Let me explain. For most, it seems the response to the overwhelming need we see throughout our world is based on how emotionally powerful it is. Kids dying in 3rd world countries don’t get help. Pictures of kids starving in 3rd world countries get help!

Undoubtedly you’ve seen images before of those around the world living in poverty. This is nothing new to anyone who has seen the evening news. We already know that throughout the world, people are dying in hunger without knowing Christ.

But I’m begging you to look at them a little differently than normal.

I challenge you to look past your emotions, past that little twinge of guilt, and look at the people. Look at them as your brother and sister, your father and mother, your grandchildren. Look into their eyes and see the hopes and dreams of real people, not just representative samples of the latest crisis. Put yourself in their shoes as they dream of better lives for themselves and their children.

At this point I should be challenging you to give to help with the current crisis, but I can’t. That’s not the point.

The Problem

In spite of the awareness, and in spite of the obvious facts, the suffering persists, and the church remains immobilized. The church hasn’t even fed the starving, or clothed the naked, let alone offered them life!

I saw a documentary a couple of months ago that was talking about the ‘science of evil’. In it, it talked about a study that was done that looked at the impact of distance on our understanding of evil. Specifically, they asked participants if it was evil to walk past a wounded person on the street. The vast majority of course said that it would be evil. Then they asked if they knew that the same person was dying on the other side of the globe, and they had the power to help, would it be evil not to help? The vast majority believed it wasn’t! Their conclusion: Evil is relative to our proximity to the person in need. That’s wrong! And yet for most Christians that is exactly how they act.

So what should our role be in all of this?
What’s our responsibility?

We help others because we can, and because we know that the abundance that God has given us is not for our own selfish comfort, but to empower us to help those in need!
Scripture commands us many, many times that we are to serve others whenever we can. Serving them by offering life, spiritually as well as physically.
Not suggests. Demands!
We ‘know’ this, and yet…

Where’s the disconnect? I’ve always wondered how it’s possible to see unimaginable suffering without taking any action beyond throwing a little guilt money at it. I’ve looked at this even more recently as I prepared for this trip. I could document the crisis, but to what purpose? It’s already been documented, and we’ve already become deadened(especially in the church) to the suffering of the world. How could I capture the plight of humanity in a way that could bring it home, make it tangible, to those who saw it. As I asked the Lord for inspiration, I began to see the answer. But it wasn’t in a picture, and it wasn’t in a video. The answer is a call to sacrifice.

We must look past our own selfishness, and our own comfort, and begin loving others with the same love that we have received from our Lord. Even when it hurts us a little! Even when it gets in way of our dreams! Even when it alienates us from our friends and families!
It’s not for those who are called by God into full time ministry! Christ calls everyone of us who claim to follow Him to sacrifice our lives for His kingdom and His glory.
In fact, Scripture tells us very clearly that we have never loved God if we don’t love our fellow man, not just in word, but in deed!

Now some of you are reading this, and you already have an excuse lined up to get yourself off the hook. Call it what it is, a lie from Satan, and move past it.

Common Excuses:

“But I can’t solve the world’s problems!” Nobody asked you too! God simply asks you to do your part.
“But there’s so much poverty/despair/problems right here at home!” Glad you noticed! How much are you sacrificing to alleviate the, comparatively small amount of, suffering in your own back yard?
“You’re just another bleeding heart” Not exactly, not that it would matter.
“That’s what missionaries are for” Find that in Scripture, and get back to me on that one!
“Oh, I send money to several groups that are doing a great work” Are you giving till it hurts?
“I can’t” You should be serving a more powerful God. Ask Him, and He’ll show you how you can change your world.
“Everyone can’t go!” Not everyone will cross the ocean, but everyone must go.

Go to your neighbors. Go to those in need. Go to those who are dying without hope. If you’ve allowed God to transform your life, then you know just how awesome a gift He offers through us to the world.
Go.

I can. Will you?

There’s a phrase that just drives me up a wall when I hear it.

“I can’t!”

