I recently read a blog where the writer mentioned something about being ashamed to identify with other Christians (sorry I don’t remember the link, let me know if it’s you). Basically, the point they were trying to make was that the type of people who call themselves Christians are usually anything but.

Many have labeled themselves Christians because they believe in God, they pray when things go wrong, and they want to imagine grandma in a better place. Unfortunately this false view of Christianity has damaged the Truth, and it has made it very hard to reach out to people who already think they are Christians.

I had a Christian man the other day tell me that he doesn’t believe Jesus is the only way to heaven. He doesn’t think it is fair that people who don’t believe should go to hell. His view is very similar to Barack Obama’s who believes his mother is in heaven even though she didn’t share his faith (which is supposedly Christian). It is also very similar to Joel Osteen’s, who recently said in an interview that it is not his place to say whether or not atheists are going to hell.

Unfortunately, all these men are wrong, and unless they believe in their heart that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, they will sadly perish with the rest of them. How can I say that so boldy?

Because it is the clear and obvious message in the Bible! There’s no point on tip-toeing around the harsh reality. Nobody is going to thank you for being gentle about it when they are chained down to the dark abyss, and the place that is completely void of God’s Presence.

The response to these individuals can be tricky, and has to be modified depending on their level of surrender. What I said to the particular individual above was, “if you aren’t going to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, then why call yourself a Christian?” If you don’t know me, now is a good time to tell you that I’m not good at holding back my thoughts. I’ve gotten better, but when it comes to confused Christians…watch out! However, what I was saying was truth, and I continued with, “why don’t you just make up your religion which is basically what you are doing already.”

To which he replied, “I’m not making up my own religion.”

Then I said, “sure you are. You are taking the parts of the Bible that you agree with, and mixing it with your instincts, and a little bit of all the deceptions in the world, and violà! You have got your own religion.” When you think about it is kind of like a Satan Soup, or at least a taste of what He has been doing since his appearance in the Garden of Eden. Twist the scripture, rebel against God, believe a lie, and warm in the microwave for eternity. Yummm…

Anyway, I am starting to wonder if calling myself a Christian is the best label for me. Christ-follower might be better, and is what a true Christian should really be.

In many atheist circles, I have noticed a common belief that Christians have created a mythical creature known as God. They believe this for many reasons, but from my perspective, the only valid one is that a lot of Christians HAVE created their own God.

Now before you get all defensive, let me explain where I’m coming from here. As a Christian, I have seen where many have missed God, and the consequences have been abundant. I’m not excluded; I was a spiritually dead Christian once, and who knows how many people thought of me as a hypocrite as well. That’s another fancy label Christians have been given, but that’s another story in itself. The point is, people believe these stereotypes, and the stereotypes placed on Christians are partly our fault.

So, where did the idea come from that man created God? Well, one reason is that atheists have no clue about spiritual things because they have not been given the revelation of the Truth. The other reason, is the reason for this post. So the real question would be, what did we do as Christians to make people think we created our God? Consider these popular phrases, and maybe you’ll begin to see the answer:

1. “I believe in some parts of the Bible, but not all of it.”
2. “God is in control, but I still need to live my life.”
3. “He understands.”
4. “Life is too busy to observe the Sabbath. That’s just the way the world is.”
5. “He understands.”

You should understand by now why someone might think that we have created our God; we have literally stripped Him of His Authority. Over time, we have drifted away from sound doctrine. We have drifted away from the Truth of God’s Word, and we have done this to please the world. There are numerous churches being planted all over that are all about making people feel comfortable. A lot of the Bible is comforting, but a lot of it is supposed to make us aware of how filthy and disgusting our sinful nature is so we can repent and realize how much we need Jesus Christ! We can do this humbly as God has instructed, or we can make up a thousand excuses of why we really haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t want to be comfortable. I know what a wretch I am, and I don’t see the benefit of denying that. However, when everyone starts making up their own rules and ways of living, what are they doing?Perhaps creating their own God?

God doesn’t change. He stays the same. If He says women shouldn’t talk in the church (1 Corinthians 14:34-35), then maybe they shouldn’t be talking. For 1900 years that command was obeyed. Now it sounds harsh, inconvenient (for some of you), and chauvinistic, but it is a command from God that we are to obey regardless of what our culture or society is doing!

