What If

By Cole Roberts

What if Christianity is simple? When Jesus gave his first public address, he said, I have come to fulfill the law and the prophets and to set the captives free. When a contract is fulfilled, it is completed and is no longer in effect. Religion is a form of bondage that enslaves its adherents to a set of rules that constitute sin. It portrays the image of a God who acts as a judge. In one hand he has a legal pad and pen and in the other a club. When sufficient sins have been committed, the club is used on the sinner. Jesus died on the cross to fulfill the need for justice and came to earth to show that God is not the ogre with a club but a loving father with outstretched arms wanting to hug his children

He sent to us the Holy Spirit so we might have the heart and mind of Christ and be empowered to live a life free from the bondage of sin and religion. This book shows the reader how to do that and points out the stumbling blocks that may interfere. It enables the reader to see the simplicity of Christianity and understand why it should surpass religion in our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512720587

Cole Roberts

The author received his BS degree from Western Kentucky University in 1967 and his doctorate from Auburn University in 1971. He had to know for himself if God existed and if the Bible was pertinent. He sought Jesus, found him, fought with him, ran from him, and crawled back to him. The day he discovered that Jesus loved him unconditionally changed his life forever. He climbed the mountain, saw the burning bush, and found the Lord for himself. He knows God is real, Jesus is Lord, and the work of the Holy Spirit is the same today as it was yesterday and as it will be tomorrow.

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Copyright © 2015 Cole Roberts.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2057-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2059-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2058-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918985

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/13/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Conundrum

Chapter 2 Human Nature

Chapter 3 Motivation

Chapter 4 Crippling Behavior

Chapter 5 Playing with Fire

Chapter 6 Assured Failure

Chapter 7 Self-Control

Chapter 8 Our Misunderstanding

Chapter 9 Another Man

Chapter 10 My Experience

Chapter 11 Christianity Simplified

Chapter 12 Choices

Conclusion

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Tom, Dennis, and Dar for their encouragement in the beginning of this endeavor.

Thanks to Joanie for her insightful comments.

Thanks to Dave and Patti for reading my very rough draft.

Thanks to my sister for being honest as only a sister can be.

Thanks to Jane, Cindy, and Melody for their recommendations.

Thanks to Barry and Terry for their encouragement when I was questioning my purpose.

Thanks to a Jeanette, a special woman of God, whose ministry has blessed me more than I can say.

A special thanks to my patient wife.

Thanks to all the authors and their books from which I derived my knowledge of Jewish customs and beliefs in the time of Jesus. That knowledge has come over years of reading and study, so I cannot attribute it to any specific author or book. I can only attest to the fact that someone else did the hard work, and I gleaned wisdom and understanding from them.

INTRODUCTION

Some of my greatest discoveries came when I least expected them. Most of the time, I was just going through my day, such as the day I answered a magazine ad. I had no idea that phone call would result in my moving 2,400 miles from home and family. There was also a time when I was praying with no expectation, and I suddenly heard the voice of God.

On another occasion, the Holy Spirit said I would receive an opportunity in the midst of disappointment. It’s my custom to spend a portion of New Year’s Day in prayer. It’s not an ordinary prayer time; it’s usually a time of prophetic prayer. Because I’m not shown how these prophecies will come to pass, all I can do is wait and watch for the Lord to fulfill his will in my life.

My New Year’s Day prayer in 2012 consisted of multiple prophecies. I prayed about the inevitability of death. That was not exactly the way I wanted to start a new year, but four months later, when I was a heartbeat away from death, I found myself reciting a part of Psalm 23. When I said, Thy rod and Thy staff comfort me, all my fear left, and I knew I was in God’s hands.

The second part of that prayer predicted an opportunity in the presence of disappointment. For several months, my wife and I had wanted to sell our home and move to a retirement community in Florida. After my close call with death, that burning desire became a raging fire.

Reality said we should downsize and reevaluate the remaining years of our lives, but by midsummer, I was sensing that God’s timing wasn’t my timing. In my spirit, I knew our house wasn’t going to sell anytime soon. Even though I knew God’s not now doesn’t mean not ever, I was disappointed and depressed.

In the midst of my disappointment, a pastor called and asked me to speak to his church. That was my first invitation to preach in twenty years; that well had long been dry. At one point, I failed to obey God. When I refused to follow him, my disobedience caused his open doors to close.

The pain I felt when I realized I had squandered my anointing through disobedience was still fresh in my mind. I had shut that door of my heart and didn’t want to reopen it. Once again, I wanted to say no. But because of the New Year’s Day prayer, I knew this was the opportunity the Lord had in mind. Could this be my second chance? I asked the pastor for a day to reply because I wanted time to pray. If God wasn’t willing to give me a sermon, I wasn’t willing to preach. My prayer was simple: God, if you will give me a very clear outline for a sermon, I’ll do this.

That night in a dream, he outlined some what ifs, and they became the subject of this book. Although these stories may seem unconnected, a common theme runs through them. I’m convinced those who allow themselves to be challenged by these what ifs will be drawn closer to the Lord. Open your mind and your heart, and answer the questions they present. There are no right or wrong answers, but my sincere hope is that some of the answers will lead you to a deeper spiritual relationship with the Lord and open doors of greater understanding in your life.

When I started to write this book, I had no idea where it was going. As the Lord gave me the chapters and the words in them, I typed. I didn’t plan this book, and although some readers may say that shows, I had a reason. I wanted it to be his book. If he didn’t give it to me, I didn’t want it. What I have to say is of no importance; what he has to say is of paramount importance. When he finished, I saw what he was doing. This book is about simple Christianity. Using biblical examples, it shows how our choices can please God or disappoint him. It points out what we must understand if we are going to follow Christ.

The men in these stories are just like us. They lived their lives just as we do. They got up every morning and dressed for the day. They worked for a living and at the end of the day were glad it was over. Some days went without a hitch, but others didn’t. Their desires weren’t unlike ours. Sometimes they lusted, sometimes they rebelled, sometimes they made mistakes, and sometimes they succeeded.

At times, they knew what God wanted from them, but at other times, they probably wondered about that. When their families questioned their sanity, these men questioned their hearing and their hearts. When others asked how they knew God’s will, they wondered if they actually did. At times, when the pressures of life seemed overwhelming, they failed. Like all of us, sometimes, when their faith was tested, they failed to trust and obey. At those times, they learned great lessons, and the stumbling blocks in their lives became stepping-stones.

These stories are about us. These men are like us, and like us, the circumstances of their lives were composed of stumbling blocks and stepping-stones. At times, the stumbling blocks led to failure, and at other times, they became stepping-stones to success. When we make the right choices, a stumbling block is nothing more than a stepping-stone. Our lives are about stumbling blocks, stepping-stones, and choices. Every day is an opportunity to fail or succeed. The stumbling blocks don’t cause us to fail any more than the stepping-stones cause us to succeed; the choices we make determine that.

These stories are about the stumbling blocks these men faced. Their choices determined if those stumbling blocks would become permanent roadblocks or stepping-stones. As you read about them, make comparisons to your life and see how your choices can turn your stumbling blocks into stepping-stones.

CHAPTER 1

Conundrum

Sometimes I take things for granted. I don’t question that the earth is round. Until someone took a camera into space, we had no proof of that, yet I didn’t question my teachers when that was presented as fact. When I was a freshman in college, I learned evolution as a theory; human beings supposedly came from monkeys. Within a few short years, evolution was taught as fact and our origin had regressed to primordial slime. I did question that because I’d prefer a monkey for my ancestor rather than pond scum and because the first chapter of