Arkie John
Active member
Hellow folks. My first post here. Can I tell you my story? It is a bit lengthy, and I apologize in advance. Please take the time to read of the only treasure that matters. 
Not long ago a post came up on another forum with the above subject line. I smiled, knowing I would be able to tell of the greatest treasure ever given to this country preacher. Below is my response.
The Only Truth That Matters
When I was 13, I "gave my heart to Jesus," but after a few months, I reverted back to my old self; unchanged. Oh I had been baptized in the local church, walked an aisle, prayed a prayer and...shook the preacher's hand. An old blue-haired lady said I was a "good little boy" and welcomed me into the membership. The only problem was...I just had religion. I did NOT have Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
How do I know? Well, it took 37 years for it to finally to sink in. The old Apostle Paul stated in II Corinthians 5:17 that "if any one is in Christ he is a new creature, old things passed away and behold--all things becoming new." If that wasn't enough, Jesus himself stated that "Why do you call me 'Lord" if you do not the things I say?" At another juncture He said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments."
Now, I was a pretty 'good' ole boy. I mean, I never went to jail; I never raped, robbed or sold drugs to little kids. I mean, I was A LOT better that Hitler and Bin Laden and that religious idiot James Jones who led his sheep to the slaughter. I rationalized myself to the very gates of Hell itself.
As I began to delve deeper into the Word, I found where Jesus stated in John 14:6, "I am THE way, THE truth and THE life, and no man comes to the Father except by me." It was narrow minded, I thought. But I realized that if He is THE truth, then I was not living in truth.
I rarely went to church. I didn't tithe back to God even though he loved me so much that He gave His only begotten Son. But, I was a 'good' man.
A friend of mine took me aside one day and made me realize that I was good by the world's standard...but that God's standard was the only one that counted. "So, what is God's standard," I asked. "The Ten Commandments. The first four deal in your relationship with God and the last six deal with your relationship to others." Hmmmm.
There are two yard sticks of 'good.' There is what the world thinks is 'good' and then what God knows is 'good.' God said "there is none good, no, not one." I bristled. "But I AM good!" My friend said, "If you can pass the 'good' test, I'll give you $20.00. I accepted the challenge.
"I have a few questions," he said. "So, do you try to keep the Ten Commandments?" "Yeah, I try," I said. "Let's go over just three of them for now," he said. "See if you can pass the 'good' test. Your eternity rides on it."
(You all take this test with me)
No. 1: Have you ever told a lie? Well, yeah, I said. What does that make you? I admitted, "A liar."
No. 2: Have you EVER stolen ANYTHING, regardless of value? (an ink pen, paper clip, time from the boss--how about time from God? "Oh, yeah, when I was young." What does that make you? "A thief." Yeah.
I wasn't feeling too awefully good of myself now. He was measuring me by GOD's standard, and I was not ready for that.
No 3: Have you ever lusted after a woman? "Certainly. When I was younger, every time the wind blew." He said, "Jesus said that if you lust you commit adultery in your heart and no adulterers shall enter the Kingom of Heaven." I knew I had lusted more than in my heart. I had been with women many times before...and now I was faced with the TRUTH.
My friend did not let me off the hook. He said, "John, a few minutes ago, you told me you were a 'good' person, but you have freely admitted to me--a mere mortal--in the span of five minutes that you are really a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart, and we have only been through THREE of the commandments. What will you say to the God of Creation on the appointed day of judgment? Should I go on?" I was stunned at what he said. How dare him talk to ME that way!
"Hell! Everybody breaks the commandments," I said, in frustration. My friend was not afraid to tell me the TRUTH. He continued. "Yes, that's why God says there is none good...none by HIS standard. If we have sin in our lives we cannot enter into the Kingdom. God knew that He would have to send His Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins as a gift to us. Remember in the Old Testament where those priests had to slaughter animals and offer them for the sins of the people? That's because God said there would be no remission of sins without the shedding of blood--and that's what JESUS did for US on the cross 2000 years ago. He took our sin and shame and all the times we broke all those commandments and He freely allowed His blood to be spilled on that cross and on the ground, so that our sins could be forgiven."
