You don’t have to have a “stiff upper lip” when it comes to being real with God… I’ve been thinking a lot about this, the spirit of religion is one that runs rampant. What is the spirit of religion? Jesus defined it in Matthew 15:8:
“‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men’.”
GOD LOOKS AT YOUR HEART
I wince when people call me “religious” (I’m wincing even as I write that). Going to church on Sunday is a good thing, Hebrews 10:25 says:
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Which when you think about it, makes sense because we are part of the body of Christ. We NEED each other, especially in a world that has decided to leave God and the Bible out of most everything. (I’m rolling my eyes).
BUT
Church does NOT save you! You CAN get saved by attending church but it is not in the attending church that saves you. People have made going to church a religious, family tradition. Traditions do NOT save you. Works do NOT save you. What saves you is making the decision to repent and accept Jesus as the Savior, make Him Lord over your life. Some people may read my words and be offended, but I have to speak the Word of God… It’s ALL in the Bible. I like the way the TLB version of the Bible says it, in Isaiah 64:6 says:
“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we put on our prized robes of righteousness, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves we fade, wither, and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.”
YOU CANNOT EARN HEAVEN.
So many people try and try and try to “be good enough” but Jesus came because we CANNOT be “good enough” – John the Baptist said it right in John 1:29:
“Behold, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!”
There is no clearer scripture than John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Listen – GOD SEES YOU. Right now. Right at THIS moment where you are at. He sees the good, the bad and the ugly and guess what? HE LOVES YOU ANY WAYS! Stop trying to get your stuff together before you come to Him. Heck, to be honest with you, “getting your stuff together” is a process that Holy Spirit has been sent to help you out with! We CANNOT “get our stuff together” but we CAN allow God, through Holy Spirit show us what needs changing and allow Him access to help us change it! Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean that life will get easier – it means that we are coming into agreement with God’s Word and recognizing that we’ve always needed Him. God created us to be in fellowship with Him! And dear reader, there truly IS nothing sweeter than accepting Jesus as Savior, allowing Him the rightful place in your heart to be Lord over your life – DAILY, not just recognizing Him on Sunday! What is He to you ALL the rest of the week? Tell me how you would feel if you were professing to be in a relationship with someone who only wants to see you once a week for an hour or two, who never reads your love letters that you specifically have written with them in mind (as God did the Bible) and who totally only comes to you when in the greatest of need – that’s all? I don’t know about you, but that kind of relationship wouldn’t fly right with me. God wants MORE of you! He wants ALL of you! And let me testify to you that there is NO sweeter love than being in a relationship with Him. NOTHING can compare to it!
You don’t need to shy away from God. You need to RUN as fast as you can straight into your Father’s arms! LET HIM LOVE YOU! LET HIM REIGN IN YOUR LIFE! LET HIM SHOW YOU HIS WONDERS – HE WILL! And THAT my friend, is the OPPOSITE of “religion.” You don’t have to be in your “Sunday’s finest” in order to spend time with the Father. Believe me, I KNOW. COME AS YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, with whatever it is you are feeling… You don’t have to speak “fancy words” just talk to Him. YOU BE YOU. The truth of the matter is you can’t hide anything from Him. He knows your thoughts before you even think them (see Psalm 139 below). So why be fake? Why try and put on a good front? BE REAL with God. Because when you are not, the only one you are fooling is yourself… Your Father wants you to have a real conversation with Him. Heart to heart. Down and dirty. REAL. And once you do, you will feel oh so much better! TRY IT. Take a look at Psalm 139 in totality:
“Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do. Lord, even before I say a word, You already know it. You are all around me—in front and in back— and have put Your hand on me. Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand. Where can I go to get away from Your Spirit? Where can I run from You? If I go up to the heavens, You are there. If I lie down in the grave, You are there. If I rise with the sun in the east and settle in the west beyond the sea, even there You would guide me. With Your right hand You would hold me. I could say, “The darkness will hide me. Let the light around me turn into night.” But even the darkness is not dark to You. The night is as light as the day; darkness and light are the same to You. You made my whole being; You formed me in my mother’s body. I praise You because You made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What You have done is wonderful. I know this very well. You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body. When I was put together there, You saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me were written in Your book before I was one day old. God, Your thoughts are precious to me. They are so many! If I could count them, they would be more than all the grains of sand. When I wake up, I am still with You. God, I wish You would kill the wicked! Get away from me, You murderers! They say evil things about You. Your enemies use Your name thoughtlessly. Lord, I hate those who hate You; I hate those who rise up against You. I feel only hate for them; they are my enemies. God, examine me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life.”
The most important decision you will ever choose to make is in deciding to accept Jesus Christ as Savior, and choosing to make Him Lord over your life. Once you do that by praying this or something similar to this (see below), Holy Spirit comes in and becomes your Teacher, your Guide, your Comforter and growing in Christ becomes a process that will continue ALL the days of your life, until God calls you home to Him. It is a continuous process. God’s mercies, His love, His guidance, His patience, His forgiveness continues on in our lives. You don’t have to wait until you get all your “stuff” right in order to enter into a relationship with Him. Do it now. Come before Him now. Don’t know how? It’s simple, pray this with me:
“Lord, I come before You know, just as I am and thank You for leaving the glories of Heaven to meet me where I am at, right here, right now. I believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life and died on the cross for forgiveness of my sins. That He rose from the dead and is seated now at the right hand of You, interceding on my behalf and that He will return again and claim all those that belong to Him. I ask that You would please forgive me for my sins, and wash me with the precious blood of Jesus. I choose to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and to make Him Lord over my life. Please come into my life Jesus, I thank You for hearing this prayer and for answering it. In Jesus’ precious name I pray Amen.”
If you have prayed that prayer, I’m quite sure you are smiling into the screen and Holy Spirit is filling you up with the peace that passes ALL understanding. That you are feeling a warmth you’ve never experienced before – its the Father’s love flooding your soul, filling every empty crevice inside of you. It’s amazing, isn’t it? God is amazing! There is nothing like experiencing the Father’s love – and now I pray you will delve into His Word and allow Holy Spirit to reveal things to you that will astonish you! Scriptures will come alive and minister to you in ways that will make your jaw drop as you begin to have understanding and revelation like never before! That’s why it says in Psalm 34:8:
“Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
Totally different than anything you will EVER experience in your life. And the angels are rejoicing, and God your Father is smiling at you because the BEST is YET to come. God’s best.
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