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Posts Tagged ‘religion’

BRAINWASHING? OR SEEING REALITY?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 23, 2014| 3 Comments »

14+-+1-2Have you watched someone give their “testimony” on a TV show and describe being at their lowest point when they became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth?

Did you shake you head and have the same reaction as the words at the bottom of the graphic? Once, I would have been in your camp. After all, that is the easiest, fastest response, right?

So here’s a challenge: skip the path of least resistance, the path that our culture pushes us onto, and really think about this.

Perhaps someone said “I found God at the most vulnerable point of my life” because they suddenly realized that all the ‘stuff’ that’s supposed to be so, SO important is really trivial.

Maybe they realized that in the midst of their vulnerability, nothing that our culture offers us really changes anything. Self-help books can’t help. Friends sending out ‘positive vibes’ makes no difference. And drugs or alcohol will eventually leave them even worse off than before.

Perhaps they figured out that our culture’s focus on being self-reliant in everything just doesn’t pass the smell test. It’s not realistic.

Maybe their vulnerability has made them realize that dismissing/ignoring God and Jesus (who many people believe is His Son) is, in fact, brainwashing. And for the first time, they’re seeing life — and what could happen when this life ends — outside of our culture’s narrow and shallow confines.

I was in my 40s when I stepped off the path of least resistance and really thought about the how and whys of people deciding to follow Jesus. I wasn’t at the most vulnerable point of my life. In fact, I was doing just fine, by the standards of our culture. I had a decent career, parents who didn’t abuse me or abandon me, several meaningful romantic relationships, no serious diseases and a good future.

But I knew there had to be more to life than all this. I knew there had to be something deeper and something that would look beyond 80-odd years on planet earth. After much reading, a lot of thought and many debates with brave Jesus followers, I decided to become a follower of Jesus.

That decision had — and continues to have — a profound impact on my life. It greatly affected who I decided to marry and where I now work. It gave me hope — not in things or in people (the first is meaningless and the second will disappoint and hurt and abandon)  — but in a creator who offered me the gift of His Son.

I accepted that gift. Have you ever thought about doing the same? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WAITING ON GOD

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 16, 2014| 4 Comments »

WAITING ON GODHave you met anyone sitting around, drinking margaritas and watching awful TV shows because they have nothing better to do than wait for God to fix stuff?

Me neither. I suspect this graphic, found in an atheist internet community, is making an offhand reference to prayer. If I’ve learned anything from my interactions with atheist people, it’s that almost all of them believe prayer is an idiotic waste of time.

I’m not going to delve into prayer in this essay; you can read my thoughts on the subject here: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-9a

What I will write, however, is perhaps the reason this world is struggling is because people DON’T stop and wait for God to do something. Consider:

  • If we had stopped and waited for God to fix the problem, would organized crime have come to North America? I’m referring to prohibition in the United States during the 1920s. Human actions to reduce alcoholism not only failed, they created negative consequences that are still being felt almost 100 years later.
  • People brought rabbits to Australia and New Zealand for food. What followed was an explosive growth in the rabbit population to the point where they are now major pests in these countries.
  • Still in Australia, people introduced cane toads to control canefield pests. Bad idea. Canefield pests are still there and cane toads are now a major problem in their own right.
  • How often have people, through their governments, introduced rent controls to deal with sky-high rent increases? How often has that resulted in major shortages of rental units – making it nearly impossible for low-income people to find a place to live?

So it’s clear that ignoring God and doing things on our own often makes this world a WORSE place.

Sometimes, I’m guilty of this very mistake. Because I’m part of a culture that lives as if God and Jesus of Nazareth — who many people believe is His divine Son — don’t exist, I get sucked into that same thinking.

I forget to pray about things. I forget to wait on God — even though a wise ancient prophet tells me “The Lord is good to those who wait for him. He is good to those who look for him”. In case I didn’t get it the first time, another ancient prophet says “Be strong and brave and wait for the Lord’s help”.

