I woke up this morning at 6:30am and could not fall back asleep. Jack was the only one awake and he was watching a show so I had some time to stay in my warm cozy bed but God apparently had other plans. My mind started racing and I couldn't get it to quiet down. I am writing this blog to get all my crazy thoughts out so they will leave me alone. I want to state that this is my opinion; my blog a diary of sorts. I am not writing this because I believe religion is bad. I know religion is good for many. I, however, feel like there is an organic nature to God that we in this world have lost.
Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
Jesus. He is it; all we need. I am going to be bold and say that, for me, religion is man made. Christianity, in its purest form, is the belief in Christ; accepting the He is truly the way, truth, and life. Christianity is believing that God sent His son to die for our sins so we may be reconciled with Him and enter the gates of Heaven one day. That is all. Period. No bells. No whistles. No one telling you when to kneel, what to read in church, forcing to to recite a certain prayer or scripture. None of that. Jesus is the sacrifice. Believe, know, and build a relationship with Him. That is it.
Religion is man's way of telling you how to live, when to pray, when to stand, when to kneel, what to eat, what to wear, who do hang out with, who to stay away from, etc, etc. under the precept that God tells us so. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. I think we need parameters in our lives; boundaries. However, I think religion can get out of hand and, in many cases, turn people away from Jesus. Some religions become so extreme that they begin terrorizing others for the sake of their religion.
Jesus is pretty harsh with the religious leaders of his time in the New Testament (read Matthew chapter 23). He talks about how they speak truth that came through Moses from God but they don't actually live it. They manipulate it to live a life of show and power. Sounds familiar to our world doesn't it? It's amazing to me that these religious leaders are recognized as knowing God's Word more than anyone else but their lives show nothing of the love of Christ.
I was reading about a secular group trying to understand them and where they were coming from. One of the things that stuck out at me was that they considered themselves a fellowship group that strived to do good for humanity. They realized that we were all intertwined somehow and should serve one another. However, many of them, and this was stated in their by-laws, had turned from religion because they were tired of it and didn't believe in the "mysticism" that came with religion. That made me sad because I felt like they haven't had an opportunity to really see Jesus. If they had, they'd realize that the very core of their beliefs for their organization was exactly how Jesus lived his life.
I want to get back to the organic. I want us to live Christianity out the way it was intended (in my view anyway). I want to follow the example Jesus set before us and have my life speak so boldly for itself that I don't have to say a word; that people see there is a different kind of love and kindness in me that attracts others to do and live a good life serving others as He did. Many of us can say we are good people who do good things but we are missing the key element: Jesus. I don't think we need all the pomp and circumstance. It can be nice and helpful but, for the most part, is unnecessary. When we get to Heaven one day God is not going to ask us if we kneeled at just the right time or recited the right creed. He is going to ask us, however, what we did with His Son.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Love & Blessings,
Megan
Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
Jesus. He is it; all we need. I am going to be bold and say that, for me, religion is man made. Christianity, in its purest form, is the belief in Christ; accepting the He is truly the way, truth, and life. Christianity is believing that God sent His son to die for our sins so we may be reconciled with Him and enter the gates of Heaven one day. That is all. Period. No bells. No whistles. No one telling you when to kneel, what to read in church, forcing to to recite a certain prayer or scripture. None of that. Jesus is the sacrifice. Believe, know, and build a relationship with Him. That is it.
Religion is man's way of telling you how to live, when to pray, when to stand, when to kneel, what to eat, what to wear, who do hang out with, who to stay away from, etc, etc. under the precept that God tells us so. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. I think we need parameters in our lives; boundaries. However, I think religion can get out of hand and, in many cases, turn people away from Jesus. Some religions become so extreme that they begin terrorizing others for the sake of their religion.
Jesus is pretty harsh with the religious leaders of his time in the New Testament (read Matthew chapter 23). He talks about how they speak truth that came through Moses from God but they don't actually live it. They manipulate it to live a life of show and power. Sounds familiar to our world doesn't it? It's amazing to me that these religious leaders are recognized as knowing God's Word more than anyone else but their lives show nothing of the love of Christ.
I was reading about a secular group trying to understand them and where they were coming from. One of the things that stuck out at me was that they considered themselves a fellowship group that strived to do good for humanity. They realized that we were all intertwined somehow and should serve one another. However, many of them, and this was stated in their by-laws, had turned from religion because they were tired of it and didn't believe in the "mysticism" that came with religion. That made me sad because I felt like they haven't had an opportunity to really see Jesus. If they had, they'd realize that the very core of their beliefs for their organization was exactly how Jesus lived his life.
I want to get back to the organic. I want us to live Christianity out the way it was intended (in my view anyway). I want to follow the example Jesus set before us and have my life speak so boldly for itself that I don't have to say a word; that people see there is a different kind of love and kindness in me that attracts others to do and live a good life serving others as He did. Many of us can say we are good people who do good things but we are missing the key element: Jesus. I don't think we need all the pomp and circumstance. It can be nice and helpful but, for the most part, is unnecessary. When we get to Heaven one day God is not going to ask us if we kneeled at just the right time or recited the right creed. He is going to ask us, however, what we did with His Son.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
Love & Blessings,
Megan
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