Tag Archives: Devotional

September 19, 2012 · 8:15 AM

Don’t Give Up

I have several close friends who are going through some difficult times. Many are in desperate need of God’s touch because doctors can only do so much. Others just need a breather from the waves of bad news that keep rolling into their lives. I’ve been there myself a time or two. You probably have been too. You might even be there now, but even though you feel alone in the situation, you aren’t.

It can feel empty sometimes when friends, who don’t know what else to do, simply say, “I’ll be praying for you.” You really want them to throw you a life preserver and pull you from the water that you’re tired of treading. You know there’s nothing they can really do for you, but you wish someone could. You cry out to God, but it seems you’re prayers are falling on deaf ears. The answers you seek don’t come and you’re left with more questions.

When answers finally come, they aren’t really what you were seeking. You’re confused and your faith is shaken. You start to wonder if you’ve done something wrong to deserve this. You think that maybe God is punishing you. You drift into the fog of uncertainty and begin to wonder if God really exists. The only thing you do know is that you feel pain, uncertainty and confusion.

It’s in these moments that you find out what your faith is made of. It’s here that you learn to trust God with everything in your life. When there is nothing that anyone can do to help, you have a God who is there to sustain you in those difficult times and to give you hope for victory. When all you have is Him, you have more than enough. You may not be able to see past today, but He sees your tomorrow.

In II King 6, Elisha had been telling the king through divine guidance where ambushes were set up to attack his army. The king of Aram was furious because his plans kept getting foiled. He accused his officers of leaking information to the Israelis, but one of them knew of Elisha and told him what was happening. The king put a bounty on Elisha’s head. They found out where he was staying and traveled by night to surround him.

The next morning, Elisha’s servant got up early and walked outside. He became fearful because they were surrounded and cried out to Elisha. Elisha got up walked up to him and said, “Don’t worry about it. There are more on our side than on their side.” I’m sure the servant looked at him like he had lost his mind. Elisha then bowed his head in prayer and said, “Lord, open his eyes so that he may see.” At once the servant was able to see what Elisha saw. There was a mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding the other army.

Today, even if you can’t see beyond the circumstances that surround you, I pray that God will open your eyes. May you see that God is on your side and He is fighting for you even when it seems that no one else is. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world is the way I John 4:4 put it. I’ll tell you what I told my friend yesterday, “I don’t always understand what God does either, but I’ve learned to trust His plan and answers even when they don’t make sense.” You are not alone and God’s answer will be what’s best for you.

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September 18, 2012 · 7:52 AM

Sowing Without Reaping

What kind of heritage are you leaving your family? Have you thought about that? It’s not something that you do when you are old. It’s something you accomplish with the bulk of your life. How you live now affects the future generations of your family. Each of us were handed a heritage from our parents. Some of us received a good heritage while others received a broken, empty heritage.

Whatever heritage you were given, it is your responsibility to create one for your kids. You have to be aware of the seeds you are planting in their lives. There is a Greek proverb that says, “A society grows when old men plant trees whose shade they know they’ll never sit in.” What are you planting now that you know you’ll never reap the rewards of?

That’s a tough question. For many of us, we have grown up in a world where we live for the moment and not the future. We think, “I wasn’t given anything and I made it. Why would I do anything for someone else?” At work, we always talk about setting the customer up for success. Does the customer have everything they need to be successful once they leave? I’d ask, does your family have everything they need in order to be successful once they leave the nest?

It’s not just monetary things I’m talking about here. Yes, leaving your kids the gift of financial freedom is great, but have you taught them how to manage what you’ll be giving them? If you haven’t, what you’re leaving will be gone soon. What about a spiritual inheritance? Are you leaving your kids and future generation a heritage that will last for generations? What are you teaching them with your lifestyle now that will reap rewards later? Are you just taking them to church so that someone else can teach them “what’s right” or are you teaching them a godly example at home?

It is not the church’s responsibility to teach your children about God or what it means to be a Christian. It’s your responsibility. The church’s role is to reinforce what you are showing them and to provide a group of people who are like minded to help you along the way. If you take them to church and live contrary to the teachings of the church, your child’s faith probably will not last. Actions speak louder than words.

