I’ll be signing copies of my book, “52 Paths To Heaven” 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 22 at Logos Bookstore in Kent.
I’ll also be breaking away to a meeting room to give a brief talk, “How Far Will God Go to Reach You?”
The Record Courier published a feature story about the event.
Please stop by if you’re in the area or let me know if you have friends who might be interested.
Jesus is an interesting person, complex in many ways.
His character is powerfully reflected in a video and the poetry of the late Dr. S.M. Lockridge, a pastor you may never have come across.
The audio is a bit rough, but the message is clear: Jesus has many more attributes than you can fathom at any one time.
If you’re a fan of creativity, writing, oratory and spiritual insight, you may be touched by the way he captures the heart of Jesus (the video images help along with some modern background music).
Here’s an excerpt followed by the Christian video:
“My King”
He strengthens and sustains.
He guards and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleansed the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
He delivers the captive.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
I’m impressed that my son has picked up a concept I touch on in the book. It’s about how we seem to forget that you don’t need to see something to believe it’s real. He’s challenging his teacher and students to realize that’s what faith is - not seeing but knowing something is real.
Scientists amaze me with their knowledge and discoveries. But like some scientists, many people grow frustrated when they can’t prove something exists. Therefore, it must not be real, right? Wrong. We can’t see gravity, but we respect its presence. We can’t see God, but we still have faith in Him. He’s more real to us than He needs to be - in that soft, still voice we hear in our minds and in our hearts, in an embrace of a friend or a stranger, in nature, in circumstances and in His Word.
Can’t see Jesus? Set aside your pride and His presence will be clear enough.
It’s late at night and the Oprah show is on. The focus is on Elizabeth Gilbert’s book called “Eat Pray Love.” It makes me shake my head. It’s all about “the light getting in” and your “spiritual path.” It sounds like the author hit rock bottom in her life and went on a spiritual quest overseas. Wonderful - if that’s what it takes to meet Jesus. But I haven’t heard her say anything about Jesus, so maybe her book is just a path on her journey to her real Savior. I guess it’s a best-seller or something. How sad. My book like hers should be secondary to God’s Word. Maybe you’re not reading the Bible and you read my book or hers. That’s OK, but give the Bible a try (get a study guide if you need to).
One audience member talked about how Gilbert’s book is her Bible. Wow…how sad. Apparently, she encountered some god during her journey. Maybe it was my God through some spiritual connection. But she clearly missed the point because only Jesus provides true, stable, lasting access to God. She refers to God as God “the perfection that absorbs.” Well, He’s perfect, but salvation isn’t about having some secret moment with God and all is well. God, she says, involves the “the divinity within you…that’s where God lives.” Yeah, whatever.
Books like hers and mine can be paths to heaven, but hell and heaven await us. Will we meet Jesus before we die or just go to hell? Will He matter given what He accomplished on the cross? He’s the source of our true peace. We get the Holy Spirit when we choose Jesus. I’m happy for her, being content, having simple pleasures. One day, I hope she meets her Savior and she uses her author status to give Him glory.
It’s OK to drink alcohol if you’re Christian and if you aren’t a believer in Christ.
I know many Christians disagree with this - that Jesus doesn’t want people getting drunk. And others say it’s better to avoid booze just because - kind of like you avoid the sin of being drunk just by not drinking in the first place. The same thinking comes from people who don’t think boys and girls should dance together because someone may get romantic. Or, they don’t want boys and girls to swim in the same lake because those bathing suits (or skin) may arouse someone.
Anyway, I drink now and then because I have a few drinks that I like. I don’t get drunk and drive home or kill people. In fact, plenty of references in the Bible (Old and New Testaments) talk about parties and drinking. In other words, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. But God clearly teaches against excess.
Here’s a twist: As Christians, we may want to consider not drinking if our behavior causes someone else to stumble. In other words, if your drinking makes someone else think drinking is OK for them (when it may not be for any number of reasons), maybe you shouldn’t drink either. Or, maybe you shouldn’t drink simply because someone else watching your Christian witness may be turned off because they see you with some hard liquor.
Stuff to think about, stuff that has little to do with whether you’re a friend of Jesus. Pride is a more serious issue.
As much as I fail to live up to what I know, the truth is, this is all about Him.
The Him is Jesus. He’s the ultimate path to heaven. You may go through a lot of things. You may meet a lot of people. In the end, it’s just you and Jesus or you without Jesus.
I made 52 Paths To Heaven to reflect my personal journey and touch on issues that may be foreign to me but not you (like abortion).
We like to think of prayers and preachers and the Bible as our guiding light. The truth is, the Holy Spirit is our light and He’s authorized to do whatever God wants to reach us - no matter how high we go with our pride or how low we go with our depravity.
You’ll be able to order to book soon. In the meantime, drop me a line if you’re interested in the book or the topic of what we do to get to heaven. I’m eager to know how you feel.
The book should be out December 10th or sooner.
–Mike