If God says don’t have sex before marriage, then don’t have sex before marriage! If God says love your enemies, then love them! We have become so wishy-washy about our beliefs; it’s no wonder that people have so many complaints against us! If we stuck to what God has originally instructed us to do, do you really think we’d be viewed the same way?

Please ponder this concept. Search yourself for any areas where maybe you have changed the Word of God to fit your comfortable way of living. Don’t put yourself in the position to be accused of worshipping a man-made god.

By the way, to answer the title question, God doesn’t have a creator. He is simply not in the category of things that were created.

Well, this topic seems to be growing, and is something that grieves my heart daily. The lies of Islam are spreading rapidly. It seems like everywhere I go people are captivated by this religion that appears to be so peaceful. The followers of Islam (not including terrorist) seem to be so nice, and so harmless. The majority act in a respectful way of our beliefs, and seem to worship the same God as we do.

What’s the problem then? They do NOT worship the same God as we do. I saw on a message board tonight a person that wanted to know more about Islam, and wanted to learn about it from people who were actually Islamic. The excerpt below is the questions and their answers by one of the respondents. Of course, I have added my own thoughts in italics..

What do you believe as Muslims?
We believe that Allah is the creator of this universe, and that life is a test, and everyone will get what they deserve. That’s basically it.

Really? That’s it? What about Islam’s five pillars of faith? What about the Qu’ran? What about Jihad? What about Mohammed sleeping with a nine year old when he was 57? What about the fact that Allah was orginally the pagan moon God (hence the moon symbol in the doorways)? It seems you have forgotten some things about your beliefs! Or are these the things that don’t appeal to your agenda? In Christianity we believe that we were made to worship and love God. Life is not a test, it’s an opportunity to serve God on earth!

When you pray, is it directly to Allah?
We pray 5 times a day, in the dawn, at 12 o’clock or some time after it, at about 4 o’clock, and after the sunset, and in the evening.
and we pray to Allah, and to no one else..

This is not in the bible. Muslims, however, believe that the bible is corrupted even though the oldest original manuscript was in circulation over 300 years before the Qu’ran was written. If Mohammed was illiterate how would he know that the bible was corrupted? Did you know the first Arabic translation of the bible wasn’t written until 200 years after Mohammed died? The bible isn’t corrupted! Historical evidence aside, what about God’s promise that He will preserve His Word?

What happens to you at the end of everything (end of the world)?
We believe that at some time, Everyone will die, and then Allah will make us all alive, and Allah will reward the ones who have did good, and punish those who didn’t believe in Allah, and didn’t do any good in life..

They actually believe that your works determine whether or not you are saved. In other words, they have no idea if they are saved until they die. They then have to hope that when they step on the scale, the good will out weigh the bad. Sounds quite similar to Catholics doesn’t it? However, God says we are saved by grace, and not by our own works!

What do you think of Christians and their beliefs?
We believe that Christianity is a religion from Allah, and we believe that it has been changed (as in the bible) and we believe in Jesus as a messanger from Allah.

What?! How can it be a religion from Allah? Isn’t Islam the only true religion according to your beliefs? If Allah is perfect why would He create other religions? Jesus isn’t a messenger, He’s God in the flesh!

This is really just the tip of the ice berg. The Qu’ran contradicts itself so many times, and a quick study of the Islamic religion immediately reveals that Mohammed was nothing more than an illiterate, child-molesting, false prophet sent by Satan.

I’m sure there will be more on this topic in the future…

My mother had lunch with some old friends today. She was telling them all the exciting things that have happened in my life and in hers, and the response she got was not what you would have imagined.

A lot of awesome things have happened in my life in the last six months. That sparked a revival in my mother as well. The miracles that have happened are beyond comprehension, and yet here are two guys who had nothing good to say. I’ll first give you some background information…they are Catholic.

I’m not against Catholics, but I do have some disagreements with the Catholic “Religion”. They first made some comments about me being a “Holy Roller“, and laughed at the thought of people speaking in tongues in church. Here is the problem, and it is not just the Catholics that it applies to: When you begin to speak out against the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you are walking on thin ice. The bible says not to forbid speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39).

When people reject the Holy Spirit, they are also rejecting Jesus. They will suffer a great consequence for this, and all the good works that they thought would save them, will not.

How do you feel about this? Do you know some people who think they are going to Heaven, but might not be? What can we do to fix the damage that “religion” has caused?