King David left his son Solomon a heritage. David knew that God would not allow him to build the temple. David didn’t just tell Solomon he wanted him to build the temple instead. He drew up the plans and bought all the supplies to build the temple. He knew the value of planting the seeds for something he would never get to enjoy. After he gave Solomon all of the supplies and plans, he then blessed him, prayed for him and charged him to do well.

In I Chronicles 28:8-10, David gave Solomon the things he needed to be successful spiritually which is more important than setting him up monetarily. He said, “Learn to know God…, worship and serve Him…., if you seek Him you will find Him…, take this seriously because God has chosen you…., be strong and do the work.” That is an amazing charge and heritage to leave your family. If you haven’t already done so, begin to do the work of leaving a good, godly heritage for your family. You may not get to sit in the shade of the trees of heritage you plant, but your future generations will be blessed and successful because you did the work now.

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September 14, 2012 · 7:31 AM

Hymns of Glorious Praise

Lately I’ve been thinking back to my childhood and remembering what church was like back then. It wasn’t so long ago that there were pews in churches and they weren’t built for comfort either. Every church had altars at the front that were built for comfort because you would spend time on them praying. On the back of every pew was a hymnal. The name of ours was “Hymns of Glorious Praise”.

I remember being bored out of my mind in church as a child. When I was done counting the ceiling tiles (or knots in the wooden ceiling at my grandfather’s church), I would flip open that hymnal for some reading. Mostly I would flip through to see what the oldest written hymn in there was. I can’t remember the name now, but I do know it was on page 27!

All of this thinking got me to remembering the words I read on those pages and the words of the ones we sung. They were powerful words written by great men of God. I’m not saying that today’s worship songs are not powerful or written by men of God, but there was something about the hymns that made them last so long. Think about it. “Amazing Grace” was written by John Newton in 1779 yet almost everyone knows it. I can barely remember what we were singing in 1979.

So yesterday, I asked on Facebook for people to share their favorite hymn and their favorite line from it. The response I got was overwhelming. It reminded me of songs I had forgotten and brought back lots of memories. I thought I’d share some of the ones with you that were posted on my wall and either bring back some memories for you or at least let you read some powerful lyrics.

One of the favorites that was posted was “How Great Thou Art” was translated from a Swedish poem. There was one verse that stood out though. “Oh Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder consider the worlds thy hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder – Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior, God, to Thee, how great Thou art.” When is the last time you looked up into the sky, looked at all of creation and just worshiped God because of the awesome display of His power? We should look at it and cry out in wonder. David did in Psalm 19.

Another one, as mentioned above, was “Amazing Grace”. If you don’t know, John Newton was a sailor and a slave trader. One day while at sea, his ship sailed into a terrible storm. The ship sprung a leak and began to sink. When he called out to God for help, a piece of cargo drifted and covered the hole in the ship which stopped the leaking. He began to read scripture for the rest of that journey and accepted Jesus as his savior. He later penned the words, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch (a miserable person) like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.” If you’ve accepted Christ, that’s your story too. That’s why it resonates with all of us.

The last one I’ll share is also one of my favorites. “It is Well With My Soul” was written by Horatio Spafford in 1873. He and his family were going to Europe for a trip, but he was delayed for business purposes. He sent his wife and three daughters ahead of him. On their way, their ship caught fire and sank. His wife survived, but his three daughters died. He got a telegram from his wife that said, “Saved alone.” When he sailed to meet her and passed over the spot, he was overcome emotion and wrote, “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well with my soul.'”

I’m not sure many of us can endure what he did and respond that way. In life’s most difficult circumstances, do you call out to God, rely on God or praise Him? These men did and wrote their prayers down. I think that’s also why we relate so much to these. They are prayers that we can pray and sing from deep within our souls. With that being said, I’d like to know what’s your favorite hymn and line that you relate to?

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September 13, 2012 · 7:39 AM

Offer Yourself, not Excuses

One of my favorite miracles that Jesus did was to feed the 5000. You can find it in Matthew 14:15-21. Jesus had just gone away from everyone because he found out his cousin, John the Baptist, had just been murdered. Even in a remote place, people who were looking for Jesus found Him. He didn’t send them away or tell them to let Him grieve in peace. Instead, He had compassion on them and ministered to them.

At the end of the day, the disciples came to Him and told Him to send the people away to find something to eat because it was late and they were in a barren place. Jesus looked at them and said, “They don’t need to leave. You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have nothing, but these 5 loaves and 2 fish.” He then said, “Bring them to me.” He broke the bread and fish and fed the 5000 with it.