That was too much for me to handle. I said, "No one ever took the time to tell me what sin was and how it relates to me!" He said, "Sin is 'transgression of the Law' (the Ten Commandments) it says in I John 3:4."
He went on. "Jesus offers this supreme gift to everyone...but it's not enough. As with any gift, in order for one to benefit, one must RECEIVE the gift--not reject it. And when you don't activly RECEIVE the gift, you reject it." "What must I do to receive His gift," I asked. He then said. "Ah, now you are truly seeking. Jesus Himself is Truth. He said 'the Truth shall set you free. Now listen."
1. Know who you are--that you can't save yourself from your sins...that you are a dying man destined for Hell itself without intervention from Jesus Christ
2. Know that Jesus said He is The only way. He wants to be your Savior, but that will not happen until you give him lordship (make Him the boss of your life) of your life.
3. You must come in godly sorrow. This leads to repentance (turning from sin to God) which leads to salvation.
4. You must repent. You must truly change with a life-changing belief in Jesus Christ. It's not enough to say that you 'believe in Jesus.' The demons believe in Jesus, and TREMBLE! (James 2:19) All people in Hell have an academic belief in Jesus, but it's too late for them!
5. You must confess Him before men. (That's part of being changed) Jesus said, "If you confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father which is in Heaven. But if you deny me before men, I will DENY you before my Father which is in Heaven."
6. Finally, only after you have been DRAWN by the Holy Spirit, you must call out to Him by praying something like: "Father, I know that I am a great sinner. But I know that you love me enough to send your Son to die for me. Take my sins away today and make me the person you have designed me to be. The best I know how, I give what's left of my life from this day forward. I fully receive His gift He so offered on the cross that day. I believe He died, was buried and was resurrected by your power, so that I might have power over death. Come into my life now, and make my brand new from this day forward."
I prayed like I had never prayed before and I was changed from dark to daylight. No, I am far from perfect. I am not near where I want to be, but praise the Lord, I am not where I was, facing the rest of my natural life and my eventual death in my own puny power.
That, my friends is the TRUTH. It does not matter if you do not believe it. It is the truth and you will be subjected to it one day. For it is appointed unto man, once to die and then the judgment.
When YOU are judged by the Law, where will you stand in that court of courts? When I get there, Jesus will see my name and the angel will say, "He is in the Book of Life." Then Jesus will say, "Case dismissed for lack of evidence." With my sins forever washed away and forgotten I will enter into eternity with Him--not for what I have done but for whom I believed.
You see, going to Heaven is political. It reall is. IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO...IT'S ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW.
I don't care who you are or what you've done. If you will submit to the TRUTH, the TRUTH shall set you FREE, FREE, FREE.
You may well have thought, like me that you were 'Good2Go.' I truly hope that you will lay down your pride and submit to the One who has already paid your penalty. Then, you will truly be free--free indeed. It is a promise from the Most High God and He cannot lie.
One final thought to any skeptics: IF...I am wrong....then you will lose nothing. When we die, we will be like livestock. We just die and that's the end of it. But--IF I am right and you ignore Him, even with all He has done for you, IF you harden your heart and bow your neck once again, and you die in your sins, then you lose ALL of eternity.
It is now Sunday. "Today is the day of salvation," the Bible says. If you want more on the most amazing truth, write me an email or call me at 501 767 6691. It would be my honor to share with you the most important truth of this life.
The most important thing a man can do in this life is to be prepared for the next one.
He is THE TRUTH, and He is the ONLY way. It's not about being a Methodist, a Baptist or a vegetarian. It is about having your sins washed away--forgiven and FORGOTTEN by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Don't just have religion or be duped into that you are 'Good2Go' because without a TRANSFORMATION from Christ Jesus Himself, you have missed the boat. Remember: The TRUTH shall set you free.
The final statement: One cannot get to heaven by Mt Sinai. The path to heaven is only by Mt Calvary!
The final question: You now have the Good News Truth. What will you now do with it?????????<><
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my testimony of transformation. It is my prayer that it will serve as a wake-up call to some religious, good person that just needs to give his life to God and make Jesus Christ the Lord, Master, Chief, King and Owner of his life. <><
Arkie John
Not long ago a post came up on another forum with the above subject line. I smiled, knowing I would be able to tell of the greatest treasure ever given to this country preacher. Below is my response.