Patience is a gift I’m continually learning as a follower of Jesus. There are other gifts, too: seeing beyond my ego to what’s truly important; understanding that this world is NOT how God wants it to be; and allowing Jesus to work in my life to make me more like the person He knows I can be.

Do these gifts sound appealing? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WHO IS YOUR SHEPHERD?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2014| 4 Comments »

sheep-1I’m just dying to know: who is NOT a sheep? That’s the first thing I thought when I saw this graphic on an internet atheism community.

The graphic refers to a number of original source documents which describe followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son) as sheep. Here’s an example:

I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. (The words of Jesus.)

This hardly paints “sheep” in a negative light. But let’s leave that point and examine the motivation behind the graphic.

Like it or not — and obviously, the creater of this graphic would NOT — every single one of us are sheep. We ALL follow after something or someone. And often times, we are happy to put on blinders to make sure nothing distracts us from being sheep.

There are endless examples. Here is but a taste:

Some of us blindly run after power (the shepherd) and we’re such sheep that we’ll do anything to keep it. Just look at all the people who’ve achieved great political power — former U.S. president Richard Nixon and former Italian prime minister Enrico Berlusconi are two recent examples — then crashed and burned as their power (shepherd) corrupted them.

Fame is another shepherd and its sheep pursue it with unbelievable passion. They’ll sacrifice years of their life to achieve fame, then watch helplessly as our microscopic attention spans aimlessly drift to someone else. In just a few years from now, will anyone remember reality TV stars Kim Kardashian or Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi? Their ‘shepherd’ has already thrown them under the bus.

Then there’s money, an infectious shepherd that bids even the most unsuspecting person to follow. Consider businessman Bernie Madoff, a sheep who followed his shepherd so religiously that he defrauded thousands of investors out of about $65 billion. Madoff spent his final 12 years in prison.

Perhaps the most tempting shepherd is sex. It whispers sweet nothings to pretty much everyone, turning all kinds of people into sheep who will do its bidding until it destroys them. Remember televangelist Jimmy Swaggart? He was twice caught having affairs with prostitutes. Where is his shepherd now?

So, can someone tell me why it’s so terrible to be a sheep to the shepherd of Jesus? When I follow Him passionately, He enters my soul and helps me become a wiser, more generous and thoughtful person.

And as a sheep to Jesus the shepherd, I come to understand that through His sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection, all the bad things I’ve done (and the good things I’ve failed to do) are wiped off the books. God sees me as He sees His son: perfect, without a blemish, and worthy of spending eternity in Heaven.

Does this make sense? If Jesus isn’t your shepherd, then who (or what) is? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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IRONY UPON IRONY

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 21, 2014| 16 Comments »

Irony 6.14This graphic, which I found on an atheist internet community, instantly grabbed my attention because the inference is crystal clear: if you don’t use your brain, then you’ll become a person of faith.

Indeed, I’ve discovered many atheist people enjoy pointing to studies that suggest the smarter you are, the less belief you have in God.

One such study, reported at charismanews.com, examined the findings of other studies going back to the 1920s and reported that a majority of those studies concluded more intelligent people were less likely to have religious beliefs.

But hold on here. The dude who examined all those studies, psychologist Miron Zuckerman, noted that his report does not mean only dumb people believe in God. Rather, he said, it shows only that more intelligent people may have less need for religion.

“It is truly the wrong message to take from here that if I believe in God I must be stupid,” he said in the charismanews.com article. “I would not want to bet any money on that because I would have a very good chance of losing a lot of money.”

Interesting, isn’t it? I’m a person of faith — I follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the son of God — but I certainly have no need for “religion”. (Here’s why: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-cP.)

Besides all that I’ve written so far, here’s what else inspired this essay: They told me to use the brain God gave me. I did. Now I’m a follower of Jesus. Ironic, isn’t it?

Now, before anyone brings up arguments about age or indoctrination, let me tell you that everyone in my biological family abandoned even the social pretense of following Jesus 40 years ago. I was with them until the age of — get this — 42.

