How Many Bibles Does it Take?
Dusty Bibles and Santana
Prison was awash in Bibles. Most gathering dust in lockers, mind you, but everybody seemed to have a Bible. Usually people with those dusty editions left them at the front door on the way out. Supposedly, R&D (Receiving & Discharge) was knee deep in Bibles that folks didn’t see the need for once their prison troubles were over.
But everybody wanted to get themselves a brand new one, maybe with their name engraved on it. I don’t know what it was about an unread Bible, but when a new person started coming to Bible study, generally a new Bible wasn’t far behind. Seems like there is always some family member who would pony up for a new Bible to try and help the black sheep of the family.
Just like the outside world, when new people showed up out of the blue it was usually because they were having problems. Bigger than the normal prison challenges like community bathrooms and three inch mattresses. Typically, new people were recent prison arrivals who were having some consequences fueled remorse or inmates with court dates hoping God would grant them a wish. I remember one new arrival who kept coming without a Bible but wouldn’t take a loaner or use an institutional Bible. Said he would get his mom to send him a new one. But when he asked her about it she answered with just two words.
“The fifth,” she said.
He replied, “The fifth.”
She said, “Yes, that’s how many times we’ve done this. This will be the fifth time I’ve sent you a Bible in prison.”
Like I said, lots of Bibles gathering dust in prisons.
This particular guy really liked his meth amphetamines and apparently had a terrible time staying out of prison but, amongst the many that came and went, he left an impression. Mostly because he was so inquisitive. Man, did he ask a lot of religious questions for a guy on his fifth Bible. But since people usually only ask questions if they have a sincere interest, we took him through the whole thing……the why, how, and who of the New Testament.
I think he started out genuinely seeking but eventually he was simply looking for a reason to pass on it. He said he just didn’t know if he believed any of it. As if every Christian in the world hasn’t wrestled that bear. Including the original disciples I might add. We went around and around explaining how belief comes after commitment. That this whole deal was about God, not us. We didn’t get to have faith and belief downloaded into us just because we went to church for a few weeks. I really thought we’d gotten through to him but one day he came to Bible study and just tossed his bible on the floor. Said he just couldn’t believe that someone could be raised from the dead.
I spoke up and asked him, “Just to be clear, you’ve said you believe in God creating the universe with trillions of stars and billions of galaxies but somehow you think raising someone from the dead might be a challenge?”
He said, “Good point but I still don’t believe it,” and walked off.
Ultimately, his problem wasn’t the validity of the message, it was the message itself. He had sat and listened and asked enough questions to know that you cannot follow Christ and the world at the same time. He could see that following Christ required commitment and sacrifice. He simply judged the things of this world to be more valuable and made a choice.
I’ve got to give it to him though, at least he was honest. It seems to me that a mind blowing number of so-called Christians today are not. They say all the right things but live a life far from following Jesus. They must have a dusty Bible too, because it makes clear that you can’t have it both ways, you are either completely in or completely out. If you serve the world, in no way can you serve God. That guy in Bible study knew that you had to live your religion, not just talk it.
God wants everything or nothing…..like Santana said, “give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it.”
The crazy thing is so many people don’t seem to even realize it. While in prison, I became fascinated with Near Death Experience (NDE) stories. I was amazed at the similarities across the thousands and thousands of people who had experienced NDE’s.
One of the most amazing experiences was had by Howard Pittman, a Baptist minister, that he recounted in his book, Placebo. These are some of the highlights that have stuck with me ever since.
Pittman said that God revealed to him that we are living in the close of church history, the Laodicean Church Age. This is a reference to the book of Revelation which begins with letters from Jesus addressed to seven different churches. The letters seemed to be almost a report card on how well the churches have been doing on their journey. Many, including Pittman, believed that the seven churches represent the seven “ages” of the church that began when Jesus ascended into Heaven two thousand years ago. The letter to the Laodicean church is the seventh and last letter.
“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! But since you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!
You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’
And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me - gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Those that are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on His throne. Revelation 3:15-21
Like the church of Laodicean, many people today think they are doing just fine, going to church like good Christians, but their heart remains far from the Lord. One thing you can count on, if your heart is close to Jesus, your life will reflect it!
One thing that I’ll always remember is what one angel told him, “Man was made in the image of God, therefore, you were given, like God, a sovereign will, the right to choose your own destiny.”
One of the most terrifying he saw things was at the gates of Heaven, he watched as saints that had died on earth that day went thru into heaven. He watched fifty people go through and was then told that at the same time those 50 saints died on earth, another 1,950 other people also died. That’s not a typo, only 50 out of 2000 made it to Heaven. The other 1,950 didn’t. That’s only 2.5% making it and 97.5% not. That’s less than three people out of every one hundred. If five hundred people go to your church a whopping fifteen would make it. But it’s exactly what the Bible says about the Laodicean Church age when the great majority of church goers are neither hot nor cold. Stuck in the middle. And the middle won’t cut it.
Pittman’s book is worth the read along with a ton of other NDE books that are out there. In the end, Pittman really got a dressing down from God about the life he had lived so far. The Lord made it plain to him that for our life to be acceptable we must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness first.
It just seems like we’ve lost the fact that repentance is a requirement. For those with dusty Bibles, let me enlighten you on the true meaning of repentance.
To repent means to turn around and go in the opposite direction. To do a 180 if you will. To repent of sin is to quit sinning as a regular everyday part of your life. To change your mind and your actions. And rest assured, there is no salvation without repentance.
I was worried about this topic since it’s generally not very popular. But consider for a moment, what if we are in the Laodicean Church Age and 97.5% of people have dusty Bibles? If so, it’s panic time and this is me panicking!
In the end, we all have been given the free will to choose our own path. Although, in my opinion, free will is grossly overrated. Just look at my past, it’s clear that I’ve got no business choosing what’s best for me. I spent thirty years doing my level best to get to hell!
All that is mostly irrelevant since this is where we are and we’ve all going to have to choose. It’s funny though, the longer I walk this road the more I get the feeling this life we value so highly, is nothing more than a test.
