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To Who Do We Talk

April 15, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

What would it be like to sit down and have a one-on-one talk with your favorite pastor or evangelist? How would you feel having some time of personal fellowship with Billy Graham or any one of thousands of leaders you could think of who you feel is really on fire and in touch with God.

First off, this is never going to happen. These big name pastors and teachers are so unapproachable that most people will never even speak to them. The thought of having true fellowship is basically an impossibility. By true fellowship, I’m not talking about sitting in their service for an hour looking at the back of someone’s head and listening to what this person is telling you they think God is saying. No, I mean actually spending time together, talking together, discussing, and getting to know one another.

I guess the main point is why do we Christians think like this? Why do we think it would be so great if we could talk to these religious superstars.

Jesus is building His Church out of living stones, namely us, who are saved by His grace. We are His Church, and we are told we are all kings and priests. There is no one who should be over us other than Christ, who is the Head of the body, His Church.

Why is it we think so much about talking with people who are really no different than us, no higher in the Kingdom, no better in God’s eyes, when we can talk directly to our Father Himself. Anytime, anywhere, we can speak to and have fellowship with our Father.

Why is it we are more impressed talking with another human being when we can talk with Him?

Obviously, we need fellowship with one another, and fellowship is talking and spending time getting to know one another, caring for one another and encouraging one another. But we need to get past this idea of looking up to fellow believers. We need to look to Christ, who is our head. Don’t look so much to people when we can go directly to our Father.

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Who to Follow

April 4, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

It’s amazing to me how many different voices there are in the ‘Christian’ world vying for our attention.

Everyone has their own thoughts and interpretations. I think we can learn something from everyone. Whether it is something new, a better way of doing things, a different way of thinking, or just realizing we don’t agree with what we heard and it bolsters our own view.

The problem is that everyone has an opinion. That doesn’t mean everyone is right or wrong. God works in each of us in different ways, and what may be right for one person isn’t right for another.

We need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit each day, and ask that He leads us into truth.

Our relationship with the Father is a day by day lifestyle. What we know and understand today may be completely different from what we believed when we were younger. What we believe today will probably change in the future. God leads us into His truth in His timing, as we are ready and open to it.

Our goal is to daily seek God’s guidance through the Spirit, and seek His truth. We need to focus on Christ. To many of us want to put our focus on a man, a popular evangelist or pastor. Obviously we can learn from listening to others views and opinions, but when we focus on people we can get off track and confused very easily.

Everyone has a different opinion. You can listen to one person or group and hear what they think is the truth, then find another person or group who has a completely different take on the same subject.

The only way to get past all the different views and opinions is to focus on Christ. He will teach us and lead us into the truth. That isn’t to say we are all going to think and feel the same way on everything. God deals with us personally and in different ways. The problem is when we are shown something or lead in a particular way, we expect everyone to see it our way and believe the same thing.

It’s time we become what we say we are, followers of Christ. Stop being followers of men. Nothing wrong with listening and hearing others views, but take it as that. It is their view, it is not Gospel. Only Christ is the one to follow. Only Christ is to be our everything.

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Two Ways of Life

March 26, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

Galatians 3:10-13: For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”.

Today’s Christian seems to live in two worlds. Not only the spiritual world and the earthly world, but the Old Covenant and New Covenant world. The problem with the Old and New Covenant combination is that if we don’t live by and obey all things written in the Law, we are living under a curse.

The Law was given to the ungodly as a tutor and guide to show us that on our own, we can’t measure up. We can’t live a life acceptable to God and the perfection He demands. Righteousness doesn’t come through the Law, and if it did, then Christ died needlessly. Jesus came into this world born under the Law. He lived and taught it for the first 33 years of His life. When He died, the Old Covenant came to an end because Jesus lived a perfect life and fulfilled the Old Covenant. When He rose from the grave, the New Covenant began.

