The Spirit of Religion
“The Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on, some are going to give up on the faith and chase after demonic illusions put forth by professional liars. These liars have lied so well and for so long that they've lost their capacity for truth. They will tell you not to get married. They'll tell you not to eat this or that food—perfectly good food God created to be eaten heartily and with thanksgiving by believers who know better! Everything God created is good, and to be received with thanks. Nothing is to be sneered at and thrown out. God's Word and our prayers make every item in creation holy.” 1 Timothy 4:1-5 The Message
When I had my conversion experience in 2000, I was incredibly hungry for the word. So much so that I went out and bought a bible and began to read it from beginning to end. Since I didn’t attend a church, I just thought it was a good idea to read the bible and do what it said to do until I could find a church home. I got to a particular chapter in the book of Leviticus that told the Israelites not to eat pork, so I gave it up too. I felt like if God said don’t eat it, then there is probably something good about that. I hated to give it up because I really liked ham and bacon. But I loved God more, so I decided to give it up anyway.
Years later, I read this scripture and realized that giving up pork wasn’t really necessary to my faith in Christ. But by that time, my body got so used to it that I never went back. So now I don’t eat pork for health reasons, not to be holy. But this morning as I was praying I began to pray against a spirit of religion in someone’s life. And that prayer led me to this scripture again. It deals with the false teachings and deception of people who force a particular set of rules upon others in the name of religion, or as they may say, in the name of Jesus. But our faith in Christ has nothing to do with rules and regulations or who can be the most holy by abstaining from this or that. The premise behind our faith is that Christ did it for us. If you try to “be saved” by adding a bunch of restrictions to your life that God never asked you for, then you are in danger of inviting a religious spirit into your life. And the religious spirit invites a seductive spirit.
Now don’t think that I am telling you that your life should have no discipline whatsoever and that you should just do whatever you want since Christ paid it all. Any mature believer in Christ cannot live recklessly and think it’s ok. But what we learn in our walk with Christ is how to let the Holy Spirit be our guide, not our rules. If you begin to make your rules your guide, then you are basically saying that you trust them more than you trust God. And maybe in some areas of your life, you need to do that because you don’t yet know how to let God keep you in that area. But as you mature, you will have to let go of the rules and trust your position in God as His child and as someone who has committed their life to Him. God may start you with a rule, but lead to to His Spirit.
It’s like a parent raising a child. Good parents begin to let go of the reigns a little as the child demonstrates maturity in order to teach them how to function as an individual. When you are young, you need the protection of your parents who are teaching you how to function in this world. But as you get older, they have to trust that what they have sown into your life will hold you. So you don’t see many 18 year olds with a 5 year old’s “bedtime”. Or you may have a later curfew at age 16 than you did at 9. The rules tend to diminish in favor of your parents trusting you to use what they taught you to be your guide. Otherwise, you would never learn how to think for yourself.
With a religious spirit, the necessity for people to have rules to govern them is essential because the goal is for you never to think for yourself. Just follow the rules. Don’t ask any questions. It may be taught under the guise of trying to keep you holy, but in truth it is actually inviting a spirit of seduction into your life. The more rules you lay upon a person, the more their spirit will attempt to fight to be free from that bondage. Think back to kids you knew whose parents held the reigns so tightly on the children. Many of them may have even been the stereotypical “preacher’s kid”. But when they got a chance to be free, what did they do? They went BUCK WILD! I have seen some crazy examples of people who seem to live double lives, where one minute with their family they are the most straight laced kid you would ever see and the next they were going crazy in the club. I’m sure we all know people like that.
This religious spirit is subtle. But it’s effects are devastating. As the scripture says, it turns people away from the faith. It seduces them into thinking that there is some standard of behavior that is necessary at all times and if you cannot meet it, you would be better off not even trying. It makes people think that because they don’t drink or smoke or have sex or eat pork that they are better than people who do. But don’t think for one minute that these things are the source of any holiness you may have. It’s one thing to abstain from these things out of love for yourself and for your God. But it is another to do these things in an effort to be seen as holy and look down on other people for not doing them. You may very well be inviting a seductive spirit into your life. And there is no telling what that spirit will do.
