Houses of the Holy

I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church. My family was faithful and dedicated to the faith, following the liturgical calendar as a guide to the rhythm of our lives. I made my first communion when I was 7 and was confirmed at 11, beginning my spiritual journey and life as a faithful Catholic. I trusted the Church and believed in it as a center for the delicate balance of my life. I've never been a typical Evangelical critic of the Catholic Church and still hold it as special and in high regard. Although, I left the Catholic Church during my college years, I still hold the many memories close to my heart and consider them essential aspects of my spiritual construct.

One of the clearest memories that I have lies in the simplicity of entering any Roman Catholic Church. Unlike many Evangelical and Protestant churches that are reminiscent of entering a concert hall just before the show starts, the Catholic worshiper is greeted with an overwhelming wave of silence. In an almost tangible manifestation, one feels the sense that they are being transformed from the brokenness of natural creation and ushered into the supernatural holiness of God's Kingdom. There is such a reverence for God and respect for His house, that you cannot help but feel the presence of His Spirit emanating from every corner of the richly and ornately decorated structures. The light gleaming from detailed stained glass, paints a visual interpretation of the Gospels that draws you into an almost real-time encounter with the ancient. You are captured and immersed in the holy.

No coffee or food enters the Catholic sanctuary. No idle talk or theological discussion continues from the outer walls. From a very early age, children are not ushered into Sunday School or nurseries, but taught that they are not only welcome, but a necessary part of the Church body. And because of this inclusion, children observe the same silence as their parents. Not from obedient fear, but more from a sense of awe. I still can remember the powerfully ominous aura of silence as we made our way to our regular spot in the church. We were in God's house, and although I fully understood and believed in the complete omnipresence of God, there was something special when we entered our family place of worship.

As I've made my journey from Catholicism through the detailed landscape of the Evangelical and Protestant Church, I've grown to realize that the differences that tend to divide us are not as great as we make them out to be. Most of us seek the same things from life and believe in the same essentials of the same God that all of us worship. Most of our discussions and even arguments can usually rest in the common faith in Christ and hope for the Kingdom He came to fulfill. Our divisions usually stem from the imperfections of man and not the complete perfection of God. Unity transforms. Division holds us captive and leaves us as we have always been.

But the one difference from my Catholic brothers and sisters that stands obvious to me each and every time I enter a Protestant Church lies in just that: entering the church. For I am reminded of something that seems to be missing. I'm reminded of something that captured my young heart as a child and still calls to me as a man. I'm reminded of how easy it is for the follower of Christ to place the emphasis on ourselves and allow it to deviate from God. I'm reminded that our world is loud but our spirits demand quiet. And even amidst the roar of chaos in our culture today, God's volume still rises above. But I am also reminded that our own voices can drown out the most thundering call of God.

Our church buildings are not magical. They hold no powerful energy that rushes through us as we enter the walls that contain our physical worship. I have felt God's presence more tangibly walking on a beach or standing on top of a mountain. But what stands unique is the physical attribution that we designate to our church buildings within our world. For as we spend the millions of dollars and carefully craft each doorway corridor, we make a claim that we make to no other structure: This is God's House. In a world of building man-made Kingdoms, the church is still the one building that we set aside for Him and only Him. Perhaps we would be more aware of that if we left the coffee in the entry way next to our egos. Perhaps we would hear God more clearly as He welcomes us into His house, if we turned our proverbial volumes down and allowed ourselves to be awed by His hospitality. Perhaps we would regain some of that sense of reverence that the Catholic Church still enjoys and find that we are not only in church to experience a good time, but to capture a taste of the holy as well.

CEOs

Last year on my way to Christmas Eve service, I remember listening to the local Christian radio station while sipping on a cup of coffee and trying to clear my head of the typical Christmas commercialism onslaught. I was listening not necessarily for the "Christian" music, (I'm not a big fan of contemporary Christian music), but they were playing Christmas music all throughout December and being Christmas Eve, I was feeling festive. Everything just seemed right with the world and that nostalgic Christmas atmosphere filled my car as I drove. The sun was setting, casting an orange, red and purple aerial landscape that transported me to on of those peaceful moments that you wish you could bottle for later use. That was until the DJ made this comment. "You know, tonight you're going to see a lot of CEOs at church,  Christmas and Easter only.  Let's make sure that we put our best foot forward and make them feel at home.  This may be the only time you run into these people, so let's show them what the love of Christ is all about."     