All around us every day are people who are in a barren place. They are hungry spiritually. They are looking for Jesus. What do we do about it? Many of us pray for them. Some us hope God will put someone in their lives to show them the way. I think God looks back at us and says, “You feed them.” Too often we think we are incapable of feeding them. We look back at God and say, “I don’t have anything to give except this little bit. They need more than I have to give.”

I wonder if we frustrate God or if He just laughs sometimes at our lack of faith and trust in Him. If you feel like you have nothing to give to someone else, you are mistaken. God doesn’t care how little or how much you have. What He cares about is are you willing to give. God can take your little and multiply it. You just have to put it in His hands and trust Him with it.

After the disciples gave the food to Jesus, He broke it and blessed it. In order for God to multiply you to help many, you have to be broken. The more you allow God to break you, the more He can use you. When you are broken, you only have Him to rely on. When you have been broken, only then can you relate to others who are broken. It’s in our brokenness that God shows Himself to us the most. Many of us fight being broken because it hurts and we don’t want to go through the difficult times. When you fight it or avoid it, you limit what God can do with you. The amount to which God can use you depends on the amount you are willing to be broken.

Once you have been broken and blessed (yes it is a blessing to be broken), you must give of yourself. Jesus wasn’t the one who fed the crowds. He told the disciples to. You must take the broken pieces of your life and give them to others. It’s not His job to do it. It’s yours. The disciples noticed the crowd was hungry, not Jesus. We too must notice when others are hurting and hungry and give of ourselves. You may not have 5000 people who need a piece of you right now, but I guarantee there’s at least one. When you learn to give to one, God can then start to use you to help many.

When you see someone in your life who needs a touch from God, be willing to offer yourself to God to help them. Don’t complain that you can’t do it or that you don’t have anything to offer. You do. You have a certain skill set that no one else has. You have certain experiences that no one else has. You may be the only person who can reach them, feed them or help them, but you must be willing to put your life in God’s hands. You must be willing to be broken and given out. At the end of the miracle, Jesus sent the disciples back out to gather up the leftovers and there were baskets full. If you will give God your little, He’ll use you and multiply that little until you are overflowing.

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September 12, 2012 · 7:14 AM

Removing Your Training Wheels

I remember when I was five years old. My grandmother bought me a bike. I absolutely loved it. I rode it up and down the driveway, across the street and to the neighbor’s house. I can still hear the training wheels scuff the ground and make popping sounds as they crushed sand and went over rocks. There came a day though when my dad had to remove the training wheels. They started to become something that slowed me down rather than to speed up.

Dad held onto the back of my banana seat and ran with the bike as I pedaled. I felt just as safe with him there as I did with the training wheels. I realized that I was going faster than I ever had with training wheels on. You could see my smile clear across Texas as I pedaled. Then, I looked back to see if my dad was enjoying it as much as I did. When I saw him way behind me, not holding on anymore, I got scared, panicked and wrecked. We tried again and again until I realized I could do it.

I think God does that with us. When we are new in our faith, we have training wheels. We take it slowly, but we have movement and freedom like never before once we believe. But there comes a time when we have to exercise our faith. The training wheels have to come off and we have to trust God fully. It can be scary when you are being grown. We might even fall a couple of times. The disciple Peter did.

Jesus removed the training wheels from the disciples after thy had been with him for some time. He put them in a boat and told them to sail across the Sea. He would meet them on the other side. He let go of the boat and let them sail on their own. It should have been no big deal since many were fisherman. When a storm came, they began to panic because they were all alone.

Jesus came walking to them on the water and said, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here.” Just like a parent after their kid’s initial wreck on the bike, Jesus came to them to calm them down and to help them. After the encouragement, Peter decides he’s ready to try again. He steps out of the boat and begins to exercise his faith. I’m sure you could see his smile all across Galilee as he realized he was doing it. About that time, he panicked and started to sink. Jesus helped him up and they continued to walk on water.

Our faith never really grows until we exercise it. God allows opportunities in life to trust Him and to build our faith. Just because it feels like He has let go and is allowing you to pedal, doesn’t mean He isn’t watching you or is right there to help you if you crash. We all crash. We all fall. It’s what we do after that that matters. Are you willing to get back on the bike? Are you willing to step out of the boat even in a storm to trust God and to exercise your faith?

