Follower of Christ, Author, Musician
Though I have been a "Christian" for so many years, in many ways I feel life with Christ is a quest in with many troubles and dangers. It is frightfully more dangerous than anyone ever told me at the outset. Any "true" adventure would be, wouldn't it?
This blog is about the adventure of discovery in this quest to follow the one who forged the path to life and true love so many years ago. I have found that the epic rescuing story of Jesus is far more relevant to you and I than we give it credit.
I recently asked Nathan Wheeler, a believer in the Lord Jesus and a Near Death Experiencer, what he thought the dangers or concerns of Near Death Experience (NDE) testimonies were.
He said exactly what I hoped he would. First of all he said that the Bible says that love believes all things, so it is the loving thing to accept the testimony of people’s experience. Then we must pray for discernment, asking the Lord what He thinks of the testimony.
He then went on to say that his primary concern was for those who have never read the Bible or ever will they would take what NDE people say as Gospel… New Age gospel.
This too has been my main concern. Anything that minimizes or rejects or redefines Jesus is certainly satanic, right? (I wrote a blog called Is the New Age Satanic, Really?)
I have noticed from my extensive research into NDE’s that, to some, the testimonies of NDEers has practically become its own religion. Some (and even a small minority of experiencers) think that somehow NDE testimonies discredit the Bible or Jesus.
It reminded me of a story I heard about the first man in space, the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who was purported by Soviet leaders to have said, “I went up to space, but I didn’t encounter God.” (The crazy thing is that,according to this source, Yuri was a believer in God and never said any such thing. )
My point is this: our worldview doesn’t change just because we had a supernatural experience.
In the same way, many of those NDEers who haven’t yet discovered the Joy who is Jesus, misinterpret their own experience and go astray. A few may have been shown a deception by the father of lies who “appears as an angel of light” just like the Bible says. Who knows, the enemy himself might just tell you he is Jesus Christ. If his words don’t match that of Scripture, the revealed word of God, then it is a lie and deception.
However, I am always saddened when I came across stories of when a Near Death Experiencer was rejected by the clergy (those who are “supposed to” represent God) and simply told there experiences were from Satan and a deception… when they were not. I would argue that most experiences are genuine. God is not into deceiving anyone and he is the One in charge. Other experiencers found little to no support for them in the church and so they turned elsewhere. As strange as this may sound to some, I have witnessed first hand how the established church is the last place to be open to the supernatural. While this is sad, we cannot be led astray by those claiming some special knowledge from the other side that conflicts with God’s Word. Souls hang in the balance and the Word of God reminds us to stay on the safe path.
I have written about Near Death Experiences before and would encourage you to read these blogs:
I didn’t want my birthday to come and go without doing something significant. So, I made a video for anyone who might be struggling with depression. I used to suffer so I made this for you:
Here is a drawing I colored the night of my birthday:
PS: If you live near Green Bay, Please come to our free concert at the Cup O Joy music venue on Friday, March 3rd at 7:30!!! (232 S. Broadway St Green Bay WI)
I met someone today who didn’t have a subscription to Netflix. I was proud of him and said, “Well, no need to start now. It’s just more money in their pocket and if you can live without it, that’s awesome. There isn’t much that’s very clean on Netflix anyway – and most of the material that Netflix produces is especially corrupt and wicked and stains the souls of those who watch it.”
But, that being said, if you are one of the lemmings in the Netflix herd heading for the cliffs of insanity (ha!), then the winner for the very best show you could possibly watch is…
drumroll please….
Travellers!
No spoilers here!
The show is set in Seattle and the premise is that there are travellers from the future who have come to the 21st to save us from ourselves. The travellers jump into a “host” who was, by historical records, scheduled to die anyway. The traveller resumes the host’s life and follows (or at least is supposed to) follow certain protocols. One of which is to never take another human life.
The first episode was a little hard to watch. It was gritty and raw and could be off-putting for certain people. It was for my wife. She would never have gotten past the first episode if I hadn’t of recommended the show to her so adamantly.
I enjoyed this show more than I could say and, halfway through, pulled an all-nighter to finish the series. Now I get to watch it again with my wife one episode at a time! When was there a show you’d be happy to watch again?
I fell in love with every one of these characters and it is very well thought out and executed. There are so many powerful scenes on par with the best of the show Breaking Bad. The show is fairly clean and uses profanity quite sparingly with very few (and very mild by todays standards) romantic scenes.
I cannot wait to find out what happens next! More seasons please!
I woke up thinking about this show and how we should all live our lives as if we were a traveller from the future here to save the world and make it a better place. May we all, by the power of Jesus Christ, overcome the constant onslaught of the enemy and start living our lives on purpose and on mission. There is a mission we are all called to be apart of. It starts with this:
“Love the person you happen to be with in the moment”
Go through life doing this and you are being the difference maker this world needs. God is SO going to help you fulfill this mission for love is at the core of his heart.
UPDATE:
Immediately after posting on a subject, I tend to mull things over and reexamine my views on things. Especially if I recommend anything! Well, this time was no different.
I was rehearsing some of the scens that provided commentary about the Christian faith for instance. They questioned some of the foolish and hateful things those claiming the name of Christ have done. A reference was made to the the “poison koolaid Christians” who commited mass suicide.
I was thinking about a misguided “Christ follower” who murdered an abortion doctor in the foyer of a church. (There’s a story like this in the show). I remember when I first heard about this I thought, “and justice is served”. Is this an attitude I picked up from the heart of God? I think not. I don’t believe a murder is justified even if it is of a mass murderer lie this abortionist. Right?