When someone says that, my first instinct is to write them off as either a loser, or someone who just isn’t trying. But then the Lord pointed out that many times it’s true. We can’t!  Coming to that realization in many areas of our lives is exactly what God expects of us. Just as long as we don’t stop there!

The fact is that in so many areas, we can’t. We can’t overcome addictions. We can’t break generational curses. We can’t forgive people like we ought. We can’t love like we should. But God can! God can give us the power to overcome addictions! God can break generational curses! God can give us the ability to forgive! God can transform our hearts to love! God can, and does, take us so far beyond our limitations that He alone can get the credit!

When Moses told God that he couldn’t speak before Pharaoh, Scripture tells us that God got angry at him. After knowing God all his life, and standing before a burning bush, Moses was still so wrapped up in his limitations that he couldn’t see that if God called him to do something, God would give him the power to accomplish it!

We see the same concept repeated constantly in Scripture. Abraham, Joshua, Gideon, Esther, Daniel & Friends, Peter. Everyone of these people were called far beyond what they could do. When we read their stories, we don’t see what they accomplished, we see what God accomplished in spite them!

God calls each of us to something far greater than we can ever dream! We have to acknowledge that we can’t, but we’re willing! From there God takes over, and shows His power and glory to the world through our insignificant lives!

To me the term ‘dangerous christianity’ is the intersection of two distinct ideas.
1. Today’s Christianity promotes traditions, and pet doctrines. Churches spend their efforts teaching about, or against, doctrines like healing, fasting, baptism, tongues, and prosperity. These at best are distractions from the life and power that Christ offers. To consume ourselves with what amounts to a selfish gospel is dangerous! It’s dangerous to us, and to those around us. While we create a god that has nothing to do with Christ, our friends and neighbors live in death, longing for a hope that is nowhere to be found in our lives! This kind of Christianity is dangerous!

2. When we move away from this selfish gospel and pursue a real God who is a rewarder of those who seek Him, we find that He offers a fulfilled yet dangerous life! Scripture tells us of a God that calls us to far more than we ever dreamed. He also warns that in order to follow Him, He demands everything! He demands our life, our hopes, our dreams, and our total obedience. We see throughout Scripture examples of the times that He called ordinary people to do the impossible. For them, and for us, taking the step of faith to obey His call would seem to be nothing short of dangerous! But the resulting relationship with our God is more than worth it!

The intersection of those two concepts is where this series lies. Comparing the dangerous selfish gospel with the dangerous power-filled life in God we can see in the contrast where we are and what God offers.

How can a good God send good people to Hell?
Can you lose your salvation, or is the sinners prayer your ticket to Heaven?

To hear most Christians talk, the best thing about Heaven is that it’s not Hell! Apparently saying the sinners prayer makes us good people, and that’s why God doesn’t send us to Hell with the rest of those horrible people who aren’t smart enough to follow God. Now no Christian I know would actually admit to the previous sentence, but their lives express it very clearly!

Let’s take a look at what Heaven is, and why you might want to go there.

Heaven is the best of all the afterlife options that you’re offered. It’s a reward for not being as bad as murderers/drug addicts/politicians/etc. It’s the ultimate ‘vacation’ spot. Right?
Wrong!
Heaven is nothing more or less than the opportunity to spend eternity with the One that we love! It’s the marriage, the beginning of the best part of our relationship with the One that we adore! I submit that those who can’t imagine spending an infinite amount of time worshiping their Creator would be absolutely miserable in Heaven!
Heaven isn’t about a lavish retirement place. It isn’t about re-uniting with loved ones. It isn’t about living pain-free. Quite simply, it’s not about us at all! Much of what I hear about Heaven all revolves around us, how wonderful we’re going to feel, how happy we’re going to be, and how comfortable it’s going to be for us.
I don’t buy it! I dream of spending an eternity worshiping and serving in the presence of the One who gave me life! That’s so much more than enough! The happiness, the lack of pain, re-uniting with loved ones all fades into the background when we anticipate bowing down before our Saviour, and worshiping Him! If you could only grasp the magnificence of that thought!

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Phillipians 1:21

How so very true!