Sounds OK at first, right? What's wrong with that? Well, just for a moment, I'd like you to think about that statement. Especially if you're a follower of Christ, think about these words. Imagine that you are not a follower of Christ. Imagine that you're one of these "CEOs", and on your way to church with your family. Imagine that you decide to tune into the local Christian radio station because you've heard someone at work talk about it. Imagine that you're a mom or dad, and beginning to think that you're family needs something more spiritual in their lives. You're not sure what, but you're looking. You've been thinking about church more and more, and the Christmas Season has been convicting your spirit just a bit more. The New Year is coming up, and you're going to finally start visiting some churches; maybe with some Christian friends that invited you. Maybe you and your family have drifted away from church for a while, and you've finally decided to give it another shot. You might be a little nervous, but before you even walk in the front door, you've been called out. You've been put on the spot. They're talking about YOU.

You just heard yourself labeled as a "CEO". That was YOU the DJ was talking about.You've wife gives you one of those looks. Your husband sighs and glances back at the kids in the back seat. Your teenager says, "So, I guess we're one of those CEOs, huh?" You're one of "those" people. And when you walk into church in a few minutes, you and your family are going to be on center stage. You'll get the red carpet treatment because you're one of "them". Are you going to have to wear a name tag that says CEO? You're not going to feel too self conscious, are you? Thinking of turning the car around and just going home?       

You may have heard comments like this and didn't give it a second thought. I could have easily heard this and allowed it to go in one ear and out of the other. But for some reason, it caused me to pause and think about how the Church appears to the rest of the world. How do I appear to my non-Christian friends? What do they see from outside the walls of our buildings? What do they see in the neighborhoods, workplaces, homes and shopping centers? It caused me to stop and ask myself why we need to be reminded of things like this DJ referred to? Why does Christmas and Easter have to be when we "put our best foot forward"? Shouldn't we be doing this every day of the year? Should statements like this seem strange to our ears because it's a given for how we live our lives?    

Don't get me wrong, Christmas and Easter are wonderful times of the year.  In the Christian faith, they are considered holy days, and are times of conviction and reminding of what our faith is built on. But here's my point:  If we put on a show for people on 2 specific days of the year, will they be disappointed in what they see the other 363 days of the year? Should they see something different? Something real? Should our celebrations be consistent or just pseudo-worship on the "promotion" days? Is this really showing them the love of Christ, or are we just performing to get the "CEOs" in the front door? Is this the kind of mindset that we should have toward those that are outside the doors of our church?

Yes, I believe 100% that as believers in Christ, we are called to share our faith with those that don't know the gospel. We are all called to be on mission and spread the Good News to the entire earth. But what does that mean in a real and practical way?  Is it something we turn off and on, or is it something organic?  Something we live 24/7 because it's who we are, not what we do? Is it something irresistible to others to the point that there is no question of who we serve and what our faith is all about?   

If you are unfamiliar with the early New Testament Church, read the first few chapters of the book of Acts. The Church depicted in Acts 2 was a group of people that were "living" their faith in Jesus Christ. In Acts 2:42-47: "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."  

These were people consumed by their faith in the risen Christ and could not contain it for one minute. They lived and breathed their faith in Christ. Yes, they preached the gospel and spoke truth to thousands of people, and the Bible tells us that thousands were coming to know Christ every day. It was literally an explosion of faith and the growth was astronomical. Truly, a revolution had begun in Jerusalem and the world would never be the same.

But this was not conditional. It was not a "one or the other" kind of thing. They were living an irresistible life that made others see that truth. Reality. Their words were backed up by their lives and actions. There were no "special" times to share the truth of Christ. It was Good News, not BS. There were no better times than others, because they were just living and sharing what they believed. No one told them to put their best foot forward when they walked outside, went to the Temple or market place. Both of their feet were the best and were always moving forward. They didn't see CEOs. They only saw people that they wanted to love as Christ loved them. The love they felt could not be contained. they loved because THEY were loved, not because they were told to love every once and a while.      