By accepting the grace He provided, we can live a life pleasing to God. God sees Christ in us, and we are now counted as holy and righteous in His sight. The Law is no longer needed for those saved by grace. We are free, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law. We now live under the New Covenant, one that is a free gift provided to us by Christ. We now live by Christ’s commands to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and love others as ourselves.

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Where’s the love

March 13, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

Jesus command in the New Covenant is to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love others as ourselves. So why is there so much disagreement and arguing over matters that none of us really have any control over.

Christians especially can’t seem to get along. There are so many different denominations and groups, all because we can’t agree on our doctrines and interpretations of the Bible.

I think we are all, Christians and non-Christians alike, people of faith. We all have faith in something. The thing is, we fight and argue over our faith and beliefs, yet none of us can prove our faith one way or another.

We get mad at each other because we have different views. We separate ourselves and think less of each other, yet we can’t prove what we believe. We’ll condemn and convict others, yet there is always the chance that what we believe may be wrong.

Why is it that we can’t just accept one another. We can have our beliefs, interpretations and ideas, yet not force them on others. We shouldn’t expect everyone to believe just like we do. God teaches us and brings to light new truths over time as we are ready for them.

Rather than fight and argue over what we believe, and try to force our beliefs on others, why can’t we just love one another like God commanded? Why can’t we just love God and others and accept them for who they are, where they are and leave the rest to God.

Rather than look at people of this world according to what they believe, and who or what they have faith in, I think to be more like Jesus we should be loving and accepting them just the way they are. This isn’t to say everyone can live the way they want without consequences. It isn’t to say everyone will come to God in their own way, that all roads lead to God. Christ came for the purpose of redeeming fallen, sinful mankind and restoring fellowship between people and God. It is by grace, provided by Christ, that we come to the Father.

Reading about the life of Christ, we see a man who loved people. A man who accepted people for who they were. He didn’t condemn them, He didn’t separate himself from those who were different. Jesus loved them. To be Christ-like in our world today, I think we should do the same.

No matter what we believe, what our faith is in, what interpretation we have, none of us can prove a thing. None of us has any control over it. It is all in God’s hands. So why spend so much time fighting and arguing. Let’s allow the love of Christ to flow out of us to touch a world that is so desperate for true love and acceptance.

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The religious way or God’s way

March 6, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

Jesus didn’t come to start a new group or new religion. He came to provide fellowship with the Father by cleansing us from our sinful nature.

Christianity is not a religion. True Christianity is a relationship with God. I think it is more accurate to say we are followers of Christ.

The Church is not an organization, it is a living organism. It is not a denomination, it is not Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or any other man-made group based on a doctrine you are expected to believe and follow. The Church is all of us who have trusted in the grace of God provided by the sacrifice of Christ. We are all kings and priests and ministers of God. We are all equals and are holy and righteous in God’s sight because of Christ​​.

There are many people involved in organized religion who truly love God and who are wanting to live in close fellowship with God. There are many pastors who truly feel called to preach and lead in their congregation. The problem with modern day church is not the people who love God, it is the organized system itself that says you have to be involved and support the system to truly be a Christian.

For those who have left organized religion, many are looked down upon and called back-sliders. They are said to have walked away from God and avoid fellowship by not attending church. Truth is, fellowship was never required to happen in a certain place, at a certain time, on a certain day. Fellowship happens anywhere, anytime two or three gather in His name.

As followers of Christ, we should be loving and accepting of everyone we meet, whether in church, out of church, believer or non-believer. Many in the church today want to prove their point and argue with those of different interpretation, doctrine, those who don’t attend church and those who are not believers. Jesus told us under the New Covenant we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and love others as we love ourselves. That doesn’t mean we have to agree with everyone, but it is not our job to point out others sins and mistakes. We are not to condemn and convict. The Holy Spirit will work in each person’s life in His time and His way. We are to love. Jesus loved and hung out with all kinds of people. Funny thing, it seems the ones He had the most problem with were the religious people, the ones who thought they were better than all those sinful, second class people that Jesus associated with.

