Religion has actually convinced people that there is a invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible mas has a special list of ten things he doesn't want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money. He always needs money. He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money.
~George Carlin~
I have written a lot of how the mainstream church has failed those it has been created to make the truth of the Lord known. But I've decided to switch gears a bit here and speak to what has been my hope for those whom I write this page for. What has been my main motivation for doing what I do. That being, that those who read this page would come to know the Lord Jesus as I have in the past few years. That you would come to know the truth spoken in the evangel of Paul, that we have not been separated from God due to our own sin. That sin which Christ Jesus gave Himself willingly that we would be free of it {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}. For I was once as you are. Growing up in the church, I was bombarded with the teachings and the theology spoken from the pulpits. I came to see God not as One I could have that deep, personal relationship with, but as the judge of all that I did. If He approved, I would be rewarded with His grace and "Punch my ticket" to heaven. However, if God disapproved of my behavior or my life choices, then He was certain to turn His back to me and relegate me to hell for eternity. I began to ask the question, if God really loves me, why is it that He would so willingly condemn me? If God really loves me, why would He dispatch His Son for the forgiveness of my sin only to take that away and condemn me once again? Again, this was the message I was hearing spoken from those within the church. And it is probably the same message which you have been hearing as well. That God does not intend to save, but to condemn. This is the reality that I struggled with for many years. The hammer finally dropped one Sunday morning when, after preaching that Jesus had died for the forgiveness of my sin, the pastor invited anyone with sin which they had not confessed to come forward for prayer from the church staff. I was done. That was the last time I ever walked into a church. To say that I felt wounded by God was an understatement. However, eventually I realized that there were only two options to consider. Either what the pastor said had been correct, and that Gods intent is to judge me, or I had been lied to. I vowed to discover the truth of God on my own.
In my life I have been fortunate to have a group of friends who are well centered in the Lord. It is these brothers whom I turned to in my search for the truth. It has been through my conversations with one brother in particular that I began to see through the lies of the church. That Gods intent has never been to judge me, but to love me. For this is the one true nature of the Lord {First Epistle of John 4:8}. That when He looks upon me, God sees not a sinner, but His child {First Epistle of John 3:1}. On that issue of sin, which the mainstream church has decided to hang its hat upon, the words of the apostle Paul speak to the truth of that as well. For Paul speaks to the truth that Christ Jesus has died to sin "Once for all time" {Paul to the Romans 6:10}. The truth is, I have never been separated from God Who has created me in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}. How is it that which has been created be separate from the creator? These were the questions I was asking as I sought the truth of the Lord. Through my conversations with my dear friends, I have come to see that I do not live separate from God, but that my life is lived through Him. Jesus has spoken to this truth in the scriptures {Johns Account 14:20}. Of course, this truth which the Lord has revealed in me runs contrary to the message spoken by the church. This brings me to the hope that I have for you who read this, that the Father will reveal unto you His truth which He has revealed in me. That your life is not defined by unforgiven sin, but by His love and mercy which saved you from that. That you do not live apart from the Lord, but within His love for you. This is the truth of the Father, and it is my hope that it will be revealed to you as it was for me.
To whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations, which is; Christ among you, the expectation of glory
Paul to the Colossians 1: 27, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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