Now if the only appeal of Heaven is God’s presence, then why would someone who has rejected God want to spend eternity before Him?
God doesn’t choose to send people to Hell! He offers the choice of living in His presence, or not. The torment of Hell is the separation from His presence and care. On earth, regardless of whether we choose God or not, we enjoy His care, and the bounty of His creation. If we experience His care, and still reject Him, then as we enter eternity, Hell is the only logical option. It’s our choice, not God’s!

When we talk about Heaven, another question tends to quickly arise.
Once we’re saved, can we lose our salvation?
Let’s not beat around the bush. Yes! God tells us over and over that He longs for a relationship with us! He doesn’t say that He’s longing to punch our ticket to His jewelled resort. Anyone can give up on a relationship, and a relationship with God is no different.
I once heard it said that when we ask the question of whether or not we can lose our salvation, we’re really asking how far away from God we can get and still get into Heaven! That’s the wrong question! We should be asking ourselves how close can we get to God! When that’s your focus, you’ll find that a ton of ‘doctrinal issues’ like this disappear, or just look plain stupid!

Here’s what it boils down to: Your life can be full and overflowing by having a real relationship with a real God. When you have that kind of relationship, the anticipation of Heaven is almost unbearable, and the desire for others to experience that relationship is nothing short of overwhelming. On the flip side, if that anticipation and desire isn’t there, perhaps it’s time to do some searching for God!

Is there a difference between the truth and proof? I have talked to many friends who claim to be searching for God, especially in science. Having pursued a similar life-defining search earlier in life, I can relate well with them. Is God real? Is He worth following? Which religion is right? Can we know? How do the records of history weigh in on our decision? What about science, does it even allow for the possibility of a God? How can we know for sure?

These are real questions, and the answers have major implications not just in our personal lives, but to the problems and heartaches that plague our little planet. As the Bible challenges us, we need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

But in some of the discussions that I’ve had, there is a theme cropping up that I’ve noticed. Everyone seems to be looking for proof. Now that seems like a fantastic thing! Really, it does! But there’s a problem. Proof is not the same as truth! Whether or not we can prove something does not make it any more or less true! Regardless of whether we can prove that the earth revolves around the sun, it either does or doesn’t! It did long before we thought it did, and will continue whether or not we believe it does. The infuriating thing about truth is that it stands independent of our ability to understand it.

Now why does that matter in our “God search”? If you’re only willing to believe God when you see the proof, you may never find Him, even though He exists! Especially if you’re only willing to accept certain kinds of proof(I’ll touch on that in a moment)! You see, the problem with searching for proof instead of searching for the truth is one of arrogance. Refusing to acknowledge that God exists until you see proof is saying that you are capable of grasping the full complexity of the universe and able to understand everything that can be known. In essence, you are pre-disposed to never find a God because you have already set yourself up in His place!

The most popular, and perhaps the worst kind of search is searching for proof of God in science. Science being the unbiased observation of the world around us. Now I love science. I love the way the scientific method paves the way for us to extend our understanding of the world around us faster than ever in history. It reduces error, put’s to rest urban legends, and silences old wives tales, leaving in their place innovation, advancement, and efficiency. But there are a few limits to science that we have to keep in mind.

First, science can’t prove anything. It never has, and it never will. Any good scientist can tell you that this is the very bedrock premise of science. It can only eliminate possibilities. Often we say that science proved this or that, but in fact research and observation only eliminated all the other probable explanations that we could think of. In the future, a less probable explanation might rear it’s head after more observation, and be shown to be more accurate!

Secondly, science is limited to our physical world. This is because science relies on repeatable observation by human beings. If something exists beyond our capability to observe, then it lies far outside the reach of science. Now the ‘theory of God’, if you will, proposes that God, as creator of the universe, necessarily exists and operates outside of the universe He created. Thus trying to prove this theory with science alone will always fail and lead to confusion.

Philosophy offers similar limitations. Philosophy relies on our own intellect, and our ability to fully grasp the ideas debated. To rely solely on one or two disciplines to ‘prove’ there is a God, and refusing to believe in Him otherwise is no different than me saying that I won’t believe that Washington was president unless I speak to him in my house! In the end, I would only find what I anticipated finding, simply because I ignorantly eliminated all other possibilities before I even started looking!