The Burden of Community

Galatians 6:2 says to, "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." I've been thinking about this a lot lately and what it really means in a practical way. What did Paul mean by saying we "fulfill the law of Christ" when we "carry each others' burdens"? When we think of community in today's culture, "burden" is not typically a phase that comes to mind. But could it be that carrying others' burdens is a central aspect to the Gospel and thus an essential to healthy community?

What does it mean if a central part of fulfilling the Kingdom of God is carrying others' burdens? What does it say about modern Western Christianity's and it's emphasis on individualism? And what about prayer and corporate times of worship? I mean, how often do we seek to hear from God or experience Him for our own concerns rather than connecting with others? If we're honest with ourselves, most of our prayer and worship focuses on "us" rather than "them".     

If we look at scripture and history, we see that carrying others' burdens was a central aspect to the early church. In Acts 2 we see that the early Christian community "had everything in common" and provided for one another so no one would be in need. Not a very common part of our culture today.  But Paul also wrote often about not being a burden unnecessarily (2 Corinthians 12:14, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, and Hebrews 13:17). And he also talked about bearing with one another by being compassionate and patient. (Colossians 3:12–13, Ephesians 4:2).

God's gives us examples of carrying other's burdens as well, especially our own. Psalm 68:19 says, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." And looking at Matthew 11 and Galatians 5, we see that Christ is portrayed as the one who frees us from heavy burdens. So, I think we can build a good case that carrying others' burdens is truly central to following Christ.  But what does that look like in real life? In community?   

My first thought is that perhaps a great place to start is simply to be with the people we serve. Asking them questions, getting to know them as human beings, helping to carry their loneliness, fear, and doubts could be places to begin. Needing others and being part of real community is part of how we were made.  We were created to instinctively long for connections in authentic vibrant community. When we are actively involved in community, we find that the focus deviates from ourselves and naturally toward others. Cultural individualism desolves and we find that carrying others burdens is not a burden for ourselves, but a blessing.   

Is Chrisanity a "Masculine" Relgion?

Author and speaker, Rachel Held Evans, asked men to respond to recent comments by John Piper regarding Christianity as being predominately a “masculine” religion.  These are my comments on a topic that has caused a bit of controversy in some theological circles.

First and foremost, it can be problematic for us to try and classify God in terms of human attributes.  When you get right down to it, God is neither male nor female, but is Spirit, existing outside of time and space and the physical constraints that we experience as human beings.  We cannot attribute a sexual identity to God any more than we can classify the Divine as a particular ethnic race or belong to a religious denomination.  In the same manner, neither sex is superior to the other, as no one race is dominant to another.  It has not been left open for us to delve into the complexities of understanding God’s identity as one would describe someone to another.  In the west we tend to categorize and classify in a distinctly empirical manner.  We strive to describe the unknown with concretely definable attributes, and whether consciously, subconsciously, or subliminally, we attempt to do this with God.  Therein lies the problem.  

However, the Bible gives plenty of insight to at how God chose to be revealed to humanity, and He does in fact describe Himself with male attributes.  Although some will debate that the "Spirit" is more feminine, we can clearly see that God presents Himself as a male figure.  However, it's important to note that just because God identifies Himself to us with male attributes, does not necessarily suggest that God is "male", so to speak.  There could be a number of reasons for this, and I don't feel that it is significant to this blog to go into them in great detail.  The point is, one or the other had to be chosen and God chose to describe Himself as male through His Word.  Does that diminish the female counterpart of creation?  Does this mean that "Christianity", by and of itself, is a "masculine" religion?

  

First and foremost, it's important to conclude that if God made man in His image (Genesis 1:27), part of the image would represent the female.  This would lead one to conclude that God possess female attributes equally as he does male.  The Bible is replete with imagery that represent God's male attributes, however when seeking illustrations that tend to lean in the feminine direction, the examples are somewhat harder to track down.  For the purposes here, I've chosen to site several passages that represent female attributes, as well as Biblical illustrations that show a more dominate female emphasis in general.     

