Sunday I spoke to a gathering of entrepreneurs and others led by distinguished businessman and renowned author Tom Hill. The attendees are called “Hill’s Angels” and the gathering was their annual Eagle Summit. It was a fun time and I met some wonderful people. I was interviewed on stage for about an hour and at one point was asked what I considered to be my biggest accomplishment, as well as my biggest mistake.
The biggest accomplishment in life was easy. Aside from deciding to follow Jesus Christ, my greatest accomplishment has been raising all three of my sons to become happy, honest, hard-working, high integrity, loving men who have put the Lord first in their lives. They have gone on to become successful in their Godly marriages, in raising delightful children, (who all love the Lord), and in developing terrific careers, and garnering friends galore.
My biggest mistake, aside from my early dark days of drugs, alcohol, crime and decadence, was allowing 13 trusted employees to embezzle a million dollars from one of my businesses which very nearly put it into bankruptcy. It took me seven years to recover from that one.
After the event, I had to rush to the airport in time to catch a plane to St. Louis, (which went through Minneapolis St. Paul of all places). I went there to speak at their Legislative Prayer Breakfast at 7 a.m. yesterday morning. There I told some 650 attendees of the absolute worst mistake I ever made, rejecting Jesus Christ in the early years of my life. I was far from the Lord and as evil as they come and yet through Christ overcame those serious mistakes. That is my greatest accomplishment though I cannot take credit for it. That belongs to Jesus.
As I think back on my life, it has been riddled with mistakes. Guess what? I STILL make mistakes all the time. I suppose I could be considered an expert mistake maker. I’ve learned in life that regardless of what someone might tell you, everyone makes mistakes.
What have I learned from making so many mistakes? Making mistakes, even big ones, is not always fatal. Did you know that according to statistics the average millionaire goes bankrupt at least 3.5 times? Yes, most of the approximately 7% of households that are millionaires in the United States made some big mistakes, but they didn’t give up. They tried again and again, and eventually got it right.
The important thing about mistakes is to learn from them and then try again, but never make that mistake again. The first time it’s an honest mistake, but thereafter if it is repeated, it becomes a dumb mistake. I do more things right than wrong and somehow have been blessed enough by God to live through it all and as a result have been blessed beyond measure.
There is one mistake that you cannot survive however, and that is the rejection of Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that it leads to death. God graciously and unconditionally forgives us all our mistakes, but one; the rejection of Jesus Christ. He will not allow you into His presence without going through Jesus. If you have not asked Jesus to forgive your sins and take over your life as LORD, please do so today, before it’s too late. Hell, separation from God, is forever, but so is paradise, and entering into His Kingdom and presence.
I believe that the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” spoken of below concerns the rejection of the Holy Spirit’s attempts to convince you to make a decision to accept Christ as one’s Savior. Matthew Henry wrote this commentary on the verse below. Think about it . . .
Here is a gracious assurance of the pardon of all sin upon gospel terms . . . But humble and conscientious believers, at times are tempted to think they have committed the unpardonable sin, while those who have come the nearest to it, seldom have any fear about it. We may be sure that those who indeed repent and believe the gospel, have not committed this sin, or any other of the same kind; for repentance and faith are the special gifts of God, which he would not bestow on any man, if he were determined never to pardon him; and those who fear they have committed this sin, give a good sign that they have not. The trembling, contrite sinner, has the witness in himself that this is not his case.
Matt. 12:31
“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven – except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.”
May 2 2017 – Click here to listen