He’s watching you, cheering you on and calling out to you, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here.” He hasn’t left you or forsaken you and He never will. Like a good parent, He helps you grow and do more than you ever thought you could. There are times when He is running behind you, holding onto the banana seat of your life helping you along. Then there are times when He lets go and cheers you on. Wherever you are in life, know that He is with you and growing you because He knows what is best for you.

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September 6, 2012 · 7:48 AM

When God says “No”

I was letting my 19 month old son explore the front yard the other day. As he walked around, he pointed at different things, jibber jabbered about them, laughed and walked on. We did this for a while before he noticed the street. Once he saw it, he immediately headed for it. I told him “no”, but he kept going. I finally stood in his way to prevent him from going in the street as I told him “no”. He began to cry and try harder to get there. Ultimately, I was successful in preventing him from getting in the street.

Because I told him “no” and prevented him from going into the street, does that make me a bad dad? No. Because I did it to protect my son now and in the future. So why do we think God is being mean or bad when He tells us “no”? We are much like my son. We have an idea and we want to do it, but God sees the bigger picture. He says “no” in order to protect us. Does that mean He loves us less? Of course not. It probably means He loves you more.

When God tells you “no”, He is doing what any good parent would do. He is making sure you don’t walk into danger that you can’t see. My son is not old enough to understand the dangers of the street, but I am. I prevent him from going out there because I love him. In the same way, God will often tell you “n”o or prevent you from doing something you really want to do. He’s not saying you will never get to do it, but right now you aren’t ready.

My pastor used to say that God’s “no” is as good as His “yes”. Let that sink in for a second. When God says “no”, it is as good as Him saying “yes”. You see that even when God says “no”, His will for you is perfect. He knows your future and has a plan for you and your life. When you try to deviate from that plan, He often says “no” in order to keep you in His plan for your life. We end up crying and throwing a fit though because it’s not what we want.

I wonder if it’s as embarrassing for God when we throw a fit as it is for us when our kids throw a fit. That’s exactly what we are doing when we don’t get our way. We shake our fist at heave and tell God that He doesn’t love us or we try to make a deal with Him. “If you let me do this, I’ll do that,” we tell God. We’ll even promise to go to Africa and be a missionary if only He would grant this one thing!

God is a good father. He sees you, knows you and what is best for you. Like my son, we don’t know what’s best for us. We just know what we want. God will take care of you and your needs if you will trust Him. To complain and fight against Him when He says “no”, is to tell Him you know better than Him. In my life, I’ve learned that I don’t know better than Him. I’ll do what proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

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September 5, 2012 · 7:46 AM

Surviving the Wilderness

When I was a teenager, I was involved in a scouting program that my denomination has. One of the merits that we had to earn was the Survival badge. There were several things we had to do to get it. The last thing we had to do was to go on a survival camp out. My commander Jamie took a group of us about 45 minutes away, explained to us that we had been in an airplane crash, what the rules were and that he’d be back the next day when we gave the distress signal.

When he left, I became the oldest person in the group of teenagers. We were out in the wilderness alone. Later I would find out that Jamie wasn’t too far off. He wasn’t just going to leave a bunch of boys out in the wilderness by themselves! Thinking we were alone until morning, I got to work. I knew that we only had a certain amount of daylight left. I built a shelter, gathered wood, started a fire, pulled some string and stink bait from my survival kit, made a hook out of wood and set a line in a pond nearby.

Jamie did what God does when we are in the wilderness of life. He prepared us for what was coming. He gave us the tools we needed to be successful in a time of survival. He taught us how to trap food in the wild, clean it, cook it and how to build a shelter. God prepares us as well. When you are in the wilderness, survival is key. You need to eat spiritually. Get into God’s Word and hear His voice through scripture. Surround yourself with others who can help you survive. They will be your shelter.

The next thing Jamie did was to take us to the wilderness to test us and to show we learned what he had taught us. God allows us time in the wilderness to put into action what we have learned. In Matthew 4:1, the Bible says that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted, tested and tried. God knows that when you put into practice the knowledge you have been given, it becomes skill. In those times, God proves to you that you can survive with Him.