I still have my brain. In fact, I do what many, many non-”religious” people don’t do:

  • I always vote
  • I read fiction and non-fiction books
  • I listen to radio documentaries
  • I read newspapers
  • I reduce/reuse/recycle (in that order; recycling is the worst of the three ‘Rs’)
  • I engage in political discussions.

So, does any of this help you to rethink your notions about following Jesus? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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GOING BEYOND SCIENTIFIC PROOF

Posted in Me & The World, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 14, 2014| 12 Comments »

13+-+1-5I love this challenging quote. At the same time, I’m mystified as to why atheists consider it so credible, given that it was spoken by a man (definitely a brilliant man) who died in 1931. It’s hardly a stretch to write that there’s been a whole lot of research done since then.

Without getting into boring details of studies and terminologies (anyone who needs that stuff can certainly find it online), I’ll toss out a few interesting tidbits.

On life after death: In 1991, Pam Reynolds had a near-death experience while undergoing surgery for a brain aneurysm.

Reynolds was kept literally brain-dead by the surgical team for 45 minutes. Despite being clinically dead, when Reynolds was resuscitated, she described some amazing things — like interacting with deceased relatives.

According to Time magazine, as many as 18 percent of people brought back from death after a heart attack said they’d had a near-death experience.

On the existence of Heaven: In 2008, neurosurgeon Eben Alexander III suffered an E coli meningitis infection which attacked his brain and plunged him deep into a week-long coma. Brain scans showed that his entire cortex was not functioning.

Against all odds, Mr. Alexander woke up a week later. And he claimed to have experienced something extraordinary: a journey to Heaven.

In his book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife, he asserts that there is an eternity of perfect splendor awaiting us beyond the grave, complete with angels, clouds, and departed relatives.

On a personal God: The Internet is overflowing with blogs and articles from people who have experienced God in an intimate, personal way. So I’ll contribute two quotes:

  • “God even knows how many hairs you have on your head” (from one of the original source documents on the life of Jesus of Nazareth – even my wife, who knows me better than anyone, can’t make that claim).
  • “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I knew you” (passed along by an ancient prophet).

Granted, none of this is the scientific proof that many people demand. But let’s be honest: the creator and master of time, space and universe, who’s responsible for the air you are breathing right now, will ALWAYS be beyond proving or disproving.

God will ALWAYS be past our ability to fully comprehend. Looking for a metaphor? It would be like asking a porcupine to understand the theory of relativity.

So let’s look beyond this to what we CAN understand:

1. God created YOU.

2. God wants to have a personal, eternal relationship with YOU, but there’s a barrier in the way: the wrong things you’ve done (including living your life as if He doesn’t exist) and the right things you haven’t done.

3. You can never do enough to make up for the wrong things you’ve done and the right things you haven’t done.

4. You don’t have to. Jesus, who many people believe is God’s son, did the heavy lifting for you when he died to make up for the moral crimes of everyone who accepts Him and believes in Him.

5. All you need to do is accept the gift of Jesus; make Him your lord and saviour, so you can see your life transformed NOW and have eternal life with Him.

Does this make sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE SOLUTION THAT ISN’T

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 7, 2014| 3 Comments »

Solution that isn't 6.14Our culture loves to toss the word “karma” around. I see it referenced in newspaper columns, online blogs and conversations at coffee shops.

But is it really the solution to anything, as this internet graphic suggests?

Yes, there is a certain logic to karma, which Wikipedia defines as “the universal principle of cause and effect. Our actions, good and bad, come back to us in the future, helping us to learn from life’s lessons and become better people.”

From the perspective of a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God), there’s even some evidence to support it. One of Jesus’ earliest followers wrote: What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

But is that karma? No. A faith research website (www.carm.org) explains the difference: “The law of karma, which makes morality like a law of nature, does not allow for the possibility of forgiveness.  Its consequences are inevitable and inescapable. Because God is personal, and because persons can forgive, God can forgive us of our sins.  Moreover, He has done so through Jesus.”

So, will karma solve anything? Not for me. I don’t want to be locked in a prison of cause and effect. And I don’t want karma to take the place of revenge.