​A lot of us Christians will argue that we are called to be separate and come out from among them, thinking that means we separate ourselves from the sinful people of the world. Jesus said he came for the sick, those who needed a physician. Being separate cannot mean we don’t associate with people of the world. Jesus said we are in the world, but not of it. We don’t need to separate ourselves into Christian churches, Christian schools, Christian clubs etc. We are to live daily in the world, rubbing shoulders with those who are not part of the ‘religious’ crowd. We are to be Jesus’ hands and feet on earth today and show everyone we meet the love of Christ, not the condemnation of religion.​

We should love and accept everyone, male-female, black-white, rich-poor, Hindu-Muslim-Atheist-Christian, gay-straight. We are called to love and accept all people. Stop letting the religious spirit separate us from the ones that God loves. He wants to show His love through us. Again, loving and accepting people doesn’t mean we agree with them, or approve of what they do, it is not our job to be the judge. Let the love of God flow out of you to everyone you see each day. Don’t worry who they are, what they believe, what they do, just love them with the love of Christ. Everything else is in God’s hands.

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Grow in Grace

February 20, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

2 Peter 3:18 — but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen

We are saved by Grace. A one time event of Christ dying on the cross provided all we needed to be saved from the curse brought upon us through Adam.

But Grace itself is an ongoing, daily event. We aren’t saved and then just sit around and wait to go to Heaven. Jesus told us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. We learn more about Christ and the grace He provided by daily dying to ourselves.

By Grace our sinful nature is crucified, dead and buried. By Grace we are resurrected in the power of Christ and it is His spirit that now lives within us. By grace we are now hidden in Christ, and He is seated at the right hand of God (Colossian 3:1-3). We don’t just wait until we die our natural life to enter His Kingdom, we now live in the Kingdom of God.

He said we must decrease, and He must increase. Only by dying to self and emptying our natural human desires can there be room for Christ to increase.

When we realize that only by dying (spiritually speaking) and allowing the life of Christ to dwell within us, can we truly follow Him. It has been said that a dead man has no worries. When we are dead to self, and alive to Christ, it is His life that is within us. His desires become our desires. His thoughts become our thoughts.

We are saved by Grace, we can’t buy it, can’t earn it, can’t do anything to pay God back for it. Each day we can commit ourselves to God, ask Christ to live through us and daily deny the human nature and selfish desires that separate us from true fellowship with the Father.

Grace is an ongoing, daily lifestyle. It is our choice to commit to Him. When we do, we will continue to grow in grace and knowledge of Him, and will enjoy our fellowship with our Father.

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The Word or the words

February 6, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This verse clearly states that Jesus is the true, living, inerrant Word of God.

Not to sound sacrilegious, but sometimes we Christians can actually make to much of the Bible. People will hold it up and say it is the word of God and worship it more than we worship Christ. Christ is the true Word of God. He is the living and powerful Word and His Spirit lives within us.

In John 5:39 and 40, Jesus told the religious leaders “you study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life”. The religious leaders of the day spent so much time studying the scriptures that they missed the Living Word standing right in front of them.

The written words of God contained in the Bible are inspired by God, but the Bible isn’t the whole picture. God does not live in time like we do. He has no beginning and no end. The written words of God are stories of only a certain recorded period of time.

God won’t do anything that is contradictory to His Word, but we need to remember the Bible is the written words of God and Jesus, living in us by the Holy Spirit, is the true and living Word of God. We were given the Holy Spirit to be our companion, guide, teacher and comforter, and He will lead us into all truth.

This certainly doesn’t mean we don’t need to read the Bible, but we do need to keep it in its proper place.

Jesus is who we are to look to for everything. He is the Word. He is our all in all.

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Take It To The Board in Prayer

January 31, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

In the Old Testament, people were always going to the high priest to get their requests made known to God. There was always a mediator because the common person was not allowed access to the Father.

When Jesus came and died, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This was God doing away with the barrier and giving access to all people to have direct communication with Him.

