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The post “Can someone be happy without Christ?” was a pretty stupid post and it just threw me off course somewhat…The answer is yes! Of course people can and are happy without Jesus. I was. I was having the time of my life surfing, partying all the time, I mean stoned all day and everyday and drunk every night and doing cocaine and speed all the time.

It eventually did take its toll on my mind and body however and I got over it. I recommitted my life to the Lord December 28th, 1981 on a plane to Hawaii. The key word here is “recommitted”.  I was raised in a Christian home and at a young age given my heart to the Lord and had a real love for Him.

I backslid or fell away from the Lord like a lot of kids do. But because I at one time knew the Lord and the true joy in Him and praying parents, like the prodigal son I “recommitted” my life to Him.

I was “happy” doing what I was doing for a season…

The post, “Can someone be happy without Christ”, was written of course from a Christian perspective. Duh! It should have been titled, “Can a backsliden Christian be happy without Christ?” And to that question I think the answer is No.

Why? Well, if you are a Christian, a person who realizes/knows that God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life. That your sin has separated you from God. That Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our sin. That through Him we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our life and that we must individually accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord…if you know this and have done this then you know the answer to the second question is No.

But if you have never known the Lord the answer to the post, “Can someone be happy without Christ” is Yes Of Course! And I agree with you. The title or post was to be a little controversial and it was.

The following is a comment by someone to that article and I will do my best to reply to it hear.  The person has some good points and was very gracious in her comment and it is on the comment section of that post. Here is part of it. “Many people believe that Christianity is fear based. That quote, “Believers” are taught to feel guilt and fear and this is what dictates their  daily lives, not sinning as the fear of going to hell and missing out on going to heaven is too grave.”

Unfortunately this is true to some Christians and it is really unfortunate that those who are not believers think this! I can understand how one thinks this though But it’s not how it is.  And it really sucks for someone to teach or betray this because it is not the truth.

Fear is the opposite of faith. It’s all about How much He loves us. Yes we are to love Him with all our heart but if someone doesn’t know how much He loves and accepts them for who they are and how they are then there is that element of fear and condemnation.

Again, it’s all about His love, His grace. For God so loved…you, that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.

The comment also said, “that when people have an emptiness in their lives, that they often turn to religion. Its all just a matter of needing something to believe in and something to love. People will always seek purpose in their lives. And you can find that outside of religion as well as inside…each to their own!”

There is truth in her comment. Some people turn to ‘religion’. Some turn to alcohol. Some turn to TV 24/7. Some turn to being a workaholic…I mean the list can go on and on.  Not all people will always seek purpose in their lives however, but one can find purpose in or outside of religion. I personally hate religion! Religions focus on don’t do this, or don’t do that, or you have to do good deeds to make it etc.

This whole post is a reply to her comment. I hope I am doing her comment justice. I agree too that one should live their life dictated by love, for actions to come from love.  I believe that she is happy and I am happy for her! I don’t want anyone to live a bummed out life. I know a lot of happy, fulfilled people who are not Christians!  I also respect anyone’s beliefs, and am open minded enough to realize that there is not one answer for everyone in regards to quote being happy with or without God…there is however only one answer when it comes to salvation and that is believing in and accepting what God did for humanity. Here is a excellent resource or article on that:

http://www.everystudent.com/features/gettingconnected.html

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Wow! What a statement…Winning the lost is the very heartbeat of God.

For God so love the world-you and me-that He gave His only Son, this is what Christmas is all about, that whoever believes in Him should not perish (go to hell), but have eternal life.

Max Lucado says of this verse of hope: Beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. We all need the reminder. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.

He loves. He gave.

We believe. We live.

God came to live with us so that we could live with Him. The heartbeat of God is you!

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I was talking with a young man about six months who was struggling in his faith and as a matter of fact is now not walking with the Lord really at all…at least his lifestyle shows no evidence or fruit of walking with the Lord.
He said, “You know, it seems that anyone who has become a Christian did so because they were super depressed, bummed out on life or just allowed their partying to get out of control but I’m stoked on life, I’m one of the happiest care-free guys on earth!”

Do you know someone like this? And, how can you reach someone like this to lead them to the Lord? What do you think?

How can we witness to happy people who see no need of a Savior? If one doesn’t know their lost then they don’t know they need to be saved, right? (below is a link Friends don’t let friends go to Hell which gives a good teaching on sharing your faith with your ‘happy friends’).

I do think that someone can be “happy” with out Christ. What do you think? But it doesn’t erase the fact that they are separated from God and going to hell does it? Bound. Lost. Separated.
The abundant life that Jesus spoke of goes deeper than being happy. It doesn’t mean that we walk around with constant smile on our faces living life with no problems or struggles, skipping through the daisies on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

As you give your total self to God, God gives His total self to you. That is the supreme message of the Bible. Inherent in God’s “total self” of His own Person is true Bible based prosperity, and above all His prosperity brings eternal life. Stop to think about it. What else is there worth having?!

So both Christians and non-Christians can be happy but when you surrender your total self to the Lord the “happy” takes on a whole new meaning. It’s a purpose greater than ourselves. I like what Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke said: We become  what we were born to be only when we are born again through faith in Christ Jesus, who said, “If the Son (Jesus) makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

In this freedom is the abundant life, way deeper than “happy.”

Friends don’t let friends go to Hell

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Tiger Woods car accident and then all the rumors… I’m not going to go into all the  details regarding Tiger Woods, I’m sure you already know. It is just another reminder of Why Sin Sucks and Why we need a Savior-Jesus!

