Today, I thought I would share something I received from a listener. His name is Barry, and over the years he has produced several written and recorded pieces that have inspired me. Hope this is an inspiration to you.
Barry writes: "I've not produced anything for few years now. I still write a lot (mostly addressing messages of the simplicity of salvation). I've determined over the years that I'm more suited to talking one on one about salvation rather than issues of doctrine. I leave that to real teachers like yourself. When people ask me about issues such as the one addressed in this lesson, I find myself sending them to TTR radio. When they ask why TTR? My standard reply is "I go to the well with the water." I find that newbies to pure grace appreciate the fact that you support everything you teach with logical and cross referenced scripture. Here's a recent scribbling of mine; The Turnip Truck.
I'm pretty sure most, if not all, right dividers have experienced that "roll the eyes" response by individuals that hear you trying to convey your certainty of salvation and of God's word. I remember the first time I encountered this. I was excited to share the gospel of Christ and hopeful that my friend would ask more about why I had come to these conclusions. His response was visible more than audible. He patted me on the back and said, "that's nice." Later that day I had an outburst: "I can assure you. I did not wake up one morning and think, "I'm going to give this Jesus thing a try." "It wasn't like a Forrest Gump moment declaring religion is like a box of chocolates.....pick one, any one....but have one. I didn't grab hold of the bible and declare, "close enough!! " It's not a case of wishful thinking or tossing a dart at a cosmic board that exists only in my imagination. I fell from no turnip truck. Quite the contrary. I was always disturbed by anyone that claimed to know God based on "a feeling", or "the way they were brought up", or some other arbitrary standard. And then there were the "Jesus freaks" that greeted me weekly with deer-in-the-headlight eyes and bumper sticker verses to assure me of their certainty because it was "in the bible". For years the only verse that seemed to make the most sense to me was found in a Kow Loon Restaurant fortune cookie that said, "good intentions pave the way to hell." Quite the contrary. My certainty comes from the culmination of a search that began in my earliest memory. For me, a slow but dogged determination to seek a bullet proof explanation of the purpose of my very existence in what seemed so arbitrary yet so definitely structured and real. I cannot tell you in one neatly packed paragraph my journey to the truth but I can tell you the final destination of it. Eternal Life.
My friend is still my friend today and on occasion will ask questions about my belief and my journey. My reply is always the same. Trust that Jesus Christ gave Himself on the cross. Trust that He was buried and rose from the dead on your behalf. My prayer for him is always the same too. That he will see the simple truth, embrace it and trust it lest he fall one day from a turnip truck. BCB 7/15/20. Keep up the GREAT work !!!"
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