This religious spirit is prevalent in our churches. And the more rules they have, the greater the devastation of people straying from the truth. They may argue and say that scripture says, “Be ye holy for I am holy” and that is why the put so much emphasis on behavior. But the scripture never said act holy. It says be holy. Holiness is a state of being not a state of doing. If you can “be” holy then all of your actions will come from that place. And the only way scripture tells us to “be holy” is to abide in Christ. Then you will “do” holy things. But if your rules lead you, you will disappoint yourself every time. And the more you disappoint yourself the easier it is to stray away. And the easier it is to stray away, the more likely it is that the seductive spirit will make you do more things that you will be ashamed of. And the more that spirit can make you ashamed, the easier it is to hide from the God who loves you anyway. And the more you hide, the more works you will want to do to get back into God’s good graces. And there the religious spirit has you. Back to a works based life, where faith in Christ is irrelevant. Who needs the cross when you have service? If your acts of service can make you clean, then the cross was unnecessary and Jesus should have just kept performing miracles. It would have been a lot less painful. But Jesus did go to the cross. Not to force you to give up meats or to not get married or to beat yourself up every time you make a mistake. He went to the cross so you can trust in the fact that there is nothing you can do to win God’s love for you. God’s love has nothing to do with you. God’s love is about God’s love for you. It is up to you to respond, not to replace it with your good deeds. Pray for us all.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Victor or Victim?
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." John 10:18 NIV
The other day, I was laying in the bed thinking about my life over the past year and a half. I have been provided for in ways that I would have never thought were possible. But I have also been in need in ways I never imagined. And on that particular day, I had an overwhelming sense of peace, even though I think most people in my financial situation would be puling their hair out. I recall that two ears ago, I made 80% more money than I did when I filed my tax return the year before. To most people that would spell financial disaster. And it does feel like that sometimes. But at the same time, I know that this is exactly where I need to be. It’s strange. I have peace in the middle of a storm, just like God promised.
But what makes it worse is that I chose this life. For some people, this type of stuff happens to them as a result of life circumstances. Maybe they lose their job, or become ill, or have to take a pay cut to care for loved ones. But for me, I choose this life, on purpose. Truthfully, that makes me feel different. Everytime, I cannot make a payment when I am used to making it, I still feel different. Everytime I am supposed to get paid for some work I did, but there is a delay, I feel different. Everytime I look at my bank account and wonder if I will have enough to go grocery shopping or get gas, I still feel different. And I feel different because I choose to do this. I am not a victim of my circumstances. No body is doing this to me. I followed my God to a place where He led me and He has promised to take care of me. And He has done just that.
Jesus spoke to his disciples about his death in the above passage. He is letting them know that no one is going to take his life from him. He is willingly laying it down for a specific purpose. And he has the authority to change his situation at anytime. There is a reason for him to have to die this way. But no one should feel sorry for him or treat him like a victim. He is doing this on purpose, as strange as this may sound. It has to be done this way.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to go where Jesus leads. And the result of some of where he leads is not always pleasant. It is not always filled with the type of financial benefits that some say we will get. It is not always filled with riches and fame. Sometimes the blessing is in the power that you have to choose not to be wealthy, and still have the same peace and authority that some people equate to money. Sometimes, what God is showing us is that it is not in having that gives you the power, it is in choosing to lay down your life, for a greater purpose that becomes the power. Because if you choose it, then you also have the power to get out of it at anytime. But if you are constantly playing the victim role, you will never be able to see your authority. No one is doing this to me, I am choosing this life and one day I will choose to take this life up again and live it with the true authority I have which is not rooted in money or possessions.
Many prosperity gospel preachers would have you believe that the moment that you start to live your life for Jesus, everything becomes easy. You suddenly have more money, more fame, better health, whatever you may need. But the truth is, if God gives you any of that stuff, then your boasting is not in having it, it will be found in giving it up. Following Christ is not about what you obtain. It is about what you sacrifice. You don’t have to be a follower of Christ to get stuff. But it takes supernatural power to give up what most people spend their life trying to get. Yet once you get it, God may ask you to give it up in order to make sure you recognize who is truly in control. Think about some of the greatest stories in the bible related to this: Abraham, Hannah, Paul, David, Jesus. There is a point in your life when you realize that anything you want can be yours if God wants you to have it. But when and if you get it, it is never about you. And your power lies in the fact that nothing but God has a hold on you. Because He gave you the power to lay down your life, and to take it up again. You are not a victim. No matter what people may think. They might feel sorry for you or think that you are not making wise decisions. But if that’s what they think, they need to see it again from another perspective. You are not being killed, you have laid down your life.
Following Jesus is not easy. Let me not lie to you. And God will not ask you to give up something you never possessed. But what you cannot give up, actually possesses you. And as long as that possesses you, you do not yet fully belong to God. When nothing in this world can hold you, you are actually more powerful than you know. I knew that when I was planning to leave my job a year and a half ago that I was going to have to quit. I was trying to plot to see if I could get fired so that I could get unemployment (true confession). But something in me knew that this was not going to work. I had to choose this. And because I chose this, I feel more powerful than life choosing this for me. It gives me strength when I need it. It gives me hope and it give me power. I can take up my life at any time, but I choose to keep going and wait for God to take me down the path. It makes me a victor and not a victim. So I encourage any of you who feel like God is calling you to lay something down, to do it. Because eventually you will not possess that thing that he is asking you to lay down. The difference will be in how much power you feel you have in the midst of it. Will you be the victim or the victor? Will you be the one blaming the devil for what he is doing or the one who knows that nothing the devil does can harm you because you chose this? It’s easy to have life happen to you, just keep living. Something's going to go wrong eventually. But laying down your life puts you on the offensive. You have the chance to choose your life and your death. You are not living as a victim. You will have more power than you will ever know.