First of all, God describes the Church as the "Bride of Christ" (Ephesians 5:2  This is the most significant argument against Christianity being classified as exclusively masculine, since this title is attributed to “the Church”.  The Church is also the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12) which is His representation until Christ's Second Coming.  The “Bride of Christ”, being classified as female, and the Body of Christ, being obviously male, would lead us to believe that both attributes are being completely represented in this image.  Through this, we see beautiful imagery of bride and groom being joined together as one and the "two become one flesh", leaving the sex as a secondary factor. (Genesis 2:24)  Is it therefore possible that part of the marriage union is for each of God's sexual attribute to better understand the other?  Either way, one cannot escape the overwhelming feminine identification of the Church being a bride.

 

Another interesting reference comes in Matthew 23:37, in which we find Jesus unashamedly identifying and expressing a motherly instinct to God's children when He says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. . . ! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. . . !")  God chose to use the comforting, nurturing and compassionate aspects of a mother to illustrate His children being drawn to redemption through His Son Jesus Christ.  We also see illusions of this in Luke 15:8-10, and the Parable of the Lost Coin. Jesus uses the image of a woman, quite possibly a mother, who diligently sweeps her home in hopes of finding a single lost silver coin.  In the same way, God Himself searches the entire creation in search of one sinner that repents and finds the Kingdom of God. 

    

Looking at the Book of Isaiah, God clearly identifies Himself as a mother.  In vivid illustrations of a woman giving birth to, lovingly caring for and nursing her newborn baby, God reveals Himself in an exclusively female anthropomorphism.  In Isaiah 42:14 God speaks powerfully through Isaiah saying, “For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held myself back. But now, like a woman in childbirth, I cry out, I gasp and pant.”, and again in Isaiah 46:3 “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born.”  After childbirth, the mother compassionately cradles her baby and provides vital nourishment as in Isaiah 49:15 - “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”  Could these illustrations reveal comforting and nurturing attributes that only can come from the female character?  I think we all can agree that “As a mother comforts her child,  so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 66:13)

Another similar illustration is found in Psalm 131:2 – “But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.” In this verse, we see the Psalmist finding calm and rest as he takes comfort in God, as a child becomes independent and secure in its mother’s provision.

In Proverbs 4:7, we read that “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” This same “wisdom” that is considered precious and priceless is also identified as a female in the same chapter and perceived as a “protector”, “exalter” and one that will honor us when we cherish her as the supreme gift that she is.  Here the author purposely uses the Hebrew feminine noun חָכְמָה (chokmah) for wisdom.  Wisdom is the woman that calls out to us in Proverbs 8 and 9, urging us to choose her ways, love her and fear God, her creator.  With almost Christological imagery, she reveals to us that she is the first of God’s creation and had an essential part of creating all that came after her and all that we see.  As a mother gives birth to life, this causes one to ponder the idea that wisdom may be looked upon as a mother as well, possibly with connections to the references in Isaiah.  

As stated early, let’s keep at the forefront of our minds that God’s sexual identity is really irrelevant in terms our spirituality and in the Kingdom of God as a whole.  In the essence of the Kingdom, there is no male or female, only citizens.  (Galatians 3:28)  the In Exodus 3:14, when Moses asked the name of God, He simply responded, “I AM WHO I AM.” Granted, the Hebrew הָיָה הָיָה (hayah hayah) translates as  masculine, but I don’t think that was the point that God was trying to make.  Rather it’s if the question was irrelevant in the first place, and if He could be identified in terms of human understanding, the mere name would not shed anymore light than before.  Instead, God revealed Himself to Moses as a burning bush, something with very little human identification.  When God showed Himself to Moses in Exodus 33, it was not as if a giant man passed by the rock in which Moses was hidden, only revealing His backside.  Rather it was a more likely a manifestation that was not at all comprehensive to the human mind.  Moses saw the glory of God:  Man.  Woman. Child.  Adult.  Mother.  Father.  Sister.  Brother.  Baptist. Catholic.  American.  African.  He is who He is. 