The Only Truth That Matters
When I was 13, I "gave my heart to Jesus," but after a few months, I reverted back to my old self; unchanged. Oh I had been baptized in the local church, walked an aisle, prayed a prayer and...shook the preacher's hand. An old blue-haired lady said I was a "good little boy" and welcomed me into the membership. The only problem was...I just had religion. I did NOT have Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
How do I know? Well, it took 37 years for it to finally to sink in. The old Apostle Paul stated in II Corinthians 5:17 that "if any one is in Christ he is a new creature, old things passed away and behold--all things becoming new." If that wasn't enough, Jesus himself stated that "Why do you call me 'Lord" if you do not the things I say?" At another juncture He said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments."
Now, I was a pretty 'good' ole boy. I mean, I never went to jail; I never raped, robbed or sold drugs to little kids. I mean, I was A LOT better that Hitler and Bin Laden and that religious idiot James Jones who led his sheep to the slaughter. I rationalized myself to the very gates of Hell itself.
As I began to delve deeper into the Word, I found where Jesus stated in John 14:6, "I am THE way, THE truth and THE life, and no man comes to the Father except by me." It was narrow minded, I thought. But I realized that if He is THE truth, then I was not living in truth.
I rarely went to church. I didn't tithe back to God even though he loved me so much that He gave His only begotten Son. But, I was a 'good' man.
A friend of mine took me aside one day and made me realize that I was good by the world's standard...but that God's standard was the only one that counted. "So, what is God's standard," I asked. "The Ten Commandments. The first four deal in your relationship with God and the last six deal with your relationship to others." Hmmmm.
There are two yard sticks of 'good.' There is what the world thinks is 'good' and then what God knows is 'good.' God said "there is none good, no, not one." I bristled. "But I AM good!" My friend said, "If you can pass the 'good' test, I'll give you $20.00. I accepted the challenge.
"I have a few questions," he said. "So, do you try to keep the Ten Commandments?" "Yeah, I try," I said. "Let's go over just three of them for now," he said. "See if you can pass the 'good' test. Your eternity rides on it."
(You all take this test with me)
No. 1: Have you ever told a lie? Well, yeah, I said. What does that make you? I admitted, "A liar."
No. 2: Have you EVER stolen ANYTHING, regardless of value? (an ink pen, paper clip, time from the boss--how about time from God? "Oh, yeah, when I was young." What does that make you? "A thief." Yeah.
I wasn't feeling too awefully good of myself now. He was measuring me by GOD's standard, and I was not ready for that.
No 3: Have you ever lusted after a woman? "Certainly. When I was younger, every time the wind blew." He said, "Jesus said that if you lust you commit adultery in your heart and no adulterers shall enter the Kingom of Heaven." I knew I had lusted more than in my heart. I had been with women many times before...and now I was faced with the TRUTH.
My friend did not let me off the hook. He said, "John, a few minutes ago, you told me you were a 'good' person, but you have freely admitted to me--a mere mortal--in the span of five minutes that you are really a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart, and we have only been through THREE of the commandments. What will you say to the God of Creation on the appointed day of judgment? Should I go on?" I was stunned at what he said. How dare him talk to ME that way!
"Hell! Everybody breaks the commandments," I said, in frustration. My friend was not afraid to tell me the TRUTH. He continued. "Yes, that's why God says there is none good...none by HIS standard. If we have sin in our lives we cannot enter into the Kingdom. God knew that He would have to send His Son as the perfect sacrifice for our sins as a gift to us. Remember in the Old Testament where those priests had to slaughter animals and offer them for the sins of the people? That's because God said there would be no remission of sins without the shedding of blood--and that's what JESUS did for US on the cross 2000 years ago. He took our sin and shame and all the times we broke all those commandments and He freely allowed His blood to be spilled on that cross and on the ground, so that our sins could be forgiven."
That was too much for me to handle. I said, "No one ever took the time to tell me what sin was and how it relates to me!" He said, "Sin is 'transgression of the Law' (the Ten Commandments) it says in I John 3:4."