He apologizes and says in a statement that he has let his family down and that he regrets “transgressions”.

Woods: “I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves… I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family.”

Woods: Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.” “I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.”

So why even talk about Tiger Woods?

First of all, Please Pray for Tiger and his wife and kids during this most difficult in their lives. I pray that through all of this that God will send someone to him to share His Amazing Love and the Power of the Cross and that he will come to know the Lord and experience His forgiveness!

The reason I’ve written something about Tiger is because he is so well known and it’s been all over the news…

We can strive all we want to be a “better person” and “better husband-father or wife-mother” but it doesn’t deal with the root of the problem, that sin separates us from God. It causes pain and suffering and not only affects us personally but everyone around us.

When we blow it we can simply run to the Lord and He is there to receive us with open arms to forgive and cleanse us- Freedom! (I john 1:9)

Christianity is not a religion; it’s not an ethical idea; it’s not a psychological phenomenon. It’s a person-Jesus Christ-who is in the business of changing lives!

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” Romans 8:1&28

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I believe in being transparent, being and keeping it real. The end result of what I’m about to share is “His Love is Amazing”. I was the Associate Pastor at my Dad’s church and he resigned abruptly during our January board meeting. I was shocked to say the least. I excused myself from the meeting and went and called my dear Mother. “Mom,” I said, “Did you know Dad was resigning the church tonight?” She had no clue. I proceeded back to the meeting and tried to stop what was taking place. Something was not right…Why? He was determined. It was over. He had 3 more Sunday Services to complete his 40 years of full-time service to the Lord.

After that last week on a day off I was in Temecula CA. at a skateboard park with my kids. I went out to the car to check my voice mail and had a message from my sister Joyce. “Alan” despair, urgency, a cry in her voice “Get up to Mom’s right away!” I grabbed the kids, picked my wife up and when I arrived at my Mom’s about an hour and a half  later my sister was there with her kids…Everyone was in tears, praying, crying out to the Lord. My Dad left my dear Mother a card saying he would do it all over again with her, that he loved her…but he was gone. Vanished. Disappeared.

Several days had passed, then after one week he returned. A families worst nightmare. He had an affair with a lady in the church and she had conceived. Forty years of ministry, Forty Four years of marriage over.

What seemed to be all over night, actually was brewing for sometime. You don’t just wake up one morning and have an affair. It starts with a look, with flattery, you know what I’m talking about. The Lord always is there for us and will always give us warning signs, and is always trying to get our attention.

My wife and I kept the church going for six months until we got a new Pastor. The Board wanted us to take it over but I wanted a break. I wanted out. I ran from the ministry, my calling. So we left the “ministry” and moved back to North County San Diego where I grew up. My jobs were always in sales which involved working on the weekends which means we didn’t  get plugged into a local church or gathering of Believers on a weekly or regular basis. Two of our kids fell away from the Lord big time. One is still not serving Him, running from Him.

Here’s the good news in all of this. My Mom stood her ground. She always said that she wasn’t going to give the devil the victory! She prayed and prayed, and stood in faith for her marriage, for the Church and for her grandchildren. After about 3 years they were re-married on a beautiful sunny afternoon over looking the beach with all the family by their side! And the other good news is that God’s  got my sons number and he will return and be healed and know and experience Him in all His Fullness!

So yeah, His Love is Amazing. He forgives. He forgets our past. He restores.

But Sin Sucks because, well I’ll quote my daughter here:

“Sin ripple affects through our lives, causing a nasty web of destruction. We need to strengthen each other through the knowledge and love that God fills us with. We all fail, we all fall into the sin that holds us back from becoming who were created to be. Be encouraged! God is pleased with you! and lets all come to the full understanding of how much sin really SUCKS.”

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Cor. 15:57

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Changing Lives. Fulfilling a Purpose. Imparting Hope, Joy, JESUS!

Here are a few comments from Facebook in response to the question, “Why does Sin Suck?”

-It ruins families

-Sin tears everything that is good and meant to be together apart!! AAHH

-It destroys relationships

-Sin separates us from God

-It destroys lives

-ha ha cool group

-Sin Sucks-It will DESTROY YOU!!!

Just wanted to give a quick update. There is a lot going on behind the scene. We want to do this right and in a way that will give and bring honor and praise to the Lord. Please keep this project in your prayers and while typing the prayer request right now I just thought we need to have a Prayer Request page where people can leave their prayer request for themselves or for friends, family and loved ones who are suffering the consequences of sin. Good idea? I think so

Here is a really cool verse for you today:

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”                        2 Corinthians 5:21

How Awesome is the Lord!!!

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Just log-in to FB and search Sin Sucks! and join the conversation.

Why does sin suck to you? Or, perhaps you don’t think sin sucks at all!

I’m just posting some thoughts while this blog is being developed and improved etc.

Any advice, thoughts, constructive criticism, insights or other ramblings?

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It will be in the development stage for a few weeks etc.

What is sin really? The results of or the consequences of it…

Is God some out of touch Being that just sits around and set all these rules and regulations because He doesn’t want people to have a good time in life?

Lets face it: Sin is fun, but only for a season and is it worth it?

Could it possibly rob us from truly experiencing and fulfilling our purpose in life?

Is it mis-leading? False promises? False Hopes?

What is the “god” of this world all about and what is he up to?

These are just some quick thoughts and questions I threw out there to start thinking about…

I realize I’m the only reader on this blog right now ha ha, It’s going to be a fun and exciting journey!

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