Religion is man's way of getting to God, Christianity is God's way of getting to man. In religion there are so many motions to go through, in christianity its not the motions you go through, its having a conversation with Christ. In our church we are blessed to have a Pastor who knows he is human, he is a man who struggles with life just as we all do. The difference is he was called by God to bring a message to the world. He has always told us to never just take his word for something, seek it for yourself, pick up your bible and and find what God is showing us in His word. Today if we are not careful we can be in a place where we take all the Pastor says and never question it for ourselves. Christianity is God's way of having a relationship with us, its Him spending time with us and living in us. Even in Christianity we can begin to go through all the motions, we can go to church and never pick up our bible. I don't think God is going to get angry if we question our faith, if we question all that is, it is in those questions that we find the answers He has put before us. If we go our whole life without questioning why, what, where, who or how, are we really growing in Christ? If we are not careful we can be at one extreme or the total opposite. At one end we can have so many man made rules to live by that we are taking the place of God and we are putting Him in a box as we live by our rules, or we can be at the other end of that extreme and allow everything, accepting all so we don't hurt anyone's feelings. We have to find our middle, right where God wants us to be. We can find that place if we spend time asking questions and seeking His wisdom. Yes, it is awesome to have Sunday School, its great to have a bible study at church, but we must remember to spend time with Him alone, seeking His will for our lives, opening those pages of His love story to us and seeing all He has for us. If we are to have a real relationship with Christ we have to make an effort, we have to move, just as making a new friend, taking time out for ourselves, joining a club, or playing sports. You don't show up to practice without your gear, you don't show up to your book club without your book, you also don't get to know your new friend if your not willing to spend time with them. Too many times I have sat and listened without really seeking for myself. We are blessed with an amazing Pastor and he would never lead us astray, but what I am saying is, for my relationship with Christ to grow I must study for myself, I must pick up my bible, not just on Sundays, I must seek Christ daily, increase my prayer time, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct me for the purpose and plan He has set before me. It doesn't matter what you wear to church, it doesn't matter how long your hair is, if you have piercings, if your ankles are showing, or if a woman wants to wear pants to church. That is man making up his own rules for us to follow, that has nothing to do with Christianity. When we are a Christian we follow the Holy Spirit, not the man making the rules for his church to go by. The church is the people underneath the building, where we gather to worship, to praise and to seek His word for us. For me, I don't need Religion, I don't need motions to go through, I don't need man made rules, for me as a Christian all I need is Christ, a relationship with Him and a heart for His word to find my purpose and plan. It is good to question, it is good to think and to seek out the truth, until we learn to do that and not just take one man's word for it, we will never find Jesus, we will never have the relationship He wishes to have with us. Questions lead to answers and answers lead us to Christ~ Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him"
Friday, October 23, 2009
Religion or Christianity?
Religion is man's way of getting to God, Christianity is God's way of getting to man. In religion there are so many motions to go through, in christianity its not the motions you go through, its having a conversation with Christ. In our church we are blessed to have a Pastor who knows he is human, he is a man who struggles with life just as we all do. The difference is he was called by God to bring a message to the world. He has always told us to never just take his word for something, seek it for yourself, pick up your bible and and find what God is showing us in His word. Today if we are not careful we can be in a place where we take all the Pastor says and never question it for ourselves. Christianity is God's way of having a relationship with us, its Him spending time with us and living in us. Even in Christianity we can begin to go through all the motions, we can go to church and never pick up our bible. I don't think God is going to get angry if we question our faith, if we question all that is, it is in those questions that we find the answers He has put before us. If we go our whole life without questioning why, what, where, who or how, are we really growing in Christ? If we are not careful we can be at one extreme or the total opposite. At one end we can have so many man made rules to live by that we are taking the place of God and we are putting Him in a box as we live by our rules, or we can be at the other end of that extreme and allow everything, accepting all so we don't hurt anyone's feelings. We have to find our middle, right where God wants us to be. We can find that place if we spend time asking questions and seeking His wisdom. Yes, it is awesome to have Sunday School, its great to have a bible study at church, but we must remember to spend time with Him alone, seeking His will for our lives, opening those pages of His love story to us and seeing all He has for us. If we are to have a real relationship with Christ we have to make an effort, we have to move, just as making a new friend, taking time out for ourselves, joining a club, or playing sports. You don't show up to practice without your gear, you don't show up to your book club without your book, you also don't get to know your new friend if your not willing to spend time with them. Too many times I have sat and listened without really seeking for myself. We are blessed with an amazing Pastor and he would never lead us astray, but what I am saying is, for my relationship with Christ to grow I must study for myself, I must pick up my bible, not just on Sundays, I must seek Christ daily, increase my prayer time, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and direct me for the purpose and plan He has set before me. It doesn't matter what you wear to church, it doesn't matter how long your hair is, if you have piercings, if your ankles are showing, or if a woman wants to wear pants to church. That is man making up his own rules for us to follow, that has nothing to do with Christianity. When we are a Christian we follow the Holy Spirit, not the man making the rules for his church to go by. The church is the people underneath the building, where we gather to worship, to praise and to seek His word for us. For me, I don't need Religion, I don't need motions to go through, I don't need man made rules, for me as a Christian all I need is Christ, a relationship with Him and a heart for His word to find my purpose and plan. It is good to question, it is good to think and to seek out the truth, until we learn to do that and not just take one man's word for it, we will never find Jesus, we will never have the relationship He wishes to have with us. Questions lead to answers and answers lead us to Christ~ Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him"