While we were in the wilderness of East Texas, we felt alone out there. That’s true of us when we go through things in life. It can seem like God is no where near us and that we are left to survive without Him. That’s not the case though. Just like Jamie was for us, God is near by and is watching you, keeping you safe and making sure you are taken care of. It may not feel like it, but He is there. He sees you, He’s prepared you and now He’s watching over you.

The last thing Jamie said before he left was that when we had survived the night, we needed to send up a distress signal and he would come for us. God knows you can survive the night in the wilderness and is waiting for you to signal Him to come rescue you. In Psalm 91:14,15 the Lord says, “When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them.” He made that promise to you.

If you are in the wilderness today and are trying to survive, know that God has given you what you need to survive. He has given you shelter (Psalm 91:1). He has given you the tools to survive (Psalm 119:105). He is right there with you. He will not leave you nor forsake (abandon) you (Hebrews 13:5). When you have survived the night with His help, He will come to you and minister to you. You are not alone. You can and will survive this.

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September 4, 2012 · 10:32 AM

Raise someone to life

“You are not a failure.” Those were the words my brother spoke to me at one of the lowest points in my life. When my world came crashing down and everything I had done fell like a house of cards, I felt like a failure. His words to me changed what I thought about myself. He saw beyond the temporary circumstances that I was facing and spoke to who I was.

Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. You have an opportunity each day to kill someone or to resurrect their life just by the power of your words. What you say matters. Even your off the cuff comments that seem like jokes can cut someone to their core. I know because I’m guilty of it even though I’ve made an effort in my life to speak positively of and to others.

Making that change and effort in my life has started to show its fruit through my son. One of my his favorite words is “bravo.” He learned that word before he learned the word “no.” I get excited every time I hear him say it because I know that he is learning to praise others even at an early age. Bravo is such a simple word, but it speaks volumes to the person who hears it. Bravo. You did an amazing job. Bravo. You are an exceptional person. Bravo. You deserve praise and I’m giving it to you.

Words are powerful. We don’t really grasp how powerful they are until someone speaks something to or about us. When your parents, spouse, relative or boss says something good to you or about you, it lifts your spirits and your day. They may never know how they changed your life or perspective just by saying a simple phrase that told you how amazing you are.

In the same way, you may never know the lives you’ve changed or touched by the words you’ve said. Look for the good in others. Jesus did. He looked at Peter and said, “Upon this rock, I will build my church (Matthew 16:18).” Jesus knew that Peter would soon betray Him. He could have easily said, “This guy has wasted the last three years of listening to me. He is going to deny that he even knows me.” That would have been devastating, but Jesus doesn’t do that. He speaks life to us. He sees in us what we don’t see.

When we feel like a failure or life has us down, God looks beyond that. He sees you for who you are. You are His child, His creation, His masterpiece. Yes, you are God’s masterpiece! You were created by Him in His image. You were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). When God sees you, He sees who He made you to be and calls it out in you just like He called out the rock that was in Peter.

Just as God has chosen to speak life to you, you can speak life into someone else today. People are often negative because thats what they hear from others. Maybe no one has ever spoken life into them and they are acting out the way that someone has spoken to them. People believe what others say about them. Bypass the negative in someone and see what God sees in them. Speak to that in them and tell them bravo!

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August 31, 2012 · 8:43 AM

Why bad things happen to good people

In my yard I have several crape myrtle trees. Every year I watch around town for when I’m supposed to prune them. It’s usually in the winter just before spring. When it’s time, I take my clippers and start cutting back on them. If there are dead branches, I cut them off at the tree. For all the others, I trim back to a few inches from where they split off. When the spring time comes, they blossom and bloom even more than the year before.

In John 15, Jesus said that God does the same to us. He said that the branches that don’t produce fruit are cut off and thrown away. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that the fruit we are to produce in our lives is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. When I read that, I began to think about the fruit in my life. Am I producing that fruit? How much of it am I producing? What do I need to do to produce it?

In the same passage in John, Jesus says that everyone who does produce fruit is then pruned so that they will produce more fruit. Ouch. So even if I am producing fruit, I am going to be pruned. Jesus wants us to produce more fruit all the time. He recognizes that the only way to produce more is to provide an opportunity for growth. That’s what pruning does. It trims us back so we can have a greater opportunity for growth.

Most of us don’t like or want to be pruned. When it happens, we ask God why are bad things happening to me when I’m doing everything right. We’ve all heard the question asked “Why do bad things happen to good people”. Well it happens to give you an opportunity to grow. If things aren’t happening in your life that are pruning you, that’s when you should be concerned.