So if science and philosophy can’t prove God, then how can we know with confidence whether or not He exists? The ‘theory of God’ proposes that the world around us provides evidence that points towards a God. It suggests that if we look, we’ll see a world created by God, and see the effect of a creator within it. It’s not proof, it’s more like arrows pointing us down the right path. Scripture also proposes that we’ll see evidence of God in those who truly follow Him. It says that we’ll know them by their love. You see when we accept God’s love, it transforms us in a way that nothing on earth can duplicate or explain, and that love radiates from those who love Him to those around them.

Another way that we can know whether God exists is that when we dig past the distractions and lies that we tell ourselves, we see in our heart that there is a longing that can only be filled by our Creator.

So my challenge is this: Search! Search with everything that you have. Leave no stone unturned! But first, answer the question of: what you’re really looking for? Are you searching for an excuse to live life as you please? Are you searching for a way to become a better person? Are you looking for proof that you don’t need a God? Or are you searching for the truth, no matter what it is? The answer to that is a matter of life and death!

For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12

How many times have you heard the Bible referred to as the Word of God? There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but when they become synonymous, there’s a problem. You see, the Bible is part of the Word of God, but not the only part. Why does this matter? Treating the Word of God as the only channel through which God communicates to us is like trying to maintain a relationship on love letters alone. Scripture tells us that God communicates with us in more ways, and it’s critical that we accept this.

I’ve seen to many people that spend their lives reading the Bible, and talking at God, whose lives would indicate that they have no idea that they’re supposed to be in a relationship. I think using the Bible as the only source of information about God is a safety net, and in some cases, a cop-out.

It’s easier for denominations to exist, and churches to operate if we are able to use a god that comes with an instruction manual. It’s easier when we have a God that doesn’t instruct people to do ludicrous things like go bury clothes 300 miles away, marry a prostitute, kill their kids as test of faith, or tell a king to let half a million slaves leave. It’s safer for churches to be able to identify themselves with a certain set of beliefs. After all, we wouldn’t want to go to the wrong type of church and hear something that made us uncomfortable!

As long as we stick to our church doctrines and traditions, we keep God(at least our version of God) in a box . On special occasions we may even ‘bring him out’ for healing, tongues, or soul-winning just as long as He doesn’t do anything contrary to our set of doctrines! And heaven forbid if He meddles with my life outside of Sunday without my request!

But the God that I serve deserves and demands it all! My entire life. My pride. My dreams. And if He asks something crazy, as long as I’m spending time with Him, I’ll know His voice well enough to know it’s from Him, and trust Him enough to do it. What a novel idea!

Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, – 1 John 4:1,2

                        In the beginning, 1 man, Adam, and
                                          1 Woman, Eve,
                                     made 1 big mistake!
                                   Later, 1 flood destroyed everything except
                                          1 man, Noah, and his family.
                                          1 tower was destroyed, and people spread across the earth.
                                          1 man, Abraham, was promised a nation,
                               but he had 1 problem, he had no son!
                             God provided 1 son, Isaac, from whom came
                                          1 nation, just as God promised.
                    They could only serve 1 God, and that made them
                                          1 of a kind!
                                They took 1 look at the land God gave them and panicked,
                             but God took 1 man, Joshua, and led them to victory.
                            Israel wanted 1 king, instead of God,
                                   and so 1 king after another led them astray
                                They made 1 sacrifice after another to atone for their sins,
                                 but only 1 priest could approach God on their behalf.
                       They were promised 1 Messiah, who would save them.
                                     Then 1 day,
                                          1 virgin conceived a child,
                                      and 1 man Simeon recognized
                   that that baby was the 1!
                                          1 king feared for his throne, and tried to have Him killed,
                                      but 1 angel warned His parents, and He survived.
                                          1 day He began His ministry, healing and teaching.
           The church leaders didn't like 1 thing about Him,
          but then again, He didn't leave 1 thing unturned in the temple.
                                     When 1 disciple betrayed Him,
                             it was their 1 chance to save the status quo!
                            That night on 1 cross
                                          1 innocent man died.
                                          1 veil was torn,
                                      and 1 Holy Place was open to all.
                                     Then 1 morning, all hell broke loose,
                                      and 1 Saviour rose from the dead,
                               completing 1 payment for all our sins,
               that we may have life, and 1 day stand before God
                                 with not 1 charge brought against us.
 Then we'll spend eternity worshiping the 1 who loves us
                       In return, He asks 1 thing, our lives.
                      After all, it's the 1 thing we have to give.

