JULY 26, 2014 - DAY 46 (word)

It seems as though lately God really wants to teach me about relationship with Him VS religion. Somehow despite not being taught 'religion' I've become religious. Even my hour a day with the Lord has been religious at times. It's SO easy to slip into religion. But it is so hard to get out of that mind set AND religion is so hard to follow. It's exhausting. Maybe that's why I've been so exhausted lately! (Although that has been lifting slowly - thank you God!)

So I've been slowly reading a book called 'The End of Religion' by Bruxy Cavey. What a life changing book. The three chapters I read tonight didn't seem as if they necessarily go together. Then I thought about it and they ALL go together.

The first chapter I read was about how Jesus was the Word of God. I always just took this as Jesus being God's mouth in physical form. Although true, Jesus was so much more. He was the embodiment of everything God has been telling people from the beginning. It's as if Jesus was the 'show' of what God has been 'telling". Jesus also walked out his talk too.  The chapter also discussed that although the Bible is extremely important...we don't go to it for the sake of knowing the Bible. We read the Bible in order to know Jesus. Anybody can study the Bible and not know Jesus. But since the Bible points to Jesus....hopefully we read it in order to go to Jesus. 

John 5:39 - "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!"

I know I've been guilty of this before! I read the Scriptures out of duty and not out of a heart to come to Jesus. YIKES! Anyway this chapter was a good reminder to me. 

The next chapter was about how God wants to have a relationship with us and not just the law. That out of love we do things for God and not out of duty. See the connection with the last chapter? 

The last chapter is how we should get back to the garden. How because of thanks to Jesus, we can live as if we are in the garden. Of course we HAVE sinned, but we have the ability to talk with God. To relate with him. To commune with him. To be with him. We can walk in the cool of the evening with God as Adam and Eve did. Again....relationship not religion.

What a breath of fresh air. Obviously this information still needs to go from my head to my heart...because God continually is teaching me this lesson right now in life. It's sort of exhausting to go through but so worth it. Sometimes I want to move onto the next lesson but then there wouldn't be life change. So once this lesson goes from my head to my heart I am sure we'll move onto the next life lesson. Like I have said in the past....sanctification can be a painfully slow process! 

Anyway....good lesson Lord. I don't want religion, I want YOU. I want to read the Bible so I can come to YOU! Help me with this. I don't want this to be a religious lesson for me. I want to come to you daily....moment by moment and just do life with you.