If you aren’t being pruned throughout the seasons of your life, you need to find a way to start producing fruit. You need to take a hard look at your life and see what fruit you are producing. Chances are, it’s not the fruit listed above. If it were, you be getting pruned so that you would produce more. We all produce fruit in our lives. Our actions produce results. Our results show God, others and ourselves what’s important to us. There is a law of sowing and reaping.

If you sow time I to other’s lives, you will reap love. If you sow forgiveness, you will reap joy. If you sow understanding, you will reap peace. On the other hand if you sow selfishness, you will reap loneliness. If you sow bitterness, you will reap hate. What you do matters and will come back as fruit in your life. God wants us to produce good fruit in our lives so that others will be able to see Him through us.

God recognizes and knows that to produce more of the good fruit in your life, He will have to prune you. Yes, even if you ate a good producer, He knows that you can always produce more. Without pruning, we can only produce so much of each fruit. When He does prune us, He creates more opportunity to produce than ever before.

So why do bad things happen to good people? To give them the opportunity to grow and to produce more than ever before. If you are being pruned right now, stop and thank God instead of questioning Him. It means that He thinks you are producing good fruit and He has bigger plans for you. Trust in Him and in His plan for you. Handle the pruning with grace and look forward to the next time of harvest in your life.

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August 28, 2012 · 7:14 AM

Why I’m burnt out on religion

I’ve seen first hand what the effects of religion are. I’ve seen people who are forced to follow strict guidelines or risk being shunned by their community. I’ve watched people mutilate their body in hopes of paying some kind of penance. People do a lot of unnecessary things to themselves and to others all in the name of religion. It’s very sad to see.

Religion often seeks to control others. It uses rules and regulations to force people into doing things in order to earn their way into the afterlife. By keeping people guessing about their assurance of their salvation, they can manipulate them into doing whatever they ask. People comply and the follow in the name of this or in the name of that, but really it’s in the name of whoever is trying to control them by fear.

Jesus did not come to bring fear or to control you. It’s just the opposite. II Timothy 1:7 says that God has given us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. He gives us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind, we won’t be controlled or manipulated by religions that seek to do that. Even in Christianity there are those who seek to manipulate and control through fear.

In Galatians 5:1, it says that it was for freedom that Christ set us free. Jesus didn’t die on the cross so you could be bound by religion and the rules that come along with it. He came to bring freedom from religion. He knew that the only way to have a true follower is if it were by choice. He wants to have a relationship, not a dictatorship.

Another thing that religion does is to condemn people. Condemnation uses shame and judgement to make someone feel bad. By using condemnation, religion seeks to elevate itself by tearing down those who follow it. Those who are under condemnation can never be good enough or do enough. They can never be sure of their salvation, but they keep trying in hopes of making it when they die.

Jesus said in John 3:17 that He did not come to condemn the world, but that through Him, the world might be saved. Where religion brings condemnation, Christ brings salvation. His message was not Hell, fire and brimstone. It was love, compassion and forgiveness. He desires to spend eternity with His creation and made a way for that to happen by paying the high cost of giving His life for you.

Religion also seeks to make you conform. It wants to make you conform into its image, not God’s. It doesn’t want you to be who God made you to be, it wants you to be who they think you should be. When you lose who you are, you are more likely to blindly follow their rules. As mentioned before, Jesus wants you to be free.

He wants to take who you are, all of your successes, failures, scars and shortcomings to use them for His purpose. When you become His follower, he doesn’t make you conform. Instead He makes you transform! Romans 12:2 says that we should not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the entire renewal of your mind. This transformation starts with renewal. You get a fresh start spiritually. Jesus wants to give you a renewed hope and future.

I know what it’s like to be religious and to try to impose religion on others. Jesus didn’t do it that way and neither should we. Where religion seeks to control, condemn and conform you, Christ wants to set you free, forgive you and renew you. In fact, Christianity is the opposite of religion. It is not a set of rules and regulations as some would have you believe. It’s about having a relationship with a God that loves you more than you can comprehend. It’s about living for the One who died for you. While there are those who seek to make Christianity act like religion, that was not Jesus’ intent. He came to bring life and peace. There is freedom in Jesus.

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