you get what's most important in life? Stick with Jesus and His teachings and you will see things more clearly and avoid a lot of unnecessary stress and pain. Oh, you'll still experience stress and pain, but you'll be able to tell what's really important!

THE RELIGION MACHINE

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In the next few weeks I want to cover several life myths. By myth I want to use the meaning of a "fairy tale"-an untruth that many have embraced as the truth. It's because of these myths or fairy tales that I believe we have missed out on seeing Jesus as He is and hearing what He is saying to us today. From time to time I've called them Christian rumors, however these rumors have become more universal as the years go by and are particularly contextualized in a Western culture.

One of the most devastating of these myths is religion itself, offering life when it cannot deliver real life. So, the religious machine has taken over and with all of its good there is certain futility and destruction awaiting.

Chip Brogden wrote a most fascinating piece called "Dismantling the Religious Machine" that sets up this series the way I want to share it. It's not a pretty picture and may even make you feel a bit unsettled, but pray for eyes to see and ears to hear Jesus as we progress through these myths.

"Machines are used to do repetitive or difficult work more quickly and efficiently, giving people more leisure and free time to pursue something besides work. Once upon a time a group of people saw that a machine was needed to make something hard and difficult more easily done. They put their heads together and came up with a handy little machine called "Religion."

The Religion Machine would make life easier for everyone they said. With the Machine, we don't have to waste precious time relating to a real God Who loves us. The machine would take these complex processes and break them down into a simple three-step process that anyone could follow, reducing God to a faceless, personless ideology of good works. The result would be a mass-production of religious people who all spoke, thought, acted, and believed the same way.

Things went very well for a while. The Religion Machine worked just like it was supposed to. Churches were built, movements were started, crusades were held, programs were implemented. The inventors congratulated themselves on making Religion so efficient.

But you and I know that machines require a lot of maintenance. Parts have to be replaced. People wanted the Religion Machine to be bigger, better, and faster each year. Research and development expense was incurred, testing expenses, raw materials and warehousing. The Religion Machine had to have qualified people to work on it, qualified people to run it, qualified people to supervise the people who run it, and so on.

With all the improvements and modifications to the original design, the Religion Machine got so big that they had to house it someplace; now they had factory overhead: the property, the specialized plant equipment, the electrical and water requirements, more work crews, the support staff, the management, still more parts, upgrades, routine maintenance, all the hidden costs associated with keeping the Machine running.

No one knew just how big the Religion Machine would get. The inventors would have never dreamed that their little invention would one day turn into a big business, but it did. People picked up their families and moved to live and work close to the Machine. There's money there, a chance to get ahead, a chance to settle down, a nice place to raise their kids. The Machine is a boost to the local economy because it produces jobs and goods. It's in everyone's interest to keep the Machine running along.

The people took great pride in their work. Take a drive with them to any part of the country and they would point to the impressive array of expensive church buildings, sprawling seminaries, and mega-church outreach centers. "We helped put that one together," they'd say. "Thank God for the Religion Machine! How did we get along without it before?"

But there's another side to the story. Oh, the work is simple enough. "Do what you're told. Push this button, pull that lever, flip that switch." Keep producing, keep the Machine running. But there's a human toll being exacted on the people who are running the Machine. Just another cog in the wheel, they begin to stop thinking for themselves; they depend on the supervisors to tell them what to do. They go home tired day after day (their busiest day is Sunday). They always work overtime and their family life is non-existent. Even when they're home they think about work. Production is the name of the game; keep the Machine running no matter what; produce more with less.

People always get injured on the job. It's hot, dirty work. And noisy. The Machine makes so much noise that all the workers eventually develop acute hearing loss. The light is so dim that the employees have become very narrow-eyed and squinty, not able to withstand bright light. But somehow the security that comes from getting paid each week is more important than the side-effects. So the work goes on.

Besides, where else could they go? What else could they do? Financial commitments based on that paycheck have been made: houses mortgaged, cars financed, durable goods charged. If the Machine stops running, the paychecks stop coming, and it means bankruptcy for the workers and the community. So on and on it goes.

Every once in awhile a pay raise comes. Some live long enough to retire, but most of the workers die young from stress, are injured on the job and permanently disabled, or have nervous breakdowns. But no matter what, the Machine kept running.

Then the unexpected happened. The Religion Machine used a synthetic, man-made oil for fuel to keep it running. The oil ran out. The Machine ground to a halt.

The workers were in a panic. No more fuel? How would the Machine run? What about their job? What about their paycheck? Who would take care of their families?

"What about natural oil?" someone asked. No that wouldn't work. They tried that years ago. Genuine oil would not run the Religion Machine.

The supervisors cursed and swore. How could they get the Machine running again? There was only one thing left to do.

The doors were locked, and the gates closed tight. Armed security gathered the workers together and had them form a line leading up to the top of the combustion chamber, the fiery inferno which fueled the Religion Machine.

One by one they were cast into the fuel tank. The Machine sparked and began to hum again. "More people! We need more people over here!" Like lambs being led to the slaughter, the deaf, dumb, and blind workers were pushed over the precipice to be used as fuel for the Religion Machine. Next it was their wives, husbands, children, parents, brothers, sisters, all thrown alive and screaming into the Machine. The houses and cars, the clothing and jewelry, the furniture and possessions were all confiscated and dumped into to the Religion Machine to add more fuel for it to run.