       

“Goddesses have, of course, been worshipped: many religions have had priestesses. But they are religions quite different in character from Christianity.... Since God is in fact not a biological being and has no sex, what can it matter whether we say He or She, Father or Mother, Son or Daughter?

Christians think that God Himself has taught us how to speak of Him. To say that it does not matter is to say either that all the masculine imagery is not inspired, is merely human in origin, or else that, though inspired, it is quite arbitrary and unessential. And this is surely intolerable.” 

 C.S. Lewis

Why Won't God Heal Amputees?

Some of you may be familiar with the popular atheist website, Why Won't God Heal Amputees.  The basic objective of the organization is not only to prove that God does not exist, but to encourage the believing Christian to rationally contemplate their faith and logically consider their arguments.  Their hope is that those who believe in God will eventually come to the deductive conclusion that faith is simply a superstition and therefore open their minds to a more enlightened thought process.  They seem to claim their arguments are presented to any religion or faith system, but Christianity seems to be their main opposition.  

I have to admit that these kinds of organizations used to make me very defensive.  From a faith perspective, I found it very hard to understand why some people come to a place in life where it becomes so easy to deny God's existence, but also feel compelled to attack the beliefs of others.  If someone truly has no belief in God, what difference does it make to them whether or not someone else does?  I still feel this way to a certain extent, but I have also grown to a place spiritually where I don't feel the need to attack other belief systems.  I believe in God and believe that Christianity is true, but my goal in ministry is not to "force" others to accept my beliefs, but to be a point of influence that will cause others to honestly consider the reality of the Kingdom of God and what it means to be a true Christ follower.

With that said, I find this organization very interesting and compelling.  The honest questions they ask seem genuine and whether right or wrong, they deserve addressing .  Granted, some of their statements are a bit antagonistic and condescending, but if you look beyond the defensiveness, anger and what might appear as an attack on those of faith, I think you'll simply find fellow human beings seeking answers to the same questions many Christians deal with.  And to be honest, the Church and Christians in general have traditionally done a pretty poor job in answering the arguments.  Today's culture demands more than just the typical rehearsed, memorized and cliche "churchy" answers.

So, here is a list of the "10 Questions That Every Intelligent Christian Must Answer" taken from the website linked above.  What I would like to know is how you would answer these questions in an honest manner, if you were involved in a discussion with someone who did not believe in God.  Avoid being defensive, argumentative or feeling as if you need to "win" the argument.  Avoid judging the questions as ignorant or simplistic because of what you know.  These are "real' questions that "real" people ask.  Consider how you would honestly answer these questions from your perspective of faith, knowledge and experience.  I plan on writing another blog that will address how I personally answer these questions, but I wold like to know what you think.

1.  Why won't God heal amputees?  We believe that God answers prayer, preforms miracles and heals in various manners, but we never see someone grow limbs in response to prayer.  Why not?  Does God ignore amputees?  

2. Why are there so many starving people in the world?  Why would God pay attention to your pray to find a job, when He seems to ignore the prayers of people literally starving to death?

3.  Why does God demand the death of so many innocent people in the Bible?  Exodus 35:2 demands the death of anyone who violates the sabbath, Deuteronomy 21:18-21 demands the death of disobedient teenagers, Leviticus 20:13 calls for the death of homosexuals and Deuteronomy 22:13-21 demands the death of woman that are not virgins when they marry.  In the book of Joshua, God commands Israel to not only kill the men, but woman and children as well.  In Deuteronomy, we see that God commands Israel to kill "everyone" in Heshbon and Bashan.  He also commands the extermination of everyone except the virgins of Midian in the book of Numbers (the virgins were plunder), and in 1 Samuel 15:1-9, the Isralites are commanded to kill all of the Amalekites - men, woman, children, infants, cattle, for something they did 400 years prior.                    

4.  Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense?  Can you remain a logical and intelligent thinker and still believe the supernatural stories of the Bible?

