When people say they no longer believe in God…

Others gasp in shock and horror. I don't.

Because I know if I asked them what God they didn't believe in, I'll find out that's a God that I don't believe in either. A God of their imaginations. One that doesn't exist.

It's a real-life tragedy of our times. Wolves posing as shepherds have had a two-thousand-year headstart to concoct a version of God that accomplishes the goal of filling their pockets, and their bellies. These same wolves have convinced their followers that they can perceive God without submitting to Him, and only need vague confirmations of "inner peace" to be sure they have heard from God. Thus resulting in various translations of God. Any surprises the the popular concept(s) of God are problematic ones?

For many, even the religious, God is a composite of the cultural superstitions prevalent in their environment, what their parents and pastors have told them, the historically inaccurate jokes and myths that have been passed across generations, and their attempts at reading the scriptures using a verse-by-verse method that loses sight of the context. With this, how can two different people even have the same concept of God? This is why you find infighting about spiritual matters in even the most homogenous of churches.

God says: "You will seek me and you will find me if you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). It is not the easiest thing, to close your eyes to the translations of God that abound and work to seek Him. But it's worth it. Start from seeking God. Many say "read the Bible to find God", but you must start with seeking God. We will need a mindset shift to deduce the true message of the Bible, because the color of the lens one reads the Bible with will determine the conclusions they come out with. 

God wants to take each of us on a personal journey, to knowing Him. It's one of the reasons He sent His Son into our world (John 17:3). So please take Him up on His Jeremiah 29:13 challenge, before you raise your hands to declare He does not exist.