Your Own Conception = Great Deception

From the beginning of man's fall to the present day, Satan's greatest trick has been to make man believe that God's way is not as good as his own.

Instead of trusting in God, the Creator and Redeemer, men and women who seek help believe that with their own efforts, they can overcome any hardships in their lives.

Part of Alcoholics Anoymous' brilliant yet evil deception rests in allowing members to choose their own conception of God.

While the idea sounds wise and effective in getting people to stop looking at themselves and look outside for assistance.

Yet any man's conception of God will merely reflect an amalgam of ideas and experiences which are not commensurate with the Truth, as revealed in the Bible.

The grace of God is a supernatural, unnatural reality, yet the very thing which God delights in:

"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hosea 6: 6)

Jesus quoted this statement to rebuke the Pharisees:

"But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Mattherw 9: 13)

Man in conscience of lack, loss, scarcity, shame, reproach, and difficulty.

Man is more aware of what is wrong with this world, and with his own knowledge, cannot reconcile a Good God with a dark and evil world.

The Bible more than answers this problem.

The LORD is a good Creator and Redeemer, seeking to make up for the lack and emptiness caused by the first man, Adam, by sending the second Adam, Jesus, to live for us, to die for us, and to minister on our behalf at the right hand of God the Father.

The Good News has been so distorted or limited. In many churches, people still think that they live their lives on this earth in their own efforts. Yet God did not send His Son to give us skills for living a better life. He sent His Son so that we would not perish, but through Christ receive His everlasting life (John 3: 16), and that more abundantly (John 10: 10).

If we settle on our own impoverished conception of God, we will find that we cannot comprehend the greatest of the LORD, who is outside of time, outside of space, and outside of every challenge, lack, need, want, and through whom we can receive all things (Romans 8: 31-32).

I cannot understand how good God is.

Yet if I insist on plugging my life and work the Twelve Step program, I am bringing down God's goodness to nothing. What's more, I am putting faith in my flesh, in my self-efforts. Here is God's take on our flesh, on our efforts:

"27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29That no flesh should glory in his presence. " (1 Corinthians 1: 27-29)

and

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Philippians 3: 3)

For years, I was convinced that I had to rely on my efforts to be obedient to God, that I had to figure everything out in this life on my own.

When I learned that Christ is my life (Colossians 3: 3-4), that this life is all about seeing Him take up everything that we need, and that we have all things through Him, so much began to make sense.

I have since learned that I struggled so much in this life because I believed that I was all alone, or that I could not be sure that He was looking out for me.

In effort, I did not believe that He was big enough to take care of me and everything in this life.

Why did I doubt His power and presence in my life? Because my conception, yes conception of Him, was too small, unduly influence by the AA cult and the adherent who had imposed this evil nonsense in my life.