He went on. "Jesus offers this supreme gift to everyone...but it's not enough. As with any gift, in order for one to benefit, one must RECEIVE the gift--not reject it. And when you don't activly RECEIVE the gift, you reject it." "What must I do to receive His gift," I asked. He then said. "Ah, now you are truly seeking. Jesus Himself is Truth. He said 'the Truth shall set you free. Now listen."
1. Know who you are--that you can't save yourself from your sins...that you are a dying man destined for Hell itself without intervention from Jesus Christ
2. Know that Jesus said He is The only way. He wants to be your Savior, but that will not happen until you give him lordship (make Him the boss of your life) of your life.
3. You must come in godly sorrow. This leads to repentance (turning from sin to God) which leads to salvation.
4. You must repent. You must truly change with a life-changing belief in Jesus Christ. It's not enough to say that you 'believe in Jesus.' The demons believe in Jesus, and TREMBLE! (James 2:19) All people in Hell have an academic belief in Jesus, but it's too late for them!
5. You must confess Him before men. (That's part of being changed) Jesus said, "If you confess me before men, I will confess you before my Father which is in Heaven. But if you deny me before men, I will DENY you before my Father which is in Heaven."
6. Finally, only after you have been DRAWN by the Holy Spirit, you must call out to Him by praying something like: "Father, I know that I am a great sinner. But I know that you love me enough to send your Son to die for me. Take my sins away today and make me the person you have designed me to be. The best I know how, I give what's left of my life from this day forward. I fully receive His gift He so offered on the cross that day. I believe He died, was buried and was resurrected by your power, so that I might have power over death. Come into my life now, and make my brand new from this day forward."
I prayed like I had never prayed before and I was changed from dark to daylight. No, I am far from perfect. I am not near where I want to be, but praise the Lord, I am not where I was, facing the rest of my natural life and my eventual death in my own puny power.
That, my friends is the TRUTH. It does not matter if you do not believe it. It is the truth and you will be subjected to it one day. For it is appointed unto man, once to die and then the judgment.
When YOU are judged by the Law, where will you stand in that court of courts? When I get there, Jesus will see my name and the angel will say, "He is in the Book of Life." Then Jesus will say, "Case dismissed for lack of evidence." With my sins forever washed away and forgotten I will enter into eternity with Him--not for what I have done but for whom I believed.
You see, going to Heaven is political. It reall is. IT'S NOT ABOUT WHAT YOU DO...IT'S ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW.
I don't care who you are or what you've done. If you will submit to the TRUTH, the TRUTH shall set you FREE, FREE, FREE.
You may well have thought, like me that you were 'Good2Go.' I truly hope that you will lay down your pride and submit to the One who has already paid your penalty. Then, you will truly be free--free indeed. It is a promise from the Most High God and He cannot lie.
One final thought to any skeptics: IF...I am wrong....then you will lose nothing. When we die, we will be like livestock. We just die and that's the end of it. But--IF I am right and you ignore Him, even with all He has done for you, IF you harden your heart and bow your neck once again, and you die in your sins, then you lose ALL of eternity.
It is now Sunday. "Today is the day of salvation," the Bible says. If you want more on the most amazing truth, write me an email or call me at 501 767 6691. It would be my honor to share with you the most important truth of this life.
The most important thing a man can do in this life is to be prepared for the next one.
He is THE TRUTH, and He is the ONLY way. It's not about being a Methodist, a Baptist or a vegetarian. It is about having your sins washed away--forgiven and FORGOTTEN by the Lord Jesus Himself.
Don't just have religion or be duped into that you are 'Good2Go' because without a TRANSFORMATION from Christ Jesus Himself, you have missed the boat. Remember: The TRUTH shall set you free.
The final statement: One cannot get to heaven by Mt Sinai. The path to heaven is only by Mt Calvary!
The final question: You now have the Good News Truth. What will you now do with it?????????<><
Thanks so much for taking the time to read my testimony of transformation. It is my prayer that it will serve as a wake-up call to some religious, good person that just needs to give his life to God and make Jesus Christ the Lord, Master, Chief, King and Owner of his life. <><
Arkie John