Serious Jesus followers know and try their best to follow this directive, written by one of the ancient prophets: Forget about the wrong things people do to you. Don’t try to get even. Love your neighbour as yourself.

Do we fall short of that directive? Without a doubt. But now you know the ideal Jesus followers strive for. And you know more about God — the only being truly worthy of judging us for the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

If you’re like me, you’ll admit that the ledger of wrong things done and right things not done is pretty long.

But there’s a way out — a way that karma will never offer you. That way is Jesus. He is God’s gift of love to anyone who is willing to accept that gift.

When you accept that gift and declare yourself a follower of Jesus, then you also believe that when He was put to death on a Roman cross, He took on the moral crimes of everyone who calls him saviour.

As a result of that, when God looks at a follower of Jesus, all He sees is the perfection Jesus bought for us. We are as pure as Jesus.

However, please note: That’s not a free pass to do whatever you like and cynically rely on Jesus to clean up the resulting mess. If you take that gift of love seriously, you’ll want to be with other Jesus followers, building each other up, holding each other accountable and allowing God to do amazing things in your life.

Does this sound interesting? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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LEAVING RELIGION BEHIND

Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2014| 7 Comments »

Religion bad 5.14

A challenging graphic, isn’t it? I saw it on an atheist Internet community and knew it would be good for Frank’s Cottage. Mostly because I’m in full agreement.

Religion, from my point of view, often does BAD things in our world.

  • Religion says that because the group I belong to is right, then everyone else must be wrong. And it’s a pretty short trip from there to believing I can do whatever I want to “wrong” people.
  • Religion says I have to do things, or NOT do things, in order to get in good with whatever god is at the top of that group.
  • Religion says if I blow up a building or murder a doctor who performs abortions, I’m doing a good thing.
  • Religion says I’m supposed to have it all together and if I don’t, then others (who obviously DO have it all together) will judge me and exclude me from their social group.
  • Religion insists that certain behaviours are wrong (such as having an occasional alcoholic drink or getting a tattoo), even if my holy book is absolutely silent on them.

So where does all this religion get us? I like the response of Bruxy Cavey. In his book The End of Religion, this Canadian pastor writes, “Religion does not lead people to God any more than empty cups quench your thirst”.

To me, religion leads to an empty charade of a life. Or the sickening horror of thinking you’re doing good by blowing up a building or murdering a doctor who performs abortions.

Another pastor, Mark Driscoll explains the difference between religion and Christianity (my faith) this way:

Religion is humanity trying to reach up to God. The message of Christianity is God reaching down to people. Religion is about what people have to do to be right with God.  Christianity is about what God has already done to provide us the opportunity to be right with Him.

Religion says you must earn your salvation by doing good deeds or certain acts and not doing evil. Christianity says all we need to do is believe that Jesus Christ [who many people believe is God’s son] has already paid the price for the evil we have done.

And before you protest, yes, every human being on this planet (and that certainly includes ME) has done evil. Even the late Mother Teresa did evil — that’s one reason she dedicated her life to following Jesus. She wanted — and received, as far as serious Jesus followers are concerned — the benefit of Jesus paying the price for all her wrongs through His sacrificial death at the hands of Roman officials. That benefit is eternity in Heaven with her saviour.

“Jesus did not come to offer an alternative religion, but an alternative to religion,” Bruxy Cavey wrote in The End of Religion. “He did not call people to leave one lifeless shell for another, but to live life beyond the borders of religious rules, regulations, rituals, and routines.”

Does this Jesus — and all He’s done for everyone who believes in and follows Him — appeal to you? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE PUZZLE OF ‘SIN’

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 24, 2014| 12 Comments »

is sin imaginary?At first I was reluctant to interact with this atheist person, who was commenting on a Frank’s Cottage essay (and the graphic to the left), and you’ll realize it in my initial responses. All too often, I’ve been disappointed to find that people who believe there is no God simply want to score points and win debates over people they look down on.

