Psalm 50, 53, 60, 75
I am once again in awe of how relevant God’s Word is today, thousands of years after it was written. God still has no use for sacrifices or service from people who say they follow Him, but whose hearts are still unyielding. How dare you even speak God’s Word, He asks them. I think God must hold a special contempt for those who use His Words to rationalize their evil.
The psalmist says it’s a fool who denies the existence of God. I read some blogs where so-called atheists spout their intellectual sounding opinions, and realize how true God’s Word is. They don’t even know how foolish they sound. God is real whether we want to believe it or not. And he is no fool. Don’t you be.
I look at our world with its terrible unrest, our own country with two arrogant, ungodly presidential candidates, our churches where blatant sin is tolerated and even proclaimed, and recognize what the psalmist says in 60:1.
O God, you have rejected us. You have broken us. You have been angry. O restore us.
Is restoration even possible at this late date? Scripture gives us one example after another of restoration. When God’s people humble themselves, when they call on God and repent of sin, He heals every time.
Get on your knees, Christian. We are the only hope for this world.
alighttomyway 
I can assure you that many years of my pre-teen and teen years were spent being educated in the Christian religion. Additionally, my adult years have been engulfed in researching the bible. That brought me upon the realization that there are many religions that use the same texts as their own. That lead me on a crusade to learn the history of all religions. That being said, your belief is no better than the differing beliefs of others. It may seem genuine and more important to you but I will take the stand that we all have the right to worship as we choose.
I believe that as long as your beliefs make you a better person, I’m all for it. But if you choose to use your religion to judge others, you are misusing the religious texts.
So I take it from your reply you are not going to read the book of John. David, I am not asking you to research another religion. I am challenging you to get to know Jesus. I continue to pray for you.
Thank you for your continued prayers. You have taken my response correctly. Even after I explain to people that I have read many books about the history of religion, they are often eager to suggest a book that fits with their worldview. “Heaven is for Real”, “The Bible”.. which I have to laugh because as I have already stated, I come from a Christian background and have read the bible extensively. “Heaven is for Real”..we later find the child has lied about the experience. The bible is a tough read and I heavily debated the Prophecy about the destruction of Tyre. Nebuchadnezzar was suppose to destroy Tyre and it’s reward was it’s plunder. However, in the same prophecy, God admits that Nebuchadnezzar was not successful, was not rewarded and the prophecy goes on to state he will destroy Egypt… didn’t happen.
I am curious how you would feel if I suggested you read books that differed from your worldview/beliefs? Books that covered the history of religion and how many religions (such as your own) took other religious traditions and called them their own. Would you be receptive to that?
With your sentiment in mind, how about I challenge you to get to know religion beyond Jesus? Remember, belief and faith are not necessarily truth, that’s why they are referred to as “Belief” and “Faith”
You assume that because I follow Jesus I know nothing about religions outside of Christianity. You would be wrong in that assumption. The thing is, David, once you are holding a diamond you stop looking at a cubic zirconia under a microscope hoping to find something of value.
I hope you will understand, but I will not address “Heaven is for Real” as an argument for or against the truth of Scripture any more than I would use “Star Wars” to prove or deny alien life.
Jesus told the Pharisees that merely reading the Bible and following rules only made them look good from the outside. Even Satan quoted Scripture. Do you know why the story of Nebuchadnezzar unfolded like it did? That’s in the Bible, too.
I will agree that belief and faith are not necessarily truth. However there is truth, and it is not subject to faith or belief. It is truth by it’s very definition. I have accepted the Truth, in the person of Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) And I pray you will one day be able to say the same.
Thank you for your continued prayer, I do not believe you know nothing about religions outside of Christianity but as you stated yourself, you have found your diamond and have stopped searching for something of value.
Heaven is for real was touted by many people to be undeniable proof of god. It was their diamond and they didn’t need to inspect the diamond any further. The reference to Star Wars is not an equal comparison as it was never meant to be anything other than Sci-Fi.