To many times today, we want to stay under the Old Testament law and way of life. We want to run to the board of elders or the pastor and ask them to pray for us. No man is to be our head, only Christ.

We seem to forget that we don’t need the board of elders or the pastor. God our Father has provided direct access to Himself that we might come before Him and make our requests known. Christ is the head of His Church, which is made up of us living stones. We are the Church and through the work of Christ, we have direct access to the Father.

I don’t understand why so many people want to look to another person, and seemingly set them up on a higher level than the rest of us. There are elders in the body of Christ, but they are there as more experienced, longer-in-the-faith people to help and encourage us, not to take authority. Obviously we are to pray for one another and support one another, but we don’t look up to any person as having more authority or more power to go to God for us.

Christ has given us a great privilege to be able to go directly to the Father. Let’s not miss the opportunity by looking more to man than to our Father.

Let’s no longer take it to the board in prayer, but take it to the Lord in prayer.

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God Help Me

January 23, 2013 by DoneWithReligion

We all want and need God’s help. Or do we?

I’ve come to realize that asking for God’s help is just like saying I can do some of this myself. I just need a little extra help to get me through.

I know sometimes it seems the words aren’t that important, saying we need His help or we need His strength, but I think it is important to have the right frame of mind. Until we realize that asking for help is just the same as saying we can do some of this on our own, is a lot different than admitting that we can’t do anything on our own. He is the vine, we are the branch. We get our strength and life from Him.

It seems some of the weak areas I have in my life never changed when I was asking God for His help to overcome them. One day I realized I was constantly having the same problems time after time. I came to the point I admitted I could not do this. I told God if He didn’t give me His strength, I was going to keep right on doing the things I was trying to overcome in my own strength.

Subconsciously we all know we can’t live this life without God. Once we finally realize and consciously tell God we can’t do it, that we don’t need His help but we need His strength, then things will start to change. God is saying that His strength is sufficient. He doesn’t need our help, it’s all Him.

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What About Our Differences?

December 31, 2012 by DoneWithReligion

Have you noticed how so many times we Christians will say something that is offensive, or we are just plain argumentative. Sometimes it is done in ignorance or due to our many personalities and the way we relate to others.

Obviously we aren’t a perfect people, although God sees us as perfect because of His Grace.

Unfortunately, we still have a mind that needs to be renewed day by day, and a body that needs to be brought under control of the Spirit day by day.

I know we will not all agree on all points, we all have different interpretations, thoughts and ideas on Biblical things. God has made us all with different personalities, different upbringings and backgrounds and He speaks to us individually as He sees fit.

The thing I try to remember and would like us all to remember, we are all God’s children, all of us who have accepted the Grace Jesus provided by His death and resurrection. We all won’t see eye to eye, we all won’t have the same experiences and we all grow in Grace at a different pace and in God’s timing.

Whether we are attending an institutional church or if we don’t attend church at all, if we read the KJV, NIV, NASB or any other version of the Bible, it is the same Spirit that dwells within us and we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to love one another, care for one another and support each other as God leads us. We should try to keep our personal thoughts and interpretations to ourselves and let the love of God flow out of us to help and encourage others.

That isn’t to say we need to accept everyone’s views. We need to follow what we feel the Spirit is saying to us individually, but we don’t have to try to make everyone else accept how God is working in us either.

We need to pray daily for God to work in each of us, lead us into His truth, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and give us strength over temptation. I used to ask for God to help me over this fault or that weakness until I realized my help was just getting in the way. God doesn’t need my help because my help is insufficient. I now pray for God to give me His strength in overcoming my weaknesses, and ask for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit each morning.

Ask for His strength in loving and accepting others, and how to show love to our brothers and sisters we come in contact with each day.

We don’t have to agree on everything. We do need to love others as Christ loves us. Start out tomorrow morning praying for a fresh touch from God with His power and His love. Let us allow God to work in us, change us and give us power to live Christ-like each day.

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