Gospel

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Just recently, Beth Morgan, an FEFC member, wrote an article about her missions trip to Kenya. She was hoping to have it published in our local newspaper, so she was sent to me for advice. Beth did have the name of one of the paper’s contributors, but he writes for the Entertainment section. Beth’s article was “religious” in nature, so I offered to contact my editor to see if she was interested. I knew that going through the wrong person would not yield the right results.

The same principle is true regarding faith. Many people want to get to God, but few have the right contact to do so. In John 14, the apostle Thomas asked Jesus how to get to where Jesus was going, which we know meant heaven. Jesus replied, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus made it very plain that there is no other way to reach God outside of faith in Christ. In fact, Jesus went on to say that he IS God.

In John chapter 10, Jesus calls himself “the gate”: “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (v. 9). In many other passages, Christ makes it plain that, if you want to be forgiven and go to heaven, you must put your trust in him as Lord and Savior. Any other way does not yield the right results.

But what of the person who has accepted Christ and is in the security of the sheepfold? Does Jesus lose his significance or usefulness?

When Jesus Christ flung open the doors of heaven on the cross, when the curtain of the temple tore from top to bottom, the way of access to God was opened. He also established the prayer connection with God. Through faith in Christ, the believer can now go directly to the Lord in prayer.

In the Old Testament, the priests and prophets were the ones who spoke to God for men. The priests offered sacrifices on behalf of the people, and they alone were allowed to enter God’s presence in the Holy of Holies. Now that Jesus has offered the final, once for all sacrifice, believers can enter the very throne room of God on their own, in his name (Hebrews 4:16). There is no longer need to have a special person pray for us; we can talk directly to God, having the same influence and privileges as any pastor, parent or partner. This access was made possible by Jesus Christ.

So often, especially in times of trouble, we think that we need tons of people praying for us to reach God. Truth is, the prayer of A righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). There is great fellowship in praying together, but any prayer in Jesus’ name is effective (John 16:23, 24). There is no special time, place, or person needed.

Beth Morgan’s story was printed (and I got a hug and a bag of snacks)—you can read it on the newspaper’s web site: www.mcall.com/features/religion/all africanov19,0,3429975.story. She had to go through the right connection to get it published. Had she gone to the wrong person, she would not have had the right results. Not only did she make her goal, but a path of communication was opened between Beth and the editor. She no longer has to go through me to get to the one who can meet her journalistic needs.

Who are you trusting to get you to heaven? If you are a believer, are you making the most of your direct line to the Almighty?

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