“Jesus told the Pharisees that merely reading the Bible and following rules only made them look good from the outside. Even Satan quoted Scripture. Do you know why the story of Nebuchadnezzar unfolded like it did? That’s in the Bible, too.”
?? Not sure how these fit together but I’d certainly willing to listen why you think Tyre/Nebuchadnezzar was not a false prophecy.
“I will agree that belief and faith are not necessarily truth. However there is truth, and it is not subject to faith or belief. It is truth by it’s very definition. I have accepted the Truth, in the person of Jesus Christ. (John 14:6) And I pray you will one day be able to say the same.”
Do you want to read the above again? We can agree that belief and faith are not necessarily the truth but sure, there could be truth in what you believe. But then you say it is “Truth by it’s very definition” What is truth by it’s very definition? and that you have “ACCEPTED” the truth. (that’s more of an admission of believe/faith in your decision). It is almost a circular argument.
I appreciate your prayers, I send good wishes and hope you receive good Karma but I do not use those words as a pretext to try to convert you. I am more than happy with my worldview and you need to accept that people do not have the same beliefs as you. Acceptance is key.
Dave, we’ve come full circle, haven’t we? There is nothing I can say that will convince you to get to know Jesus. But I will continue to pray that the Holy Spirit will.
Since we have come full circle, I hope you understand that even if everyone took Jesus as their savior, there will still be differences of opinion in practices and beliefs. (You can see that in the different sects of Christianity)
Why not just be accepting to all and not just those who only believe and practice the same as you? It will make you a better person in the eyes of the lord.
The only thing that makes anyone look better to the Lord is when He looks at us through the blood of His Son Jesus. That, dear David is what I pray for you.
and that is where you will need to find acceptance. I have a belief all my own and it does not involve Jesus.
“I think God must hold a special contempt for those who use His Words to rationalize their evil.”
I couldn’t help but notice that you have used “His Words” to rationalize your own evil, by casting judgement on others.
Acceptance of others and their beliefs is truly the key to world peace.
Dear one, I am not the judge. Scripture is very clear that the answer to world peace is through the blood of Jesus, not the acceptance of every belief. Thank you for your comment.
I agree, you are not the judge, I said you are being judgmental, something that if you look carefully, you will find a scripture about. Acceptance of others is the key to world peace, not converting everyone to your beliefs, the reason why it doesn’t work is, even among Christians, people pollute the teachings to fit their own worldview.
David, I believe the Scripture you are referring to is found in Matthew 7. If you go beyond that popular verse so often taken out of context, you will see that Jesus is not telling us not to recognize sin. He is warning us to confess our sin so that we can help our brother recognize his own sin. Don’t be misled, dear one. I am not the judge. But I do know The Judge. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one goes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) And in Philippians 2:10-11 it says “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” As far as trying to convert everyone, we are only doing what Jesus told us to do. You are wrong to say it doesn’t work. In Truth, it works very well. I have been praying for you, David, and will continue, that you will recognize the many ways God is trying to get your attention, to draw yourself to Him, so that you, too, can know the peace that comes from knowing Him.
Thank you for your prayers. I too will say a prayer for you in return. If there is a god, he must have tasked me with learning about world religions and trying to let people like you know that there is no one path.
The Abrahamic God is said to be the God of Islam, Judaism, Christianity and various smaller religions. In world religions there are also various non-abrahamic religions and worldviews. On the most part, each have their own path to heaven, paradise, aka the afterlife. I find it strange that someone who follows the teachings of Jesus would state that acceptance is not the key to world peace.
David, it’s because I follow Jesus that I can emphatically say that acceptance is not the key. I can tell that God has laid on your heart the desire to know Him. May I encourage you to read about His Son through the eyes of people who knew Him while He was on this earth? The book of John in the Bible is a great place to start. I can also recommend the book, Jesus Among Other Gods, by Ravi Zacharias. There are gods, and there is God. And I really think He’s trying to get your attention. I am praying believing you will be open to His call. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. I am so glad to be a small part of your journey.