There Is No Such Luck!!

Posted on September 26, 2018 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” — John 10:10 (NKJV)

It was the dumbest thing I ever thought of, but I just wanted everyone to get off my back about it so I came up with a plan. My addiction to alcohol and substances had become the only thing people wanted to talk about with me and I was fed up with it. So…I came up with an idea that if I read from Psalm 51 while I took a dunk in a baptismal pool perhaps through some quasi-osmosis two things would happen. The first thing was obvious, people would finally shut up about what was going on and leave me alone and the second was that God would relieve me from the mess I got myself into. So…the first part of the plan failed but the second part, well that actually happened, eventually.

I think there are a lot of folks out there that try Jesus and His church in hopes that, through some divine intervention, God’s mighty hand would snap His fingers and POOF — instant better life. He would magically tip the scales of a miserable life to one that is as abundant as Jesus said it would be. The problem with that thinking is that it isn’t complete. Yes, the bottom line is always gonna be “Jesus Saves” and there is an abundance to life, but getting to it differs from person to person. Sometimes the heart has to have a major surgery done to it and that is the part some folks don’t expect.

When we look at what Jesus tells folks in verses 7-10 of the 10^th chapter of John, we see a few things. First, we see that Jesus knows that those who came before Him lead people astray and held them spiritually captive. It was bad enough that the people around Jesus at that time were under the iron fist of the Roman Empire, but their religious leaders also had their grip on folks. Life had become devoid of any kind of contentment and there was no joy to be found. This had to change and Jesus wants to guide them safe passage out of it. So, Jesus offers them, like He does for all of us, salvation through Him.

Jesus stated it clearly in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” When you look at the verse you don’t see “go around” or “avoid”, on the contrary, ya gotta go through His door to get to the other side. However, there isn’t a mention of being spared a Job-like experience. I think that’s a picture painted by those who, in their zeal to see people coming to Christ, will leave out or downplay the harder teachings of Christ. It might speed along the decision to say “YES” to Jesus, but in the long run sets them up for any disillusionment that will come along the way. Then there those of us, who in our disobedience, think it’s okay to smash through the wall around the door, sit in a pew, lift our voices in song and wait for the osmosis to begin. Yeah…right.

The one thing I learned since making and following through on that dumb plan I told you about earlier is “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal 6:7). Never truer words were written, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get to partake of the abundant life, I just have to change what I sow…and so do you when you say “YES” to Jesus.

As for me, I ain’t gonna be using The Father, The Son or The Holy Spirit as some token of bringing or changing my luck from bad to good and neither should you. I am not saying that being a Christian means you gotta constantly look over your shoulder to see if the mighty hammer of God has come to disrupt your life either, once again, on the contrary. I am saying that, if properly understood, being a Christian means a having a faith that’s filled with hope and joy.

Not everyone lives a trial-free life and the truths you hear about Christianity may not be what you wanna hear, but its truth none the less. I think we all suffer from wishful thinking from time to time and that might give us hope for the day, but its really a mirage and we need to look at the person of Jesus Christ in those moments and see His truth. It’s my hope today that you’ll understand that the abundant life isn’t a lucky life but is really a crucified life where we all get to say, “I am second.” Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: Nehemiah 1-5| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “When we know the cost and count the cost before the journey begins, we aren’t likely to be blown away when it’s time to pay the bill.” — Larry Osbourne

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7