Did You Board the Wrong Train?

“There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NLT)

Over the years different ones have asked me questions like: “If Jesus is so alive and active, why don’t I feel His presence? Why doesn’t He work in my life like I see Him working in other people’s lives? Why doesn’t God listen and answer my prayers? I read the Bible, but why don’t I ever get anything out of it?” These and a thousand other questions reverberate in and through the hearts and minds of many who profess faith in Jesus today but aren’t enjoying its fruit.

It’s obvious that every person whose life the Lord touches receives His life and love and responds in various ways. It’s not unlike the parable of the soils in Matthew 13. The “soil” of our heart is different with each person in which the “seed” of God’s Word is planted. With some it sprouts quickly, but doesn’t put down deep roots, so they wash out very quickly. Some receive God’s Word, put down deep roots and follow the Lord until they leave for heaven.

The issue for many isn’t the seeds that God plants in their heart, but the seeds of the enemy who seeks to counterfeit the seeds of God. If someone thinks they gave their heart to Christ, but are actually rooted in the evil plans of the enemy, they’re never going to find peace, hope, and eternal life in Jesus.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” Perhaps the greatest spiritual dilemma results from asking the Lord to help us chase our own dreams. His goal for us isn’t to build our kingdom, but to give us the privilege of being a part of building His eternal Kingdom.

The best resource to help you discover which “train” you’re on is found in David’s words in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Unlike Satan, the Lord Jesus doesn’t play games with us. He’s all in, He holds nothing back in His eternal rescue of us.

The hymn writer, Elvina M. Hall said it well in her hymn “Jesus, Paid It All” when she wrote: “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain – He washed it white as snow.” If you’re working like mad to pay the penalty for your own sin, you’re on the wrong train. That debt has already been paid. We don’t work to pay for our sin, we work to glorify and honor Jesus because our sin debt has already been paid by Him.

There are times in my life when my sin haunts me. The things I’ve done, the people I’ve hurt, the “debts” that in my mind are left unpaid sometimes scramble my thoughts and seek to distract me from the mission the Lord has given me to reach the lost people in my spheres of influence. One of the primary differences between how Jesus speaks and how Satan speaks is Jesus cannot lie and Satan cannot tell the truth. Jesus prompts us to only do things that we can actually do (with His help), but Satan tries to lead us to do things we can’t do and only frustrate ourselves thinking about them.

The best way to know if you’re a Jesus follower is to ask this question (brace yourself, this is heavy): Are you following Jesus? (told you 😊). Seriously, is how you’re living your life consistent with how the Bible instructs us to live? Is your heart filled with desire to please yourself or Jesus?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