I want to make sure that my services are designed in such a way that creates an atmosphere of understanding and clear expectations for our regulars and our guests so that more and more people will feel comfortable returning and inviting more people.

And while I believe that people of all religions should respect each other and treat each other peacefully, there is a big problem with stating that these religions should, or even can, COEXIST with each other. The problem is that all of these religions are exclusive- claiming that their ‘way’ is the only way to heaven, god, or nirvana. In the end, the all think that they are right, and that everyone else is wrong.

All world religions essentially teach that you must act a certain way, do certain things, and achieve certain levels in order to be “saved” and to achieve the religion’s goal (heaven etc…). Christianity, however, is different. It teaches that there is nothing you can do to be saved and achieve an everlasting relationship with God. Instead it teaches that Jesus (God the Son) came to live the life that you could never live (a life of holiness and perfection unto God), and to die the death that you deserved to die (for your sins on the cross) so that your sins could be forgiven, you could have the righteousness of Christ imparted to you, and you could have eternal life and relationship with God as He restores all things through Christ.

So Christianity, itself, is exclusive- teaching that all other religions and world systems will not lead lead to God. Jesus said,” I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me.” If someone wants to receive salvation, forgiveness of sins, a new life, relationship with God, and eternal life they must put their faith (trust) in the gracious (unmerited favor) gift and finished work of Christ- that’s it.

What does this have to do with the COEXIST bumper sticker? Answer: None of these religions will ultimately COEXIST in peace because they all are impotent to bring about salvation. They will each battle against each other as they try to achieve their exclusive path to enlightenment. They, because Jesus is the only way, will only really COEXIST in hell apart from God because they failed to put their faith in the One who can set them free.

COEXISTence is only temporary as the world awaits the judgment of a holy, righteous, and just God. We as Christians should seek peaceful and respectful relationships with people from all faiths and lovingly find ways to show them the only Way- the Lord Jesus Christ.  Thinking that we can COEXIST forever in peace with all religions is naivety and is rejection of Jesus as being the only way to God and perfection.

I think not. Here’s the first problem: The fact that Islam is on the same sticker as a PEACE SIGN?! That’s a problem! Islam is NOT a religion of peace- period. It is a religion that at its core wants to eliminate every “infidel” by the sword who does not except that there is one god whose name is Allah and that Mohamed is his prophet.

This week there was a controversy over Franklin Graham being asked to officiate a special ceremony for the National Day of Prayer at the Pentagon in Washington DC. Why? Because in 2001, after the September 11th tragedy, Graham called Islam evil. He called it as he saw it. And now he can’t officiate a Christian prayer because of his opinion on Islam?

It’s not as if Islam has respect for Christianity or even Christian people. But I, as a Christian, have been called to love my enemy and my neighbor. And the Muslims around me are my neighbors and because of that I will love them and respect them, but I will not respect their religion. They are not my enemy, but the Bible tells me to pray for those who persecute me. And though I may not personally persecuted by Islam, I know that my brothers and sisters around the world are. And I will love and pray for Muslims around the world with great willingness and joy because of it. I love them and I hope the best for them and I want them to find an everlasting committed relationship with Jesus Christ.

I KNOW that there are probably many kind and loving Muslims all around the world that sincerely care for their neighbors, I’m just saying that their religion is not a religion of peace, and that a peace sign next to a symbol representing Islam is an oxymoron, and belittles people’s intellegence to propose that it (Islam) is (a religion of peace).

We all entered the highway off of very curvy, unkept, and dangerous roads bound for destruction.

Sometimes I think we believe that the highway will be smooth sailing- that we can just turn on the cruise control, listen to some good music, pass all the best landmarks, and enjoy our air-conditioned, leather-seated luxury car.

For those of us who don’t get trapped in delusion, we know nothing can be further from the truth!

Often times the highway can be filled with accidents and road work, making for delays and causing us to learn to be patient.

There are consistantly exit signs promising cheap gas, delicous food, and exciting adventures tempting us to pull of the highway- just temporarily.

We do have to stay the course, pay attention to the road signs, and learn to drive patiently for our home exit is straight in front of us.

Some of us know these things all too well and we stay in the middle lane on the highway all the way home. But when we do only that, we’re missing something all together. In fact, it’s possible that we were never on the highway home to begin with.