At last everything that could be used for fuel had been used. It would not be enough, and it had all been in vain. Once again the Religion Machine ground to a halt, and no one was around to start it up again. The supervisors went out into the community to try and recruit new workers, but after hearing what had happened to the last shift no one would take the job. Today those supervisors are dead and gone. The Religion Machine was dismantled by the townspeople, the parts scattered to the four winds, never to be assembled again.

The problem with the Religion Machine was that it started out as a neat invention designed to help people, but it wound up hurting them. The Machine was made for man, but soon man lived for the Machine and became dependent upon it.

Once upon a time another group of people saw that a machine was needed to make something hard and difficult more easily done and give them more leisure time. They were even more talented, technologically advanced, and affluent than the first group of inventors. So they put their heads together and came up with a handy little machine called "American Christianity".

Tragically, what most often happens is that the person of Jesus is lost in the religious machinery. As Paul so aptly feared: "I fear, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, that your minds might be led astray from the simplicity and purity of Jesus."

HOW TO ENTER THE KINGDOM-V

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The fifth reference Jesus made concerning what it takes to enter or not enter the Kingdom of God has a couple of dimensions. Both of these dimensions here contain direct warnings toward the religious. The first dimension is in Matthew 21:32: Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him."

Beware of being so religious and self-righteous. Jesus became most disturbed and angry with those who didn't see their need for God-those who thought they were right and righteous because of their beliefs and practices. In this dimension Jesus points out that those who see their need most are the ones who are actually entering the Kingdom right now ahead of the religious and the righteous. In fact, He is not just saying that the most despised tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the Kingdom someday, but that they are entering right now!

The second dimension is in Matthew 23:13: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." Note the specifics of what Jesus is saying here. He is clearly saying that these religious leaders in positions of authority are not entering the Kingdom. He has made several observations at other times about the reasons why they will not enter the Kingdom, primarily the leading one is their religious pride-that they know it all and know they are right.

Now Jesus points out that these religious leaders who are not entering the Kingdom are also stopping others to enter by shutting the door of the Kingdom of heaven in their faces. How is this done? I think it's done by continually setting up certain restrictions and limitations on who can get in and who will not. I did this as a teenager. I had been taught that no one could come into a relationship with God, unless he goes down front at the altar call at the end of the service and confess Jesus publicly before men. Either you go down front at the altar call or "invitation" or you won't get into heaven. In many discussions with my good friends I made this clear to them and basically kept them from entering the Kingdom. The man-made "rule" or "requirement" I had embraced served to be a major barrier to my friends being attracted to Jesus.

Also, in much of my ministry over the years I shut the door of the Kingdom on many by sharing a chart regarding Jesus being either "liar, lunatic or Lord". I cleverly drew the chart and then made fun of anyone who tried to make up a different conclusion, other than liar, lunatic or Lord. I would say that many today see Jesus as just a good teacher or a great example and Jesus simply didn't leave this alternative to us. You must choose one or the other-liar, lunatic or Lord. Jesus was the Lord, the Son of God and there is no other alternative.

What I was missing was the simple and clear example of Jesus' early disciples. They didn't make the decision that Jesus was the Lord or the Son of God at first. They saw Him as a good example, great teacher and a great man of integrity-flawless in every way. They didn't see Him as the Lord or the Son of God, UNTIL sometime later. Then, Jesus asked them, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter said, "You are God's Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus strokes him for this answer, but points out that Peter didn't think this up on his own nor did he get it from any other person. God, the Father, gave him this insight and conviction. Why? Because Peter and the others had been following Jesus over these years and God transformed their thinking and their hearts to see Jesus as the Son of God. In other words, for a person to see and accept Jesus as the Son of God, it will be an act of God that will bring about this result. It is not something you are taught by others. This is not my thinking, but the thinking of Jesus.

So, why should we shut people down for not believing Jesus is the Son of God right from the get-go? Why not let people follow Jesus at their own pace? And as they follow Jesus, God will change their hearts just as He did the disciples. This is how we shut the door of the Kingdom on well-meaning and interested people in Jesus. Do you see how easy it is to do?

By the way, missing this understanding of how a person's heart is transformed or "converted" causes a lot of problems. How haughty is it to think that anyone-Christian, minister or missionary-is able to "convert" or transform another person's heart. It is and must be a work of God.

Recently, a Buddhist friend, seeking to know Jesus and His teachings, decided to attend a bible study in her community. She went out and bought a bible to read and take with her to the study. When she showed up, she was initially welcomed and then was told that she had the "wrong" bible and she must go get a different one. At the Christian bookstore someone had suggested to her that she might enjoy starting out with "The Message". Now, this group of Christians essentially shut the door of the Kingdom in this young lady's face. I don't think Jesus is lifted up by this kind of thing and it certainly is not perpetuating the Jesus movement!

This fifth reference to entering and not entering the Kingdom boils down to this: 1. Those who don't have it together will enter the Kingdom first.

2. Those who think they have it together through what they know/believe and what they do may not enter the Kingdom at all.

3. And these religious "know-it-alls" tend to shut others out of the Kingdom, too.

Two things to beware of: FIRST-Don't deceive yourself into thinking that your belief system or your behavior will get you into the Kingdom.

SECOND-Don't divert others away from Jesus, because of your dogmatic belief system.

Be careful to follow Jesus and put your trust in Him and Him alone. He is the only way you'll ever get out of this world alive! That's why He said: "I am the way, the truth and the life."