Day 2892 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Galatians 1:6 NIV

The rapidity with which we humans bounce from one perspective, one priority, one prize onto the next is absolutely mind-blowing. And yet we wonder why it is that peace and fulfillment seem so hard to find in life. Could it be that contentment is never given a chance to take hold in hearts constantly on the run toward the next best thing. And in this world of seemingly endless possibilities and offerings, I reckon it's no wonder that we tend to find our hearts wandering violently away from Christ in search of something more immediate.

If we were to boil all the possible reasons and excuses down into the most simplified underlying truth as to why we're so quick to allow ourselves to become distracted, I think it's largely because we still struggle to believe in that which is unseen. We still have a hard time fully embracing this truth that leads to a distant promise when surrounded by more instant gratification. In simple terms, when our hearts are allowed to crave, our flesh will follow.

And that's exactly what we see unfolding in countless ways around us today.

Be it the prosperity gospel, the personal gospel, the political gospel, we are seeing people flee from the true Gospel in search of something a bit more satisfying to the flesh, a bit easier to follow, a bit quicker to arrive. And yet the reason for the quick desertion of Christ and His truth that is found in each of these modern-day false gospels is the exact same: selfishness.

We've become so adamant to serve ourselves that we simply can't serve Christ. It's just not possible. There is only one throne, and if we stay on it, He can't be. As long as we spend any amount of time worrying about what we want, what we have, what we don't yet have, what makes us angry, what makes us feel bad, what affects the peace within our hearts, what affects the joy we want to have right this very moment, the less time we have to focus in on the things that He calls us to focus on.

No one can serve two masters, but somehow we've all but entirely managed to believe otherwise. Humanity thinks that it can serve self and still live by faith. It's something we've all done, all tried, and yet never actually been able to pull off. And despite our clear inability to follow both Christ and our deceitful hearts, we still try to come up with ways to do so.

Thus enters all these new gospels that so many are sharing and following. Sure, they sound nice. They sound right. They even sound Biblical and likely even use Scripture in ways that make them seem legitimate. But the problem is that they focus entirely too much on us. And as I said yesterday or the day before, this is not about us, it's about God. And until we get that, we've not got the faith we claim to have because true faith is about dying to self and living for Christ.

But that's not at all what we hear in many of these new messages being shared among us. Instead, we hear messages about how following Jesus will lead to all the riches and wealth we could ever want. Just pray for what you desire and expect it to show up. No need to worry about whether those desires line up with the narrow road we've been called to walk. No need to make sure those desires fall within the will of God. No, just ask Him for whatever you want and He will get to filling your order just like a teenager working a drive-thru.

Or there's this personal/self-help gospel that tells us that we are the key to our salvation. That we can manage to earn His grace with our good deeds. That our thoughts and feelings and opinions are incredibly valuable and therefore must be included into our daily lists of priorities. It's this idea that all we really need is therapy, not regeneration, and so all we really need is to think happy thoughts and focus on our feelings and all will end up just fine.

Then there's this almighty political mindset that has taken humanity by storm. The political gospel is arguably the most commonly accepted/practiced/believed in that it plays the game that most are playing in this place. It's built on this idea that while Jesus is great, awesome, amazing, we still can put some temporary hope and trust into the people we vote for, the party we belong to, the movements that we choose to support and rally behind. It's this having your cake and eating it too kind of faith in that Jesus is taking care of the eternal stuff, and our leaders will take care of everything until then.

Whatever gospel/belief system it may be, the fact of the matter is that if Christ isn't the focus, the center, the sole priority, then it is a false gospel. It is a lie. It is an abomination that only serves to lead people away from Him as all these other things, that we already crave, are given room to retain importance.

But we don't stop to see it that way do we? As long as someone says the name Jesus, then it has to be right. As long as they use the Bible for reference then they're leading us in the right direction. Or, and my personal favorite, as long as it feels good then it must be good. Does our gullibility know no bounds? Or is it simply a matter of us trying to keep our selfish ideals alive while still claiming to have been crucified with Christ?

Friends, that right there is the ultimate problem in all these false gospels that sound good to itching ears. The Gospel of Christ calls us to die to the sinful and selfish lives we’ve always lived. But we've long been so selfish that dying to self is all but an impossibility. And yet, the true Gospel calls, no demands, that we do just that. What we want in this world shouldn't matter anymore. The dreams we once held when sin held us shouldn't matter anymore. The goals and plans and picture perfect lives that we spent so long desiring shouldn't matter anymore, because everything changed when we saw the cross.