But Jill was different and when I realized it, we ended up having a good conversation. Read on and see if you agree with me:

Jill: I think the topic of sin is interesting. From my perspective, the graphic is meant to show that in order to sell the “cure”, you have to make people believe they are sick, right?

Pharmaceutical companies have figured out the same thing. They want to sell more drugs. What better way to sell more drugs than to convince people through commercials that they might have a whole list of diseases which they pitch all over media. And by reinforcing the sin/sick concept over and over it keeps people flocking back to church or to their doctors for the cure.

I believe there is a big difference between the word ‘sin’ and words like ‘mistake’, ‘error’, etc. They are not interchangeable.

Frank: Thanks, Jill. Guess it’s a matter of perspective.

Jill: Isn’t sin the hook which churches use to keep people returning each week? Christianity is based upon original sin.

Frank: Perhaps that’s the perspective of some non-Christians….

Jill: I really resent watching people being told they are broken. I sometimes wonder if there is any data to link religiosity to depression. There is no perfect standard by which we should be judged.

Frank: Yes, your resentment would be expected in the non-believing world. And for me as a follower of Jesus Christ, there absolutely is a perfect standard by which we should be judged.

Jill: Do you ever feel depressed to be compared to a perfect standard for which you will never meet?

Frank: Nope, I never feel depressed about that. Because Jesus of Nazareth is my lord and savior, God sees me as He sees Jesus: perfect, without a single blemish. 🙂

Jill: I’m glad to read that, Frank. It makes me feel a little better. But why sin then? If God sees you as he sees Jesus, why is sin such an important part of Christianity?

Frank: Great questions! Why sin? Because of the gift of freewill. Serious Jesus followers believe God knew this would be the result of giving us freewill, but He did it anyway because He wanted (and wants) a REAL relationship with real people, rather than goose-stepping robots.

Serious Jesus followers believe sin is important because in the end, it’s a rejection of God. It’s telling Him we know better than Him how to live our lives. And thousands of years of history have shown how horribly wrong this is.

In addition, serious Jesus followers believe God is perfect and cannot stand the sin that all human beings commit. But rather than condemn us all, we believe God sent His son as a gift to everyone who wishes to accept the gift. And that gift (a) clears away the sin and (b) strengthens us to see our sin clearly and avoid it more in the future.

Jill: But he’s God, for goodness sake. He could have created perfect beings, couldn’t he? He could have created goose-stepping robots if he wanted to, correct?

Instead, he created humans with flaws, which he already knows about because he’s omniscient. Then he grows frustrated with them and causes great harm to many. Whose fault is that?

Frank: Yes, He could have created perfect beings who were in perfect relationship with Him. And it would be a real as a TV “reality” show.

Serious Jesus followers believe the viewpoint that humans are made in God’s image. That means the emotions we experience are the emotions He experiences. Pain, frustration, anger, joy, etc. Goose-stepping robots would be as useless to Him as they would be to us.

Jill: How do you know those are the emotions God experiences? How do you tell the difference between real emotions as God experiences them and human emotions which humans project upon God? Couldn’t “in His image” be just a physical descriptor? Or a metaphor for something else?

Frank: I know these are the emotions God experiences because the Bible – which serious Jesus followers trust as absolutely reliable – depicts God with those emotions.

In addition, I guess “in His image” could be a physical descriptor because we all resemble Jesus – human beings with two arms and two legs and a face that expresses every emotion known to humans.

=============

So, what do you think? Is the idea of ‘sin’ — and the way to escape the prison it creates for every person on this earth — more real to you now? And what about that ‘escape’? Do you want to know more about it? Type your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

 

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BEING A “GOOD” CHRISTIAN

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2014| 5 Comments »

Good Christians 5.14Have you encountered Jesus followers like those described in this graphic? I’m pretty sure the answer is YES. In fact, I’m sad to write that there may be one or two of you out there who would name ME as one of those people.

All too often, those of us who claim we are Jesus followers act the same as everyone else on this planet. We are obnoxious, two-faced, self-righteous sinners who are usually ready to point out the errors of others while ignoring our own shortcomings.

