Although I agree with all the comments mentioned thus far on this topic of
public counseling on the radio, as it were, people who listen, and people
who call, are doing both for the same reason.  That is, they are desperate
for the truth.  I'm sure it is much more now, but a couple of years ago, I
watched Doctor Laura's biography on the Biography Channel.  Her show was
pulling in 71 million dollars a year and as I said, I'm sure it is much more
now.  This doesn't include the sale of her books, all of which, of course,
become best sellers over night because she has millions of listeners that
run right out and buy her book when she mentions its releace.  This is true
of all Christian radio shows where the host releaces a book to sell.  People
buy the books for the same reason they listen to the show on radio, or
television; they are looking for an answer that will work, that is, an
answer that is the truth.  Absolute truth works.  Even Christians, who are
unable to discover the truth within the Scriptures, will be discomforted and
uneasy in their relationship with the Lord.  What they don't know,
unfortunately, is that such is ok with God and He isn't judgemental just
because you can't perform well enough to be a perfect Christian.  The truth
is, of course, that He is perfect for us and has taken our place.  In fact,
I wrote about this, which I've posted here before, and is on my website, but
it is posted below just because it goes along with what I'm trying to say.

Phil.

Shortcut To Perfection


By Phil Scovell





      I lived about four blocks from the elementary school I
attended.  I well remember every square inch of that neighborhood
and it was a wonderful place in which to grow up as a child.  I
lived in Des Moines, Iowa until I was about twelve and then we
moved to Omaha, Nebraska.

      My first week of kindergarten was exciting and a little scary
at the same time.  My mom walked me to school that first day, as
most mothers did with their little four, five, and six year old
children starting school for the first time.

      During that first week, mom explained to me that she would
walk with me but each day she would stop short of walking the
entire distance with me and let me walk the rest of the way by
myself.  This, she explained, would help me get used to it.  I was
a little nervous, you might say, about walking alone and I didn't
like the thought of leaving my mother either but I knew it had to
be done.  After all, I was a big boy now because I was in school.

      The second day, she walked all the way to the school grounds
and let me walk the half a block to where my school entrance was
for the kindergarten students.

      the third day, we walked the first two block together because
they were not divided by a cross street.  At the end of that first
corner, mom encouraged me to finish the rest on my own.  She
promised to stay at the corner so I could see her, if I turned to
look, and that way she would make sure I arrived safely on the
school grounds.  This was back before children were kidnapped.
Now we jail such perpetrators, if they are caught, and then we let
them out into society again two or three years later so they can
do it all over again.

      I well remember, turning around and looking around two or
three times to see if mom was still on the corner, as I made my
way down the remaining two blocks to school.  She was always
there.  Fortunately, the school property could be seen clearly
from the corner where mom stood but it was comforting to be able
to turn and see her smiling and standing there watching.

      On the fourth day, she walked about half way down those first
two blocks.  Now, when I rounded the corner, I could no longer see
her but I knew where she was and I made it without any trouble.

      Finally, by week's end, I was walking the entire distance
from home by myself without fear or reluctance.

      Over the years, I walked every conceivable route to and from
school.  When I was a little older, I gained courage enough to
take a shorter way home by cutting through a back street and then
snaking my way through backyards.  At times, I even went home for
lunch.  I would run all the way, taking the shortcut, climbing and
jumping a tall fence, eating lunch at home, and then running back
to school in plenty of time to play on the large playground with
my friends.

      This childhood memory, along with two others, recently began
surfacing.  The three memories seemed to be a boxed set.  The
interesting aspect of the three memories, or the thing they all
had in common, were that they were all good memories.  I am so
used to going to bad memories, or painful memories, where healing
by the Lord Jesus Christ needs to be done, both in my personal
life and those with whom I pray, that I was stumped as to why
these good memories were surfacing.  Sure, I had seen these
pleasant memories hundreds of times over the years but as these
came to mind, they seemed to stay, almost fixed, in my memory.  It
was this memory, however, that seem to have a little discomfort in
it so I began praying and asking the Lord about it.

      He said, "How did you feel in the memory?"

      I felt alone and said as much.

      "What else did you feel?" the Holy Spirit asked.

      I stared at the little 5 year old boy walking down those two
long blocks alone and looking back occasionally to see if his mom
was still there.  Loneliness wasn't really what I felt.  Then what
was it?  I watched myself carefully in the memory and realized
that I wasn't in danger and that my mom was just a few yards
behind me.  Then it hit me and I said, "I felt like I should have
not been afraid and able to walk to school on my own."

      It was almost as if I could hear the Lord chuckle.  He said,
"Phil, you don't have to be perfect because I am."

      This statement was so powerful, I had to stop and think about
it for awhile.  Yes, I knew Jesus was perfect but why this truth
in this memory He was letting me recall?  Because something told
me I should have been better; I should have been perfect; I
shouldn't have been afraid.  Yet, Jesus said, "You don't have to
be perfect because I am."  I felt the reality of this statement of
truth and felt myself smiling inside.  It was true.  I did not
need to be perfect because my Lord and Savior was perfect in my
behalf.

      I am not a perfectionist by any means but I often pray with
those who are.  For those who are Born Again Christians, this
kicks perfectionism right in the head.  So stop and think about it
for a moment and if you still have trouble with your
perfectionism getting in your way, call me and let's find out the
truth which Jesus has for you.


It Sounds Like God To Me.
www.SafePlaceFellowship.com