How Do You Kill 11 Million People .. Or More?

"I am a Mormon.  Catholics come home."  Have you seen the TV commercials for the Mormons and the Catholics?  Have you seen the billboards proclaiming these religions?  What is required of one who wishes to become a Mormon or a Catholic?  What would I have to do if I decided I wanted to be one?  What would I have to believe?  What would I have to do differently?  How about a Muslim or Evangelical?  What would I have to do to be given the name of Muslim or Evangelical?  And, how would I know what is the truth about these religions and what are the lies?  Don't we all think our faith is the right one?

"So why, for month after month and year after year, did millions of intelligent human beings ~ guarded by a relatively few Nazi soldiers ~ willingly load their families into tens of thousands of cattle cars to be transported by rail to one of the many death camps scattered across Europe?  How can a condemned group of people headed for a gas chamber be compelled to act in a docile manner?  The answer is breathtakingly simple.  And it is a method still being used by some elected leaders to achieve various goals today.  How do you kill eleven million people?  LIE TO THEM."  (Andy Andrews, author of How Do You Kill 11 Million People)

Look at us.  Look at those of us who say we believe in God, in His Son Jesus Christ and in His Holy Spirit.  Listen to us.  Do you hear it?   I am a Catholic.  I am a Mormon.  I am a Baptist.  I am a Protestant.  I am an Evangelical.  What is it we have been told that made us choose that title for ourselves?  How many of us never chose that title but were simply brought into it at birth or at marriage or because someone introduced us to it?

Few people in my life have said to me, "Shirley, you really need to know why you believe what you believe.  You really need to go directly to Jesus Christ and ask HIM every single thing about every single belief you have.  You cannot simply sit back and be spoon fed your beliefs."  Oh, wait!  NO ONE EXCEPT JESUS HIMSELF has ever told me that!  I cannot recall any earthly person who has ever directly told me that.  Indirectly, Oswald Chambers has told me in his book, My Utmost for His Highest.  And David Platt in his book, Radical.  And now, Andy Andrews in his book, How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

In the STATS window of my blog, I am able to see words or questions googled by people who are searching for answers.  Here are a few:  Does God get angry when we divorce?  Does God get angry when we sin?  What is absolute truth?  While I can still remember a time when I would have had to do the same thing, I sit here and am amazed not only at the truth that we prefer someone else's answers over Jesus' own words, but at the sad, sad truth that believers don't share His truth with each other ... because they do not know and follow His truth. Generally speaking.

Oh, the silence in the Church is DEAFENING!  Sure, let's say, "I'm a Catholic.  I'm a Mormon.  I'm an evangelical."  And let's throw out a great Bible Scripture (or even just some great positive feel-good talk) on Facebook once in awhile in hopes that someone will read it and want "what we have," and we can call it witnessing as disciples of Jesus Christ!  

As I read in Luke 4 this morning, I read how Jesus went to the synagogue and read from the scroll.  When He was done reading the words of the prophet Isaiah, "All spoke well of Him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips."

It was when Jesus started speaking the hard truth about how hard it will be for you to be a prophet in your own hometown (among people who KNOW you well), that, "All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.  They got up, drove Him out of town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him down the cliff."

We don't have to run Jesus out of our churches today, all we need to do is ignore Him and ignore His truth.  We don't have to do anything really, but show up in church, listen to a really great message, sing some songs that will charge up our emotions enough to make us feel that we were in His presence ... and go out the door feeling satisfied that we did our parts as Catholics, Mormons, Baptists, Evangelicals, etc., etc.  Then throughout the week, if we just have our "daily quiet time," do enough good deeds, treat people kindly with positive and uplifting words and hope people see Jesus in us ... then we can go back to church the next Sunday and repeat our routine.

What I know for sure today is that unless the truth I know came directly from Jesus Christ, it isn't the truth at all.  It is a lie.  And if I am sharing my beliefs with anyone else that I learned from anyone other than Jesus Christ, I am lying to others.  Does God get angry when I sin?  Does He get angry if I divorce?  Does He get angry if I say His Word is too difficult to understand?  Does He get angry when I have time for everything BUT being His disciple; when I refuse to let go of everything that consumes my thoughts and time in order to obey Him? Do people who know me, KNOW that I KNOW Him because the truth I share about Him is a truth that is free yet will cost all you have? (Have you read John 15???)

Those who did not want to look deep down within themselves were the ones who wanted to rid themselves of Jesus.  Those who did want the truth and who did want to see in themselves what Jesus saw in them are the ones who could not stay away from Him.  How do you kill 11 million people ... or more?  Lie to them.  Tell them things that make them feel good about themselves instead of what they need to know.  Tell them how wonderful Heaven will be for all those who believe in God ... but leave out the part about how they must leave the popular route and take the less traveled one.  Tell them how God rocks, and just wants to bless their socks off ... but leave out the part about how it will cost them everything.  Oh, and what about Him getting angry when we sin?  When we decide divorce is easier than marriage, etc.?  Just tell them all about His grace and how it has us covered. Another thing, let's just let people ... especially little children ... think everyone is "in a better place" when they die because God would never send anyone to hell ... right???

Am I killing ... or saving?  Am I aware that silence is lying by omission?  Do the words "kill 'em with kindness" mean anything?  The hardest part is walking the walk because others can see in us what we can't even see ourselves, and I close with these words of warning from Jesus:  "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets."  (Lk. 6:26)