Sometimes, we even go so far as to claim we are being persecuted while we are busy persecuting others.

There are times when people wish we would do what our leader did when He was physically on earth: help those for whom our culture has little time or regard.

Jesus did that repeatedly, treating people from other tribes and cultures with respect, defending a woman caught in adultery from heartless “religious” leaders, having dinner with people who were scorned by arrogant authorities and more.

I’m glad to tell you there are many examples of Jesus followers who behave in ways that make it clear, without any need to declare it, that they ARE good Jesus followers. Here are a few:

  • I know of many Jesus-following doctors and nurses who volunteer to serve in hospitals in the developing world.
  • We often read in the news about church leaders protecting people from heartless deportation or from death during violent times.
  • Most major North American cities have Jesus ministries whose entire reason for existing is to feed and shelter homeless people.
  • Canadian Catholic humanitarian and theologian Jean Vanier started a worldwide network of non-profit communities called “L’Arche”. Those communities provide homes and support services for mentally challenged people. Vanier certainly wasn’t perfect, but he did follow Jesus to the best of his ability.

There are many more examples, but you get the point. In each case, these Jesus followers are being the hands and feet of Jesus to a world that we all know isn’t doing well.

Could Jesus followers be doing more? Of course we could. That’s why we gather at churches (or “do” church online), to understand how we can overcome our shortcomings and be “good” Jesus followers. Without having to tell people that’s what we are.

What about you and your failures — the bad things you’ve done and the good things you’ve failed to do? Do you want to know how you can overcome them through an awesome power that’s truly beyond your understanding? Then check out Jesus. He’s God’s gift to everyone who’s willing to accept that gift.

What are your thoughts? Post them below and let’s have a conversation.

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A REAL CURE FOR A REAL DISEASE

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 10, 2014| 13 Comments »

Sin+is+an+imaginary+disease+invented+to+sell+you+an+imaginary+cureI’d never heard anybody call “sin” an imaginary disease, so when I saw this graphic posted on the Internet, it instantly grabbed my attention.

“Sin” has become a strange and cliched term in our culture. Either something is “sinful” (a favourite positive term in TV commercials for rich foods like chocolate) or it’s something most of us associate with annoying, badly dressed TV evangelists.

So I looked up the term. The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website defines it this way:

Sin is the breaking of God’s law.  If God says “Do not lie” and you lie, then you have broken His law and sinned.  The reason God says to not lie, not cheat, etc., is because these laws reflect the moral purity of His nature.  Therefore, the law is a reflection of the character of God.

Dictionary.com is a little briefer:
Any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. Any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It’s a sin to waste time.

Maybe that’s not a “sin” to you. So let’s use less loaded words: Misdeed. Mistake. Error. Wrongdoing. Imperfection. Moral crime.

Whatever your preferred term, I can’t for a minute believe it’s an “imaginary disease”. Is there even a single person on this planet who hasn’t done or said something they regret? Or NOT done or said something and regretted that?

It seems crystal clear to me that this is a universal human condition. We “invented” it and, sadly, we live it out every day.

So what about the “imaginary” cure? The person who created this graphic is probably an atheist and so believes if the “disease” isn’t real, then there’s no need for a cure.

But if you’re comfortable in disagreeing with the former, then the latter is no longer imaginary.

For people like me, the cure is wonderfully simple: Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the son of God. Jesus is God’s gift to humanity, given to all who believe that He died to make up for our sins. All we have to do is accept the gift.

Obviously, this doesn’t mean we will avoid the consequences of our actions (or inactions). But it does mean that, if we truly believe Jesus offers the way to eternal forgiveness and if we sincerely ask for that forgiveness, we will receive it from the creator and master of time, space and the universe. No matter what.

(Looking for an incredible example? Then read this Frank’s Cottage blog about the ‘Son of Sam’: http://wp.me/p2wzRb-6K)

So, does the cure for your “disease” interest you? Yes or no, post your answer below and let’s have a conversation.

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