Rule to Having a Relationship with God

Pebble Beach“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

RULES OF GOLF

I don’t know how many of you are into the sport of golf (either watching it on TV or playing).

I’ve found it’s a great way to get exercise and have fun.

And there are rules in golf just like any other sport.

It was some time ago that I learned that there was actually a rule about cleaning off the green in golf. (The “green” is that grass surface surrounding golf course holes.)

The rule used to be that you could use only your hand or your golf club to clean off the green.

So if there was, let’s say, a few leaves or some dirt or sand that was in the line of your putt and in the way of your ball on the green, you could brush it aside to make a clear path, but only with your golf club or hand.

To do it any other way would result in a penalty.

RULE CHANGE

But that rule changed around 10 years ago.

The updated rule was that you were no longer limited when it came to cleaning the green, but you could use other things including brooms, etc.

(I thought at the time, “Duh! Why didn’t they think of that earlier?”)

I’m going somewhere with this. I’ve just arrived!

RULE TO HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

And there is a rule when it comes to having a relationship with God.

Some people know the rule.

Some people don’t know the rule.

Some people don’t care about the rule.

Some people are trying to change the rule.

I want to talk briefly about the latter.

CHANGING THE RULE

There are those who say you can have a relationship with God through Muhammad and Islam.

Others say you can have a relationship with God through Buddha and Buddhism.

Still others say you can have a relationship with God through Joseph Smith and Mormonism or any other way that happens to suit your fancy.

After all, we should be welcoming of all religions as ways of approaching God, should we not?

No, we shouldn’t!

And why shouldn’t we?

Because the rulebook says so.

You can’t have a relationship with God through anything other than Jesus Christ and Christianity.

That’s the rule no matter how hard or how many people try to change it.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

If you really want to know the Lord, you must come to Him via His Son.

(By the way, to do so, my friends, is better than hitting a hole-in-one in golf. That’s for sure! Four!)

(Pebble Beach Golf Links 02 by TewyOwn work. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.)

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About Pastor Mike

Pastor Mike is making the most of web technologies to encourage disciples. A self-proclaimed “twitterholic,” one twitter follower describes him as the “jogging, blogging, tweeting Pastor.” Visits to Pastor Mike’s blog (A Heart For God) number in the hundreds of thousands. His video blogs have been viewed over a half a million times.