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A fellow pastor I used to work alongside of invited me to his church for an Abiding Life Conference. He was the pastor I worked with when I first started pastoral ministry. It was good to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. I was invited to preach on the Sunday morning before the conference started that evening. After the service, the pastor asked me to shake hands with the people as they walked out.

I had an elderly man in his 80s who came through the line up at the doors and called me a sinner, “you sinned up there on that platform today you sinner, you sinned at least two times, you sinner, you sinner!!”

Well that got the pastor’s attention, and he looked over at me and was awaiting my response or my reaction to the elderly man.

The words that came out of my mouth were, “God bless you brother, God bless you, I hope to see you tonight at the conference,” (as I was shaking his hand the whole time I was speaking to him). It was kind of one of those ‘out of body’ experiences, as I never really heard what he was saying, or couldn’t believe what he was saying, or not really sure if I was hearing him correctly.

After everybody left that morning, the pastor confirmed to me the old man said I was a sinner, and the pastor was surprised at my response. I told him I was too, as I wasn’t sure what he really said because

I wasn’t really sure if he said what I thought he said, and then the words I spoke to the old man just kind of spilled out of my mouth! We both began to chuckle and had a laugh together, particularly when I said, that I thought, you can never really go wrong saying, “God bless you brother, God bless you.” I was pretty sure he wasn’t feeling blessed.

It is a reminder to me again that this message of Jesus in the Christian Faith will create great contrast with man’s efforts in the Christian religion. Christianity is the ugliest religion in the world, for it was never meant to be a religion, but a Relationship with The One, and in that relationship with The One, comes His Revelations of Truth! Religion is man trying to get a hold of God. The Christian Faith is God getting a hold of man and working His Way through him.

You cannot educate yourself with Christ, memorize Christianity, and try harder with more self-effort... these things don’t free you, Christ does... we need a Revelation, deeper Revelations from Him.

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