The Visible - Invisible God

Here is a crazy thought....

Belief in God is NOT as critical as WHAT you believe ABOUT God.

At first glance that might not seem right. How can a person who doesn't believe in God believe ANYTHING about God? After all, doesn't evangelism begin with convincing someone that God exists?

I used to think so. But now I'm not so sure. Now I wonder if many skeptics aren't really skeptics out of convenience. A deity can be pretty inconvenient when you want pursue your own agenda. 

Perhaps a more credible explanation is that they find the picture of the God portrayed by many religious people to be simply unbelievable.

Perhaps you've heard the story of the preacher traveling on a train where his fellow passenger inquires, "what do you do for a living?" "Oh,I'm a minister," replies the preacher. "Well I'm an atheist," says the passenger. To which the preacher replies, "oh really, why don't you tell me about this God you don't believe in. Perhaps I don't believe in him either."

Is it possible that the God many of us have demonstrated to the world isn't an accurate picture? Is it possible that our depiction of the one true God is so distorted from reality that common sense tells some people that it can't possibly be real? 

Frankly that is a painful thought. The idea someone can decide that God is not real because of my conduct is terrifying. But is it true? My discussions with many atheists over the years leads me to believe it is.

As Christians we make the claim that we are being transformed into the character of Christ. Should we be surprised that when they see little difference between us and the rest of society, they conclude Christ isn't real? In other words, their belief (or unbelief) is a direct result of what they have come to believe ABOUT the character of God as displayed in our actions.

Regarding Jesus, Ghandi once said "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Logically if our God is real, and if He really makes a difference in our lives, shouldn't it be noticeable?

So back to my earlier question - does evangelism begin with convincing someone that God exists? The answer I think is NO. Evangelism begins with us surrendering our lives - so that God may live through us - until He is real enough that people can see and touch Him themselves.

Many a skeptic has claimed "I will believe in God when He stands in front of me personally and shows me He is real." And THAT, my brothers and sisters is our calling.

~ TrulyFree

"Accepting" Jesus

At first glance, this post may shock my Christian friends.

But here goes.... You DO NOT need to "accept" Jesus to go to heaven.

Now before you freak out thinking I'm a heretic let me clarify what I mean.

The word commonly used by evangelical Christians is the word "accept." As in the often asked question of evangelists, "have you accepted Jesus?"

However the word "accept" creates a problem. For example - if in my business I "accept" Visa or Mastercard, this means that I have decided to find them suitable forms of payment. I am the judge deciding if I shall "accept" them or not. It makes the "acceptor" the person in authority.

The word "accept" misrepresents our true relationship to Christ when He comes to offer His life in exchange for ours.

The reality is that we "surrender" to God and He "accepts" us.
We yield. We lay down our weapons. We cease our rebellion. We trust his will. We lay down our life and take up His. We step down from the throne of our lives and give him the throne.


I can think of nowhere in scripture where we are invited to "accept" Him (as if He needed our acceptance).

The Biblical invitation is more akin to "surrender." And there is a BIG difference between "accept" and "surrender." When I "accept" something, I'm still in charge. When I "surrender" to something or someone, that something or someone is in charge. Acceptance costs us nothing. Surrender costs us everything.

Jesus is not the frosting on the cake of your life. If He is anything to you - He IS your life.

Paradoxically when you "surrender" to Jesus, you have everything. There isn't anything else of worth remaining for you to obtain.

Here's the bottom line - Jesus does not need your "acceptance," you need His.
To my evangelist friends. Please stop inviting people to accept Jesus. It's not an honest assessment of the situation and it misrepresents their relationship to the one who spoke the universe into being. Instead, ask them to lay down their arms, to cease their rebellion, and unconditionally surrender themselves. It's not a popular message - but it is reality.