5.  Why is God such a huge proponent of slavery in the bible?  Take a look at these verses from both the Old and New Testament.  Exodus 20:20-21, Deuteronomy 15:12-18, Leviticus 25:44-46, Mark 14:66, Colossians 3:22-24, Ephesians 6:5, 1 Peter 2:18      

6.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Think about it.  We probably all know of someone that ranks up there with Mother Theresa, and yet they seem to be plagued with constant tragedy.  Consequently, we all know of people that could be classified as evil incarnate, and yet their lives seem to be completely absent of even minor troubles.    

7.  Why didn't any of Jesus' miracles in the Bible leave any evidence behind?  Several people have asked me why more evidence is not available of Jesus' miracles other that Scripture.     

8.  How do we explain the fact that Jesus has never appeared to anyone?   If Jesus is omnipotent and omnipresent, why does He seem to not appear to anyone?  Apparently, Mary has appeared to people in apparitions, why not Jesus?  

9.  Why would Jesus want you to eat His body and drink His blood?  Many of us have grown up in the Church, so this does not seem unusual.  But what about those who have never heard of this concept?  Could this not seem grotesque and cannibalistic?    

10.  Why are Christian divorce rates the same as that of non-Christians?  This is a great question and one that cannot be denied.  In fact, being involved in ministry, I seem to see more instances of divorce than I do outside the Church.  Why is this?
    

Buffet Style Christianity

We all like buffets, right? Especially when your hunger is at its peak! You look over the various choices before you and wonder where you should start! And not wanting to offend any one particular food group, we usually take a little of everything. After our stomachs reach the “Full” line, we back away from the table, loosen our belts and realize that our eyes were much bigger than our stomach! But isn’t that the way life is these days? Don’t we wish that all of our choices were as simple as buffets? Think about it. Even with our faith, we have brought the same consumer mentality into the Church. “I’ll have a little of this, a little of that, but not too much of THAT.” We customize our worship services to resemble a lunch at Luby’s rather than worship of God. And after we’re done, what do we do? We loosen our belts and realize that we took too much of what we didn’t really need and not enough of what we did.

Well, the Greeks had this concept down even better than we do, but they were even more specific. They developed a buffet line for their “gods”. These guys had gods for everything! You name it and you could worship it. They were so afraid of accidentally overlooking and offending a particular god, that they had an alter marker, “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”. Now that’s covering your bases!

The Apostle Paul is called to preach among the non-Jews of the time, and that inevitably brought him to Athens: the Mecca of Greek philosophy and pagan thought. In Acts17, Paul happens upon a place called The Aeropagus (Mars Hill), which was somewhat of the forum and center of philosophical discussions at the time. He encounters the two most common types of philosophers: the Epicureans and the Stoics. Not only were their beliefs radically different from each other, they held to beliefs in complete opposition form Christianity. The Epicureans thought that since man cannot connect with god at all, there was no reason to seek a moral stance on anything in life. The highest value in life was “pleasure” and the only reason that man exists. The Stoics, on the other hand, were much like the Vulcans from Star Trek. These guys taught that all emotions were to be denied and would only cause conflict with seeking moral discipline and morality. They believed that logic and reason were the greatest good and god was the sum of all that is good: namely logic and reason.

Now, Paul could have easily thumped these guys with the proverbial Bible and slammed them for their pagan beliefs, but this is not what he does. Instead, Paul connects with them on the same philosophical mindset that they had been conditioned to live by. He basically tells these deep thinkers, “Hey, I know you guys are smart and love discussion! I love discussion too! Let’s talk about this incredible concept that I have been radically transformed by! I noticed that you guys are seeking god! That’s awesome! You even have an alter “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”. Perfect! Because I know who He is! Can I tell you about Him?” Now, some of these philosophers walked away, but the Bible says that many wanted to talk more about Christ. Why? Because Paul grabbed their attention. He met them where they were. He met them where they lived and thought like they thought. He went through their buffet line and showed them where the real nourishment was.

So, when was the last time we took the time to connect with non-believers on their level? Where they are and where they live? After all, we are all seeking “truth” on this journey of life. Some have just gotten off the path a bit. God is still God and wants to connect with everyone on their own specific and customized level.