Because on this straight highway that leads us home there are exits, not the exits we are to avoid, but exits that we have been called to take. These exits are usually dark and appear to have very little to offer. But they’re the exits that God has prepared for us to take since before the highway was ever constructed.

These exits have millions of drivers with cars who are desparate to get home. They just need someone to pull of the highway and show them the easy entrance on to it so they can begin their journey home.

If there were no drivers off of these exits who needed direction, the highway would have been much shorter and we already would have been home. You see, taking these exits are not really an option, they are part of this straight highway that lies in front of us. And once you have given directions to these lost drivers off of the dark exits, it’s easy to pull right back on to the highway until you find your next exit, and eventually reach home.

I talked to someone who just came out of a cult. I talked with someone who was a witch and practiced Satanism. I talked with someone who didn’t believe in the claims of the Bible yet called himself a Christian. I talked with an elderly artist who has lived an extremely interesting life with prominent figures of Hollywood’s Golden era. I talked to a severely disabled woman bound to the confines of a wheelchair for the rest of her life. And I spoke to a dear friend who is at the threshold of completely loosing the little eyesight she has left. I talked to a few others two, but these are the interactions that stuck out.

One think that’s really going through my mind right now is the young man who doesn’t necessarily believe the claims of the Bible, yet says he’s Christian out of fear.

There was so much about this conversation that I would love to elaborate on but simply don’t have the time. He essentially, though, didn’t want to go to hell -which he thought was only a temporary judgement before all people go to heaven (?)- so he “was Christian” to avoid it.

I explained to him that the Bible says that,” perfect love casts out all fear”- that the purpose of being saved (or being a Christian) was not getting out of hell, but to experience an abundant everlasting relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I let him know that God’s purpose was perfect and abiding in His purpose will lead to a gratifying and fulfilling life for us; better than any life we could live for our own purposes. I told him that I have a relationship with God because God deserves my love, praise, and devotion for what He has done for me and simply for who He is.

I told him that hell was a real eternal place for sinners who do not receive the gift of eternal life through Christ, but that it was certainly not THE reason to become a Christian.

I heard Rick Warren say on his ministry podcast that heaven and hell were no longer the great motivators of evangelism. My wife and I were talking about that several days before I heard Warren on the podcast say the same thing. Another evangelism point of previous generations was creation, where today’s generation doesn’t seem to allow the creation/evolution debate to effect their decision on whether or not one receives Christ.

It was interesting, however, to talk with this young man whose objections to faith had to do with creation and science; and whose desire for faith had to do with hell.

But I shouldn’t be surprised. This guy grew up in a Christian home and attended church all of his life. And one of the prominent messages that the church gives still is that you become a Christian to get into heaven and to avoid going to hell.

I wonder if people who have so called “conversions” based off of these motivators are truly saved. They, after all, are not compelled to become Christians based off of their desire for relationship with or honoring of God. It’s simply to avoid hell. This motivator is self-serving and not Christ-Centered.

God could and can certainly use such motivators to lead to real transformational relationships with Him; but to have such decisions based solely off of the desire to escape hell are questionable at least.

This post is far from containing any full thought about this subject, but like usual, it poses a question: What can we as Christians  do to share the grace, love, and hope we have in Christ with others so that they may experience transformational eternal relationship with Him, without the motivation being self-serving?

And more importantly: Is my relationship with Christ merely self-serving? Is yours?

For the last several weeks I have been eagerly awaiting the premier of “V” – a new TV series on ABC.

The show highlights how the world would react if a technologically superior race of human-like benevolent aliens suddenly showed up on our front door step asking for water in exchange for advanced technology.

The show’s premiere particularly delved into how Christianity would handle the situation; and it did so quite well. Originally the world turned to the Church to see how it would respond to the situation. But as the aliens began to perform miracles that before only God could preform, people’s devotion starting turning towards the aliens and their promise of hope in a new world and away from the devotion and worship to God. The aliens set themselves up to be saviors in a broken world. It was a fine metaphorical expose on culture, religion, and politics in modern day America.

The Bible said such things would happen (minus the aliens) and to an extent they already have several times throughout history. So, while this is a weird topic, it leads to a good question. How should (and would) the Church respond if a false savior showed up offering breakthrough and hope to us in such a time as this?