Man it really makes me sad when I hear someone say that they don't believe inGod or when they describe a time when someone has looked down their nose at them and said something like, "You must be baptized to get to heaven" or "You better be in church on Sunday or you're headed to Hell" or "All alcoholics go to Hell" or my favorite of all, "Liberals can't be Christians."

Lots of folks out there have been hurt by the words of other people, judgements passed, and measurements made of them and it has usually been done by someone close to them or by another church member. This is the sad part because after being hurt, these people develope their image of God by what they have heard and they end up thinking, "Well, I'm a drinker, a cusser, I don't go to church, and so on. I guess God really doesn't love me." People get off the bus here believing these lies and they never get to the point to discover the truth. The Truth is that God/Jesus never said you better be in church every Sunday. He said, "Do not forsake the assembly of believers." He stopped there and did not make it a weekly mandate. Jesus never said, "Don't drink beer." He said, "Come as you are." Jesus began his ministry in this world in the nastiest parts of town with the dredges of society. He could care less about what you look like or what you have done. One thing about God is that He forgets every bit of what you have done after you accept forgiveness for your previous life. The recurring themes in the Bibleare: Love and Forgiveness. These are two principles that are often times lost these days when people get into discussions of law and what you "have to do" to be a Christian.