[NotforSale]

With age, we become more aware of reality. Death, failure, victory, sickness, relationships, politics, where we live, and much more, all combine to give people what only time can deliver; Experience. We find out what worked, what didn’t, who lied, who told the truth, what real love is about, and how flawed mankind is. After years of this compilation of experience, we can assess what life IS, not what it WAS, or what it MIGHT be. Experience gives us reality, and can bring a man into focus of the facts, not fiction.

Where this is most crucial, and where a man must apply his experience, is in his search for understanding God. If a man plows past his experience to conceive God, he will continue to build a flawed fantasy. This type of fantasy will lead not only this man into further darkness; he will pollute his influence to all who know him. God is reflected by him, to others of less experience. The result is devastating. People follow, only to find much of what someone said is either a lie, or a farfetched theory. Because our knowledge is more based upon another’s, we fail and fall into the pit of a fairytale, drawing conclusions about people from the vain distance of our own heart and true experiences.

Remember, God is who man says He is. God has written no Scripture, book, or word that he has delivered to this World. Everything we rely on to give people understanding about God is by man. We are at the complete mercy of our ability to tell others the ultimatum of our Creator. When I was a young man, those responsible to give me concept and truth about God were, yes, men. God never spoke to me, came to me, nor revealed Himself to me. Any impression on the heart was what any man can feel what might be “God”. People saying God has spoken to them cannot VALIDATE it was in fact, God. It is only assumed, then passed on as “God said”, where people begin to embrace this person’s concept. Even if the Bible says “God said”, remember, man wrote that. We cannot validate it, only accept it if we choose.

If we look at the entire World, all Nations and Peoples do this. God is who any one group says He is. They believe they are right, and become fanatical in their opinion or dogma. So much so, wars are triggered, hatred burning in them regarding anyone who may challenge their idea. A perfect example is the Muslims and the Jews. If Iran had their way, Israel would be leveled and destroyed. They both believe they have God figured out and that God is on their side. They both use “Books” to determine who God is, and how He has worked on their behalf in the past. Man places God in his corner, and they come out into the middle of the ring with God as their sponsor. They draw swords, slaughtering each other in “God We Trust”.

This example is nothing but Religion, or man claiming hold onto an IDEA about God. Instead of looking at their own experience they make the call to battle stations, building bombs and guns, ready to defend another man’s idea from yesterday. Forget today, forget my own experience, forget my feelings about another human being, just die for a “Book” that someone claimed IS GOD explained.

If explaining God works with the Bible, we wouldn’t be deluged by innumerable religions. The Bible gives us many ideas, none of which seem to really come together. In Exodus, God is called the God of War, but in the New Testament He seems to have this great Love for lost humanity and no desire for us to die by the sword. But then, suddenly Eternal Hell appears in the Christian way, but nowhere to be found in the Jewish way of old. We use writings from a man who had 700 wives who were called many strange women, who led Solomon into idolatry, and we use him to give us concept and idea about God. The Bible becomes a book where we make it say what we want it to say in defense of our Faith, not our experience.

I have watched religion carry many of us into a false idea. God will heal us if we pray. Give us peace that passes all understanding. Save our children if we raise them up right. Keep us from divorce. Make us overcomers. In 30 years I’ve seen so much failure and misguided truths in our Religion. People have told me about their visions, or how God has spoken to them, only to find out later none of what they said came true. People literally built their concept of God upon what they said, but experience proved otherwise. Looking into the archives I have, the people who have come and gone from “Our Faith” are staggering. Complete heartbreak, trial, storm, and the plain trials of life discouraged them because initial concepts of God became lies later on down the road.

God didn’t heal them, save their children, mend their marriage, give them peace, or fulfill a prophecy. The emotional altar experience and Pentecostal Hype, died, while God was misconceived. They came with their questions, were deemed as rebellious, and cast out as backsliders. They once knew, now they are headed for Eternal Fire. Trophies in Hell. Lost Forever. Banished from God without hope. Haters of Truth.

Unless we come to the place of becoming honest about life and experience, we will continue to portray God as heartless, yet loving, forgiving, yet unforgiving, kind, yet angry, merciful, yet judgmental. The cries of children, families, and people will be dulled by our WAR DRUM. We will march right into Amalek and KILL every living, breathing thing, driving a sword through the chest of babies, women, and children, and then tell everyone to love our enemies, while quoting, “Thou Shalt not KILL”.