December 23
Today's
Today's Thoughts: There is Only One Way
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
A few years ago, the Lord put a burden on my heart for someone who worked for my husband. She was smart, articulate and very well-rounded in many areas. She was a loyal employee, a hard worker, and a mature manager. Her ethics and values made her trustworthy and honest. Why would I have a burden for such a good, well-balanced person? She began attending church and her life began to change. Her church was the Self-Realization Fellowship temple. She learned from them that her good works and good life would gain her much favor when she was reincarnated to come back again. If she continued to improve in her good works with each time that she returned to earth (in whatever form that might be), then eventually she would reach the pinnacle of her life's goal: she would become god. Believe it or not, this is the teaching of the New Age movement. She fit their mold perfectly. She bought in to their lies and deceptions.
The Lord gave me the verse listed above and told me to sit with her and tell her that He is the only Light. I remember the morning that I asked her to come over and have a cup of coffee with me. I told her that the Lord loved her and that He wanted her to know Him. I read 1 John 1:5 to her and said that in God, there is no darkness. She began to cry and she shared with me her fears of darkness. She was struggling and hurting. I talked with her about Jesus and that there is only one true God. Jesus is the only Way to the Father. There is no alternative path to everlasting life. The hard part in witnessing to someone in this position is that they will often agree with you. She agreed with me in everything I said about God and that she most certainly believes in God. But, she was not so sure about Jesus being God. She believed in Jesus but she had made Him out to be just a really good man, a prophet and a teacher. She could not accept His sacrifice for her sin, because her good works were all that really mattered in the end. She would earn her way.
She would later leave our company and move on. The differences in our beliefs really stressed our relationship at times. Without realizing it, she changed in ways that made her hard-hearted and opinionated. In denying Jesus, she was continuing to bring the darkness into her life. The good life is deceptive and blinding. It is simply not possible for us to be "good" people. We need a Savior or we will die and spend forever in darkness. I still pray for her when the Lord brings her to my mind and I hope that one day she will come to the true Light. For me personally, I learned a lot from going through the experience of witnessing to her. Despite my burden for her soul, I know that only the Lord can save her. If you know someone in this type of cult or something similar, do not give up in your prayers for them. There is always hope-until their last breath.
Daily Disciples Ministries, Inc., founded by Tonilee Adamson and Bobbye Brooks, embraces a vision to reach the world for Christ by teaching others how to be His daily disciples. Their mission is to evangelize the lost and to re-awaken the saved to live lives empowered by the Word of God and His Holy Spirit, and to teach and to train those who desire to grow, to serve and to have all that God has for them…encouraging everyone to be a daily disciple of Jesus Christ. From Bible studies to daily devotionals to daily radio programs to a comprehensive discipleshipprogram, Bobbye & Tonilee have a passion to help others apply the Word of God to their lives every day.