Anyway, leave a comment to tell me how you enjoyed the show!
I was hanging out with some guys recently and someone asked what was on my mind. I didn’t know where some of the other guys were at. I didn’t know if some of them even knew Jesus or where their walk was with him. I was surprised by what came out of my mouth. I told them, “You guys, I just want you to know the real Jesus.”
I talked about how I hated religion but loved Jesus.
I wish they asked me what I meant by that.
You see, religion had beat me up pretty bad. Let’s face it, there is a demonic poser going by the Name “Jesus” in a lot of churches. A taskmaster Jesus who doesn’t really love you unless you meet some parameters of performance. Some people’s “Jesus” is actually the AntiChrist (which literally means “in place of Christ”). Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruit.” Does this Christian truly and sacrificially love? Do I? If not, then are not acting as Christ’s followers, are they? Jesus said, “You will know my followers by their love.”
This really opens up the questions: What does love look like? Can love ever be harsh or mean? How do we speak the truth in love because you can never divorce truth from love? Does it mean I don’t love someone if I fail to speak the truth to someone who is living in sin? Is it love to overlook their choices that hurt themselves and all of society? Do people love me if they never rebuke me? How does someone rebuke another in love? Shun another in love?
I worshiped that antiChrist spirit for years because somewhere along the way, and because of stark terror, fear, and intimidation, I became convinced that this was the only Jesus there was!
My Christian role models reinforced this.
Churches I had belonged to reinforced this.
The antichrist “religion” spirit eventually betrayed me and destroyed me. It drove me to despair and a depression so horrible I would never wish it on my worst enemy. I lost my faith – and this was a good thing. I needed to be done with my faith so I could gain Jesus and his faith.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT (true saving “faith” is “Jesus’ faith”, a gift from God search it out and you will find this to be true!)
Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (KJV)
He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the congregation.” 13And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And once again: “Here am I, and the children God has given Me.” Hebrews 2:12-13 (He puts His trust into us. It’s his perfect trust that has saved us, not our faltering trust. See more here: http://www.biblelife.org/yourfaith.htm)
His faith won’t let me down. His grace never fails.
His faith says, “As He is, so am I in this world” (1 John 4).
Religion says, “It all depends on you. Your faith. Your trust. Your obedience. religion says, do, do, do, do…” There is a lot of do do in religion.
But then again, doesn’t Jesus say “do” as well? Doesn’t he expect you to obey? Yet the motivation for obedience to Jesus is that you are caught up in the Divine Romance. You obey because you love. You love because he first loved you and Jesus says we are in deep trouble if we have left our first love (Rev 2). Jesus says that if we love him we will do what he commands (John 14-17). We will obey him if we truly love him. We cannot possibly hope to love him without first receiving his love. “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4)
So when it comes to religion, yes, I have a chip on my shoulder. I hate it because religion is what rejected and murdered God. Religions kills love. Religion killed my soul. Most of our problems among Christians (and most all of my remaining problems) stem from the lingering confusion about the true nature of Jesus (Who is He and what has he accomplished?) and the hellish dangers of religion.
Some are still so apt to follow the confusion and darkness of Jonathan Edwards who penned the most famous and most blasphemous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of Angry God”. The Truth is quite the opposite. The truth is rather, “God, in the Hands of Angry Sinners”.
The truth is plain to see in Scripture:
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 NLT
I have a great compassion on those suffering with what I suffered with because I know that they too can, by God’s mercy, find the real Jesus and come to know his love and be liberated from the AntiChrist like I was! Jesus wants to save “Christians” too!
I now rest in the grace of Christ completely independent from my performance. I know I am deeply loved and rest in the peace of Christ’s love. You can too. If you are depressed, consider getting to know Jesus. He can heal you like he healed me… without drugs, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and the victory Jesus won over the darkness when religion tortured him and nailed him to some wood.
Everyone knows Jesus is good and religion REALLY sucks. This is why this video has 31 million views:
So… your feedback is appreciated. In what ways do you agree or disagree?
ps. I know it’s been common to use the word “religion” in a negative Christless sense. That is how I am using the word in this blog but please be aware that the Bible uses the word “religion” fondly when speaking of “pure and undefiled religion” which is to care for orphans and widows (practical love) and keep yourself pure from the world. I pray we can all grow into an experience of that!
It has been a very long time since I have drawn anything… until recently. Having children helps bring art back into your life and reminds you why you liked it. It’s fun to create. We were made in the image of the Creator.
Art is meant to be shared, seen and heard and appreciated.
For the past ten years and more my wife and I have been creating music. Please visit our music website @ www.reflectworship.com to hear what we’ve been creating. (And download a sample of our new album free!)
Growing up I spent a great deal of time out in the woods. Every day after school I went to explore and go hiking. I have so many stories encountering wildlife. One day I ran into a buck that was perhaps two years old at most. He had never encountered a human before and was curious. He didn’t run away and so I spent an hour with him following him around until he met with an older brother or cousin buck. Once he saw me, they both ran away.
Here is one of my best deer portraits:
Also Enjoy this slideshow of some of my best drawings from years past:
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Do you like to draw? What are some of your favorite hobbies?
I recently asked Nathan Wheeler, a believer in the Lord Jesus and a Near Death Experiencer, what he thought the dangers or concerns of Near Death Experience (NDE) testimonies were.
