An All-Inclusive Departure From “Normal”
1.October.2026
Yesterday I established that this is not casual. Today I want to go one step further, into territory that should unsettle anyone reading it, because Jesus Himself did not soften the one-two punch of it.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
I first heard Keith Green’s song about the sheep and the goats back in college. There is a moment in it where Keith jokingly says “One of the angels Want to go out and get the Lord a hamburger and a Coke?” and at the time I thought that line was funny. What I did not understand yet was the weight sitting underneath the humor. I could sense there was a gravity to what the song was actually saying, but for years I could not have told you why it mattered as much as it clearly did. It took decades before that gravity finally became clear to me, and only in the last few years have I truly begun making the changes it demanded. None of it has easy even though it’s simple. Every real change has required dying to myself in some specific way, and that kind of dying does not happen all at once.
And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46
That line strips the issue down to something uncomfortably simple. Calling Him Lord costs nothing if the word is not backed by actual obedience. It is a title spoken, not a life surrendered, and Jesus draws attention to exactly that gap.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19
Correct theology is not even the dividing line here. Demons have correct theology. They know exactly who God is, with more clarity and more fear than most believers will ever carry, and it changes nothing about their condition. Belief that is only accurate information, with nothing surrendered alongside it, is not the same thing as an intimate relationship.
Put these three together and the argument builds on itself. Correct confession alone is not enough. Correct confession paired with visible supernatural results is not enough. Correct confession paired with perfectly accurate belief is not enough either. Relationship is the one thing none of those can substitute for, and it is the one thing that cannot be faked convincingly enough to fool the only Judge who actually matters.
Am I calling Him Lord with my mouth, or knowing Him as Lord with my life?
Before you move on today, sit with that question honestly rather than answering it quickly. Ask Him directly whether He knows you, and let the silence or the answer that follows mean something.
Make today count and see you tomorrow.
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