Or did it? That's the question that each of us must ask ourselves. Did everything change when we found Jesus? Did anything change? Well, hate to break it to you, but if we still give any time to any selfish ambition or vain pursuit, then no, not much has changed. And while these new gospels attempt to make that seem okay by telling us that we can still have riches and comfort in this world and still expect the same in the life to come, that we can earn salvation by just being really good and therefore not be the mean people who hurt Jesus, or that some politician or popular group is momentarily able to help us so that we don't have to fully rely on Jesus just yet, it is all a lie.

It's all a lie.

But that's the thing about lies and deception and dishonesty, they work. They work because they're crafted to work. They're written to work. They are designed to sound just how we want them to sound. And when our ears are still attached to minds that still crave the deceitful desires of our wandering hearts, then those lies will be accepted as truth because they're exactly what we're looking for. They give us everything we want. And maybe most importantly, they don't carry any glaring problems or consequences.

Over the last couple of days I've posed this question in several ways, but what is it that we are afraid of when it comes to the truth of the Gospel of Christ and the faith it is meant to instill?

If we were to be honest, we're afraid of surrendering. Of letting go. Of laying down everything we have, everything we want, everything we are in exchange for an entirely new normal in no way focused on everything we have, everything we want, and everything we are.

We are terrified of surrendering our present, our future in exchange for the hope of a promise we can't see. Because, like it or not, admit it or not, we still find much comfort in trusting in that which can be seen, felt, held, bought. But that's the sticking point of faith that we simply have to get over at some point. We can't see Jesus. Can't see Heaven. Can't even come close to beginning to imagine what His kind of peace feels like, or how long the eternity is that offers us the chance to experience it.

And it's in this discomfort that we humans still seek to find ways to make it just a little more comfortable. We try to make it a little easier. And what could possible make it easier than twisting His words, His truth, His message in such a way that allows for a bit of worldly comfort, worldly success, worldly wealth? What could be better than a gospel that talks about Jesus but focuses on things we can have, hold, see, feel, buy in this place?

Friends, it all comes down to courage. Just how much do we believe in who He says He is? Just how relentlessly do we believe in His promise of Heaven? Just how urgently do we believe in His offer of salvation? Are we truly bold enough to go all in and trust that He won't let us down? Or are we too scared, too unsure, too full of doubt to fully let go of these lives and what we want them to be?

Truth be told, there shouldn't be much comfortable about the Gospel. And our efforts to make it more pleasing and appeasing only stand as evidence that we're still too worried about ourselves, so worried about ourselves in fact that we go to extremely foolish efforts to pervert the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to build in a bit of room for us. All of these modern false gospels only exist to lead us away from Christ toward ourselves while making it seem harmless.

They simply keep the light on us, and that keeps us from looking for the light of life in Him.

The only real room we have in the Gospel is found in us being the broken, the lost, the prodigals that He left Heaven to come and find. We are the ones He saved. We are the beggars looking for something to eat. And if we've truly found that bread of life, as we claim to have found, then all we should desire to do is to tell others where they can get some too.

If there is any other priority, any other pursuit, any other prize for which we strive that doesn't begin and end with Jesus, then we're believing in and serving a lie.

It is time for us to ditch all this selfish, comfortable nonsense and get to the task at hand of building a relationship with our Savior. And like it or not, the road He calls us to walk down, the road He leads us down is simply too tight for all this selfish baggage we're trying to carry along with us. And if we can't let it go, then I'm afraid that just goes to show that we obviously don't find all that much value in Christ nor His gift of salvation.

Because if we truly believed in who He says He is, what He has done, and where He has promised to take us, then we'd happily watch our every dream and desire burn behind us as we raged toward the opportunity to serve Him and tell others what He has to offer.

We should be extremely careful of any message that so obviously seeks to please us. Because, and please hear me on this, we are not here to find pleasure in the hollow worldly idols and ideals that we once cherished. How could we? If we believe in the gift of salvation, of a new life, of freedom and forgiveness bought by the blood of our King, then what on this earth could possibly be nice enough, special enough, rare enough, cool enough, valuable enough to compete with that?

We, if we truly claim to be Christians, have found a reward this world cannot hold. And that’s why, contrary to common belief, there is no other gospel. There are just other sets of principles and beliefs designed to make serving ourselves seem okay. The true Gospel requires surrender, and it offers a priceless reward for it.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold