Why you shouldn't look for God in "The Shack"

There is probably not one of us who has either seen the movie The Shack, or read the book, or at the very least, knows of someone who has, and thought The Shack was the best movie or book they have ever read.  Now, while I can believe such a book or film can be entertaining, and insightful; even plant seeds of faith in a non-believer; we have to be able to discern what is truth, and what is fiction.  The Shack is fiction, and dangerous fiction in that while it feels good on the surface, it has some false premises that can damage or even destroy ones relationship with Christ.  Below are just a couple of key points:

• In "The Shack", God the Father Himself comes to the shack...as a woman?  God has always referred to himself as masculine (sorry, ladies; but please stay, with me for a bit longer!) and never in the flesh.  That was Jesus's job, to be God in the flesh.  Jesus walked and talked with us on earth.  God the Father on earth could not be directly viewed by sinful man without dying (Exodus 33:20; Isaiah 6).   What The Shack does is recreate god in man's image; or, in other words, promote idolatry.

• What? No Hell?  The Shack implies through an underlying theme that all of mankind and even Satan and his fallen angels can and will be reconciled to God, enter Heaven, thus eliminate the need for Hell and the Lake of Fire.  Very appealing, but not very biblically Sound.  (Revelation 20:10-15)  Satan will not be let back into the heavenly realm, so he can try to overthrow God again.  Those who choose to reject God and his offer of love will not be forced to repent and be thrown into Heaven, as The Shack suggests.  That's not love, love respects freedom of choice.  (Ladies, you know that guy you had no interest in who kept pursuing you?  Would that be love if he forced you to love him??  God is not just a God of love, but a God of justice as well.

While The Shack can be treated as good, secular fiction, with a lot of biblical truths; one must be careful in regard to the half truths and falsehoods that are laced throughout the book and film.  This story paints a universal message, that all religions lead to God; while Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)  So while all religions do lead to God, most lead to a God, sitting on a throne of judgment, seperating himself from those who chose not to have any relationship with Him while they were on earth.  The only place for an eternal human being to go who does not want fellowship with God is the lake of fire; the second death, that truly lasts for eternity.

Christianity is not a religion where you need to appease a god; it's about God's love for us, that He (Christ) died for us (Romans 5:8).  God has done all that needs to be done to reconcile the relationship between mankind and Himself, that will we have left to do is say, "Thank you, Lord Jesus", and spend time with Him; in prayer, in reading His word, the Bible, and sharing this good news with others.

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Ephesians 6:11 - Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.




The belt of truth, which holds the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (the only offensive weapon needed); shoes of the gospel of peace; the shield of faith; and the helmet of salvation. (Ephesians 6:11-17).  Leave any of these articles of protection behind and you are exposed to attack, and/ or cannot attack as well.


When we go out into the world; be it the workplace, the sports arenas and/ or shopping malls; when we deal with non believers and even anti Christians, what keeps us from falling? What makes us good witnesses for Christ?


God’s word, the truth; the gospel; and faith in salvation. We may study the bible and be ready for offense, but without the defenses, you will doubt, lose faith and return to your carnal ways.  Then what good are you…to yourself and to Christ?


When one writes blog posts on a (what should be) weekly basis, one can expect to face some adversity. Like I wrote previously, bad things happen to us often to test our strength and our faith. (Apparently, I have failed recently, because this is my first writing in almost seven weeks! D’oh!). I have been in the battle, but I “lost my sword” until today. As a result, I have been pretty worthless as a witness recently. Praise God He does not condemn me; instead, he encourages me to get back in the fight. So here I am.


The general consensus is we don’t have much time left to share the Gospel. Some think this may be our last year before the rapture. I think this “catching up” could be as much as 15 years away; though the thought of hearing a heavenly trumpet blast and getting the heck out of Dodge (or earth) has some immediate appeal. But there is still work to be done on earth for the Kingdom. More souls to come to Jesus.


What are you doing to encourage others to follow Jesus today? Put on God’s armor and arm yourself with His Word, and let’s get in the fight!

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Take Jesus to work today (and every day). Watch your blessings increase!

Matthew 5:16 - Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

At my workplace, Christian music is played and bible tracks and sometimes my bible are out for all to see. In almost two years, I nor my employers have never received any complaints, only words of encouragement: from both co workers and clients. I experience the same pro Christ attitude at my bank as well, so I know I’m not the only one out in the world that proclaims God at my worksite.

I’m sure one of these days the complaints will come. I can only hope I will have the courage Peter did, stating “we ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). I have learned the Lord has my back, so I know my job is safe, until the Lord has other plans for me. Besides, who wants to fire someone who continues to pray blessings upon their employer and their clients? (Oh yea, I forgot. An agent of Satan would!)      :-0
As Christians, we have been too passive in our faith for too long. We need to display our faith, and make it known where that faith is. Let others ask questions. Let your actions answer them. Pray the Holy Spirit gives you the words you need to answer them. Pray that you will be given the courage to stand up for Christ at your work – this was not an overnight decision on my part – this challenge I place before you took me a full year to get up the nerve! Finally, pray for your employers and clients. It is good to bless non believers as well as believers; after all, how else can a non believer turn to God except with the help of someone like us?

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What is your purpose for God?   Why were you created?

Jeremiah 9:24  But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.

We were created for the purpose of having an intimate relationship with God.  This is why God knows all about our intimate details, down to the hairs on our head.  (...which seems to be getting easier and easier to keep track of in my case!)

Once you deal with this, you begin a process where you learn that God is, has been, and will be, preparing you for the paths which He has made for you. (Jer. 29:11) Things of good and not of evil, with hope and purpose.

But without the relationship first, you will try to serve god and will serve this god via worldly, material things; possessions, wealth, employment position, as well as guilt, fear, and insecurity.  Any of these things are of a false god, not our Father in Heaven. They may inflate your ego; but overall, they will deflate you spiritually and make you weak for God’s Kingdom.  Finally, these “things” end up getting placed before God (Exodus 20:3); which, get in the way of that true relationship God and your spirit crave.  (Sounds like this is the work of the devil, you think?)

Once this relationship is established, any wealth, possessions and position you do acquire will be to God’s glory, not yours, and you will joyfully share your blessings with others.  And as your faith grows, so will your courage and boldness for Christ.

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2 Samuel 10:11,12    Joab said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.  Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight."

They’re ganging up on you.  You are surrounded.   You can’t run, you can’t hide.  You can only fight you way out of this situation.

Well, not exactly.  There is one thing; one asset you can also use: your faith.  Prayer.  God is there with you throughout any mess you find yourself in.  He doesn’t care if it’s your fault or not.  He is there for you.  It can be as trivial as an errant golf shot putting your ball in a bunker or harsh words or actions resulting in a loss of a client or job.  It can be as severe as having a neighboring country (or in this case, two neighboring countries) to go to war against you.  God is there.  Be it the entire Israelite army (as in this case) or only the 300 chosen men that Gideon used (Judges 8), God is there. 

So, if God is there for everything, large and small, why don’t we discuss our problems and concerns to Him more often?  Because we don’t ask Him.  And when we do ask, it’s for the wrong, selfish motives. (James 4:2,3)  He wants to hear form us.  He wants to guide us as the one who sees all and knows the beginning from the end.  Don’t you think he understands the path we are taking may look good from our angle but he knows of something even better for you if you go a different path?  His path?

Whatever the challenges you face (and they are only becoming more intense and more severe) remember, The Lord our God will do what is good in His sight.  Seek his insight, follow His still small voice. (Proverbs 3)  The world is one big minefield…you must go through it…it’s part of life.  The Lord our God will do what is good in His sight.  

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Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.



What is holding us back from proclaiming the Lord’s good news? Fear, also known as a lack of faith? Lack of time? Wherever you go you can talk Jesus or leave literature behind. It’s too cold to witness, no one is out? You can write and blog. Are you terrible at speaking, writing, and talking to strangers? So am I, yet, with practice and the Glory of the Lord going before me, here I am, writing, speaking, passing out literature, etc. Keep in mind, it may be me doing these things, but I would not be able to do any of them without the Holy Spirit pushing and pulling me forward. Without the Holy Spirit, I would be the same yellow bellied wimp as everyone else!


If, by Jesus, power has been given us over the enemy, and nothing can hurt us, why are we not using this power? Where is our faith, that we have access to this power and are afraid to try to use it!


Sure, in this day and age, people are being imprisoned, fined, taxed and on occasion, executed for the high crime of being a Christian or a Jew. And this kind of persecution will increase. While most of us are blessed to live in a country where such persecutions don’t exist, we are the ones who don’t show any courage. Rather, it’s the ones who face persecution daily; in Africa and the Middle East; who show the most courage. We fear embarrassment, they fear for their lives; yet they who face persecution daily know that Christ, in His perfect way, will protect them, and be with them to the very end.

It is this kind of faith that produces the courage that also casts out demons, heals the sick, shows up at opportune times, and brings others to Christ. What can you do today to strengthen your faith in Christ, to give you the courage to stand up for Christ?

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Luke 8:35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.




Afraid? Of what?? These gentiles had just witnessed a life changing miracle that was performed on one of their own, once a naked, demon posessed lunatic, now a civil, right minded person. And they are nothing but a bunch of scardy cats!



Instead of inviting Jesus into their city and proclaiming this miracle to all, what did they do? They told Jesus to leave! What? No more requests for healings? Just go away? Did they actually value the pigs that were drowned in the process more than the health and well being of one of their citizens?



Ignorance of Jesus is not an excuse. Look what the healed man did: he sat at the feet of Jesus! It gets better. He wants to join Jesus! But Jesus sent him home to tell all what great things God has done for him. (v. 38,39)



When a miracle is being done on your behalf, do you request that the miracle worker go away? NO! You scream praises of such a person. Get the word out! You want more! Any business person knows the best form of advertising is word of mouth. So, what you do is talk it up!



All of us who are Christians have such a story. Maybe not as spectacular, but a good news story nonetheless. Why are we not shouting out our own stories?

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Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.



Do you? Do you go and tell others about Jesus, baptizing those who come to believe? What do you do to “promote and market” Jesus Christ to the world? At work, while shopping, driving in your car or even while taking a walk in your neighborhood.

Be it wearing a simple t shirt, placing a bumper sticker on your car, a sign in your window or plaque at your front door; or leaving bible tracks in public places; hold up a sign on a street corner that says “Jesus IS Lord and God” (or whatever) these are all tools you can use to “advertise” Christianity. Also, you can distribute flyers to the houses around your church building, and even knock on doors, promoting your congregation as a warm fuzzy place to check Jesus out. These are all things any of us, regardless of handicap, fear, insecurity, or even laziness can do.

We can also fund these efforts. Donating to cover the printing, and distribution of literature; sending someone on a mission trip; or funding a relief organization are alternatives if you are blessed with more money than time.

Yes, it can be scary. We have heard of the unsults thrown and the violence incurred. (That’s just Satan seeking revenge against you for hacking him off!) Jesus said these things would happen, but Jesus also commands we tell the world about Him. He also promised, he would “be with us always, even to the end of the age”. So when you share Jesus, the Holy Spirit is with you. You will know what to say and when, as well as what to do and when. And you will be protected, comforted, and blessed for keeping His commandments.

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Numbers 13:30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."




God has given Canaan to the Israelites. It is indeed a land of milk and honey. But the inhabitants at the time were many, and they were huge! Ten of the witnesses convinced the others of the impossible task before them. Two of them pointed out the victory before them since God was the one really in charge.



Ten wimps, and two men of faith and courage. The wimps never saw their reward. Only the men of faith and courage entered the promised land. Where are you in this eternal struggle? Do you stand up or stand down for the Lord? Christ can sure use more courage and fewer excuses.