Worthless Note: If you add up all the 1′s you get the answer to life, universe, and everything!

Transcript:
Today I want to talk to you about what Jesus means to me. I don’t want to talk about religion or a church. I want to tell you about my relationship with the Creator of the universe, and it’s effect on my life. I’m not telling you about it because my story matters, but because I would love you for you to experience the same relationship for yourself!

Even though I grew up in church, as I got older I decided that I wanted to know whether this religion that I grew up with was real, or just a crutch for weak people, as some would suggest. I decided that I wanted to know for myself, without bias, which was true. I remember thinking that if the Bible wasn’t real, there was no reason to waste my life following it! It would be a whole lot easier to just be a good person, and dispense with all the traditions and rituals that I saw in church!

So I started searching. What I found was a God who created the universe, and loved me with an unreasonable love! I found a God that has revealed himself in the world around us, because He wants us to know Him, and choose Him in our lives!

I walked away from my search more convinced than I have ever been convinced of anything, that Jesus Christ not only took the consequences for my faults through His death on a very real cross 2000 years ago, but alse rose from the dead from a very real tomb and offered us the opportunity to live as new creations who no longer live in bondage to our failings.
I can tell you today that the longer I spend following Jesus, the more I fall in love with Him over and over again each day. I can’t imagine spending life without Him, and don’t even want to imagine it! I know from experience that if you let Him, He offers to replace your hurt with healing, your bitterness with forgiveness, and your hate with love. He offers to fill that emptiness in your life that you’ve tried to fill with everything else, like careers, relationships, and money.
You may think that your life is going along just fine right now without Jesus. But I’m telling you, you just don’t know what you’re missing! The best that I can describe it is like an old black and white tv show. If you watch the show for awhile, you tend to forget that it’s black and white. It just becomes normal. I think we do the same thing in our lives. We’ve become so accustomed to our lives, that we forget, or don’t even realize that our life could be in full color!
If you’re a church goer and what I’m talking about doesn’t ring true for you, then I beg you to search until you see past the religion, and you meet a real living Saviour.
If you don’t know Jesus at all, I beg you to call out to Him today, and let Him begin transforming your life!

“18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Obviously He was taking into account church potlucks. Anyone who has been to a church potluck knows they are taking their life into their own hands! Having been a innocent victim of one of these harrowing opportunities for fellowship as a child, I can attest to the pall of death that lingers over those whose immune systems aren’t braced for such an experience. Many other preacher’s kids can attest to the veracity of this danger as well! In fact, PK’s are statistically more likely to walk through this valley of the shadow of death, simply due to the fact that they are required to go to every last one of them, and perhaps even a few at other churches they visit!

For those who understand Hebrew, we see further confirmation in Matthew 16:6. Here Jesus gives us a little warning about avoiding the food the deacon’s wife brings.

6 Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Just as the disciples had a difficult time understanding the depth of this saying, many Christians today miss the warning that was spelled out here.

See also Proverbs 23:7,8:

7 for as he thinks about the cost, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. 8 The morsel which you have eaten you shall vomit up, and lose your good words.

It’s quite clear from the Scriptures that we are to have no part in these pseudo-sanctified bacterial swaps!

(Today’s post should be taken with a grain of humor. Don’t start complaining about my theology here! Perhaps the following statement can provide worthwhile ‘food for thought’ from my wayward post: I have seen church doctrines that are based on far less convincing Scriptural exegesis!).