"Testing the Light"

"The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their den." (Psalms 104:22)
Yes, it is odd, to say the least. I heard a caller, yesterday, who called in about her pastor telling the church how they needed to sell everything and give it away, memorize the Bible, and be perfect; stating the she knew people who have left the church, and even now, she is thinking of doing so herself. The answer given was good, good enough for someone that is saved and in love with the Lord; but I did not get the sense that it was the answer she was looking for. It just so happened that I was in the town she was calling from, and all the while, I could not help but think that I knew the pastor she was speaking about, and I know that he has a right heart for God. She mentioned that they were on schedule to be in the book of Revelation, but that he skipped over that book and went back to Genesis. If you know how I thought I knew this pastor, then you can understand my concern for his church. There were some things that Jesus said which caused even the disciples to wonder; things like cutting off your arm and plucking out your eye, or eating His flesh and drinking His blood; or what about the camel going through the eye of a needle? never mind the one about hating your mother and father or brother and sister. These were all things that speak of the importance of getting to heaven and avoiding hell; however, none of them were things that are literally done. Nor do they need to be done! Do you know why that might be? There is really only one way that we can be saved: we are saved by the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. Jesus answered the Rich Young Ruler, saying, "Sell all that you have and give it to the poor," but He did so because his possessions were standing in the way from him surrendering his life to Him and making Him Lord. In another instance, a scribe had said, that loving God with all that is within you and loving our neighbor as thyself, was more than all the whole burnt sacrifices and offerings; to which Jesus replied, "Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." This she quoted as if even doing this was not enough, and she was correct in her assumption. The scribe was not far off, because there is no way that those things can be done without surrendering our lives to Jesus. People will look at what they think they know they must do, while ignoring what it is that they need to do first. We cannot clean ourselves up to come to the Lord; we come as we are, and He makes us clean...
""God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believe in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear that their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."" (John 3:17-21) NLT