The Bondage of Religion

Have you ever thought about how controlling and stifling religion is to our lives, all the do’s & don’ts that are included in this “path to God”. And look at the rules & regulations, why even a saint can’t meet those high ideals!

So, why bother at all? Better to not even try, than to try and be a hypocrite, right?

That would be absolutely a correct statement concerning religion. Religion has been aptly described as man trying to reach God. He does this trough all kinds of rituals, rites, and sacrifice. Each form of religion has it’s own set of rules and ways they think can help them reach God (or gods), but they always fall short – nothing works!

Even the ”Christian” branch of religion finds themselves caught up in man made doctrines and practices that keep them either from reaching a relationship with God, or having a fullness of life with Christ. A lot of church doctrines are encumbered with man’s misinterpretation of what God has tried to share with us in the Bible.

We have laws on when to pray, how to pray, what rituals are acceptable for salvation (such as baptism - immersion, sprinkle, dip, dry clean..), who is acceptable to do certain functions in our church body, who can be married in our church, what qualifies us as “spirit filled”, how to tell if you are “Holy”, and the list goes on … !

The truth is – religion is man reaching out to God, while “true Christianity” is God reaching out to man. God has offered us the ability to have a new life set apart from rules & regulations that is centered in love and freedom. Christ came to “fulfill the law” that we cannot fulfill in and of ourselves. If we accept Christ as the fulfillment of all those regulations we are free! Christ said, ”That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Ro 10:9) Nothing more to it – just that simple.

As I was rereading Romans 8:1-2, I appreciated how Paul stated very clearly, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death!”.

Paul goes on to say if we live with our minds set on Christ, all those man made rules and regulations have no effect or worth in our lives. If we are a Christian with our minds centered on Christ, we are set free from the bondage of laws, and made free in Christ. Remember, Christ said, ”So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

If you are serving a religion, sorry about your luck! All you have are laws, rites, and a lot of unfulfilling pain. If you are serving Christ, choose to serve Him (not the church) and let Him give you the guidelines to follow.

Should you be in a church, or religion that is centered in bondage, and not bringing freedom in Christ – choose today to make a change. If you don’t know where to go, or don’t have a church home that helps you celebrate freedom in Christ you are more than welcome to join our church family at any time. We celebrate the love of God and freedom in Christ.

The Truth About Dad

One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"

The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't, dear," she said. "I have to sleep with Daddy."

A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: "The big sissy."

This story carries a big message. Our children interpret life by how they have been trained to deal with life from their parents, and expressly fathers.

What is the message that we have been conveying to our children as fathers? Is it one of fear, self centeredness, harshness, greed, addictions, ????? - or, is it one of a life centered in Christ and His truth?

The Bible clearly places the father as the spiritual leader of the home and calls us to teach them at all times in everything that we do, just as it states in Deuteronomy 6:

“ 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. 8 Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

As we train our children in this manner they will not see us as a self-centered sissy, but rather a loving, caring, man of strength that helps them mature into complete adults.

How do your children view you, and what are they learning?

Clocking In

When I was in college one of my summer jobs was being a welder’s helper at Crane Company in Alliance, Ohio. We made bathtubs, sinks and other house and bathroom fixtures.

Every morning I would clock in with the rest of the men at 7:00 am and head to my department to find the head welder and start my day of great adventures. I had worked at my uncles welding shop in High School, and was looking forward to honing my skills as a welder – what an opportunity! The task I was hired to help with was constructing a new overhead conveyer track that would be needed for a new automated line once they got it up and running.

I was soon to find out that what I was hired for was not what we did! Our routine went something like this. We would go directly to the break room and get a cup of coffee and a roll. Then, we would make our way down through the shop talking with everyone and anyone who would talk. By noon we usually made it to the area where we were suppose to work on the new conveyer – but hey, it was noon so we would head back and have lunch. Following lunch we would go back a different direction with some of the same process.

After arriving in the area after lunch we would only have a couple hours of the day left, so, we really couldn’t start anything serious by that time. I would spend my time sweeping the area, moving parts around, and whatever else it took to look busy while he talked to everybody in the area and those who walked by.

After a month of this I asked him when we were going to start the work. His answer amazed me – “Don’t worry about it kid. When they really need it done they will send a crew over here and we will have it up in no time, till then just look busy.” He also told me later that if I would just play my cards right and follow him – once I was union I wouldn’t have to really work the rest of my life, just clock in, look busy, and collect my pay check.

Obviously I didn’t stay around long. The money was great – but I was literally getting sick from the stress of doing nothing.

I think a lot of people treat church the same way, they just clock in and out feeling that in some way they will appease God by just showing up, hoping it will give them a paycheck in the end. Unfortunately, this attitude misses the mark in a huge way. God doesn’t want people who clock in and out, He wants people who are always active and involved with Him and His ministry.

Just going to church means nothing, God does not take attendance at meetings – He takes notice of relationship with Him and our active involvement in worship and ministry. Worship is not something we do, it is an experience we have through the power of the Holy Spirit. Every person should be involved in worship.

Christ demanded that we go and make disciples. This doesn’t mean we put signs up inviting people to church. Rather it means that we personally get involved in people’s lives to help bring them to Christ, then nurture them into a solid relationship with God.

When you head for church, read your Bible, sit on a committee at the church, …. – are you actively involved or just clocking in with the hope you’ll get paid?