The other day, I was laying in the bed thinking about my life over the past year and a half. I have been provided for in ways that I would have never thought were possible. But I have also been in need in ways I never imagined. And on that particular day, I had an overwhelming sense of peace, even though I think most people in my financial situation would be puling their hair out. I recall that two ears ago, I made 80% more money than I did when I filed my tax return the year before. To most people that would spell financial disaster. And it does feel like that sometimes. But at the same time, I know that this is exactly where I need to be. It’s strange. I have peace in the middle of a storm, just like God promised.
But what makes it worse is that I chose this life. For some people, this type of stuff happens to them as a result of life circumstances. Maybe they lose their job, or become ill, or have to take a pay cut to care for loved ones. But for me, I choose this life, on purpose. Truthfully, that makes me feel different. Everytime, I cannot make a payment when I am used to making it, I still feel different. Everytime I am supposed to get paid for some work I did, but there is a delay, I feel different. Everytime I look at my bank account and wonder if I will have enough to go grocery shopping or get gas, I still feel different. And I feel different because I choose to do this. I am not a victim of my circumstances. No body is doing this to me. I followed my God to a place where He led me and He has promised to take care of me. And He has done just that.
Jesus spoke to his disciples about his death in the above passage. He is letting them know that no one is going to take his life from him. He is willingly laying it down for a specific purpose. And he has the authority to change his situation at anytime. There is a reason for him to have to die this way. But no one should feel sorry for him or treat him like a victim. He is doing this on purpose, as strange as this may sound. It has to be done this way.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to go where Jesus leads. And the result of some of where he leads is not always pleasant. It is not always filled with the type of financial benefits that some say we will get. It is not always filled with riches and fame. Sometimes the blessing is in the power that you have to choose not to be wealthy, and still have the same peace and authority that some people equate to money. Sometimes, what God is showing us is that it is not in having that gives you the power, it is in choosing to lay down your life, for a greater purpose that becomes the power. Because if you choose it, then you also have the power to get out of it at anytime. But if you are constantly playing the victim role, you will never be able to see your authority. No one is doing this to me, I am choosing this life and one day I will choose to take this life up again and live it with the true authority I have which is not rooted in money or possessions.
Many prosperity gospel preachers would have you believe that the moment that you start to live your life for Jesus, everything becomes easy. You suddenly have more money, more fame, better health, whatever you may need. But the truth is, if God gives you any of that stuff, then your boasting is not in having it, it will be found in giving it up. Following Christ is not about what you obtain. It is about what you sacrifice. You don’t have to be a follower of Christ to get stuff. But it takes supernatural power to give up what most people spend their life trying to get. Yet once you get it, God may ask you to give it up in order to make sure you recognize who is truly in control. Think about some of the greatest stories in the bible related to this: Abraham, Hannah, Paul, David, Jesus. There is a point in your life when you realize that anything you want can be yours if God wants you to have it. But when and if you get it, it is never about you. And your power lies in the fact that nothing but God has a hold on you. Because He gave you the power to lay down your life, and to take it up again. You are not a victim. No matter what people may think. They might feel sorry for you or think that you are not making wise decisions. But if that’s what they think, they need to see it again from another perspective. You are not being killed, you have laid down your life.
Following Jesus is not easy. Let me not lie to you. And God will not ask you to give up something you never possessed. But what you cannot give up, actually possesses you. And as long as that possesses you, you do not yet fully belong to God. When nothing in this world can hold you, you are actually more powerful than you know. I knew that when I was planning to leave my job a year and a half ago that I was going to have to quit. I was trying to plot to see if I could get fired so that I could get unemployment (true confession). But something in me knew that this was not going to work. I had to choose this. And because I chose this, I feel more powerful than life choosing this for me. It gives me strength when I need it. It gives me hope and it give me power. I can take up my life at any time, but I choose to keep going and wait for God to take me down the path. It makes me a victor and not a victim. So I encourage any of you who feel like God is calling you to lay something down, to do it. Because eventually you will not possess that thing that he is asking you to lay down. The difference will be in how much power you feel you have in the midst of it. Will you be the victim or the victor? Will you be the one blaming the devil for what he is doing or the one who knows that nothing the devil does can harm you because you chose this? It’s easy to have life happen to you, just keep living. Something's going to go wrong eventually. But laying down your life puts you on the offensive. You have the chance to choose your life and your death. You are not living as a victim. You will have more power than you will ever know.
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