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I'm back with a follow up to the question of Relegion or Faith?
Even though I wrote this piece a while back many of you read it. While some saw the real message others stumbled through the question of which was right or wrong.
First lets get the definitions out of the way!
Religion is, to paraphrase it, following a set of rules and/or beliefs!
Faith, lets not paraphrase this, from the back of my NLT Bible which doesn't even have Religion in it.
Faith: reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God
Now, I've heard it said once by one much wiser than I, one can have religion without faith, as to follow without reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God. This was my whole point, this little Rant that turned into an article and received over one hundred comments. To many people so often seek to follow a set of rules just as those within the time of Jesus did, without faith in God we are lost. I'm pretty sure Jesus called those people dead inside.
I know many out there want to cringe when they here the words Church and for good reasons. I ask those that sit apart from the buildings called Churches if they have given up on the gift of heaven? I pray not!
The Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour did not come for the ones that prop themselves up as good enough. Jesus came to save those who could be saved (opened and willing). Jesus only asked one thing of the many he blessed with healing and that was to sin no more.
I know all to well people are not perfect, I'm sure not and just take a look at another who wasn't Paul called himself a sinner among sinners. I know in my heart that God knows full well we are not perfect either. This is why it is only through the grace of God that we can be saved.
Jesus never called for anything to be erected in his name, never called us to build great houses for worship. Its a matter of fact Jesus gave us the in dwelling spirit and made our bodies the temple so that God could live within each of us. Upon his death on the cross the curtain which was meant to separate us from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom giving way to no more personal separation from God.
To many people set themselves up as the way to God and spoon feed the so called followers. To many take this as the only way to reach God and forget God wants to live within each of us. We must not give up the very gift of life because others would lead us down dark and lonely paths never finding Gods Greatest Gift, that of His Love which is given to all that will receive it.
This is a call to those out there to revise the spirit of God living in those that have chosen to except the gifts sent by God. To resurrect the faith in God living in each of us (God has given each a measure of faith). To open the pages of the book which holds our Heavenly Fathers Word, to seek Him within the pages of the word. For if we seek we will surely find!
To set free the truth found within the pages of our Heavenly Fathers Word. Let no untruth of man send you down the wrong path, that path to the second death. I say follow no man for God will lead those with faith through His word. Allow the teaching found within Gods word to unlock those chains that bind us allow the battle won by Jesus be your victory.
Peace be with you, the children of God!
I even see the start of attacks on both side of the God issue well as some have pointed out some many times "The good old Tolerance Card" and even with their attacks going on
For some it sadly doesn't matter for those I offer up my prayers and I will ask for Gods Blessing over them.
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Comments: 35
We use to go recently to a church .. until they asked for money for everything. They wanted to build a new sanctuary when they couldn't even fill the one they had. There was nothing wrong with the building it was in good repair.
There were so many changes in a few months time that we didn't feel right, when we first began to go there we could feel the Holy Spirit and the love from the people.
So now we stay home, however this is not what we want neither. Watching a sermon isn't the same as going to church and fellowshipping with others.
I am reading the Bible; however it should be more. There is a saddness in the air, because I believe the majority have put God second and third if at all in their life's.
I see people mocking God or anyone that believes. All I can do is keep praying for my own guidence and ask God to bless those that are lost.
I know where my happiness is, but I am struggling, because it is not easy.
Blessings
WIAKAI'S JUST..CURIOUS.....I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WILL HELP, I ALSO WENT THRU THAT STRUGGLE, THE CHURCH THAT I HAVE ATTENDED OFF AND ON SINCE THE 90'S WHEN I STARTED GOING, WAS ALL ABOUT THE HEART, THEN THEY GREW AND SEEMED PRESSURED TO CHANGE THERE STANCE ON A LOT OF ISSUES, SEEMED MORE ABOUT MONEY FOR AWHILE, BUT WHAT I HAVE FOUND UNDERSTOOD OR REALIZED...WE ARE ALL PEOPLE, HUMANS."we all sin and come short of the Glory of God"..COMING TOGETHER TO WORSHIP AND PRAISE GOD...ONE IS NOT GOING TO LIKE EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYONE...THAT IS WHAT FELLOWSHIP IS ABOUT, FRIENDSHIPS, RELATIONSHIPS...IF THERE IS SOMETHING TRULY BOTHERING YOU ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR CHURCH, BE IT A DIFFERENCE OF BELIEF OR SOMETHING THEY ALLOW OR DONT ALLOW, BY ALL MEANS FIND ANOTHER CHURCH...but if not, by all means go especially IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN IS OF GRAVE IMPORTANCE TO GET INVOLVED REGULARLY IN THESE TIMES AS THEY ARE ,
THEY NEED THE HOPE AND SUPPORT..
Pastor Paul
We do not pass a collection plate at my church.....If you want to give something there is a wooden box at the back of the church to place your donations.I do not like to go to big churches,small ones fit my needs much better.
I enjoy going to Bible study,we visit each others homes for this.It is much more relaxing,and we can get deeper into the Bible...God said"Where two or three are gathered in MY name,there I will be also"
spirit strong within mine heart, mind, body and soul.
The presiding Bishop may ask any one of us to prepare
a talk for Sunday Sacrament meetings. This to me is a
great teaching for everyone is involved at one time or
another. We all get to prepare Sunday talks which I find
to be very uplifting. We have Sunday School classes in
which we have been studying the books of the Bible.We
are now in the books Luke and John. We are learning
some of the specific things we can do to follow Christ's
example of love. It is a great class to learn more about
the books of the Bible and the meanings thereof. One
cannot sit and read the Bible on their own as it is very
deep and hard to understand. That is the main reason
we have Sunday School Classes. I have grown in my own
knowledge by attending these classes each Sunday! I
do not know if this will be of any help to any one of you
that may read this. If you have any questions at all feel
free to send me an email whether pro or con, I will reply
with answers to the best of my ability.
~Barbara~
It is more than true as Christians we need fellowship with other Christians.
A Church body is what is needed for all, seek it and you will find it. Allow prayer and God's Holy spirit to guide you!
Those that seek to muck the body are left in God's hands, seek forgiveness for them through prayer. We must also know in our hearts that this is a blessing from God.
Jesus never said it would be an easy path to be on, we must learn to turn to God and seek His Love, Comfort, Peace & Joy within our lives but never forgetting the wisdom of God is not the same as worldly knowledge.
I agree with your suggestion's! Taking a stand with fellowship in mind is the better way. Never allowing mans teachings to interfere or overrule that of God's teaching.
Children learn by our example, if we walk like a duck and talk like a duck our children will become ducks. Living our walk and showing we have God's Holy spirit living within us teaches our children more than any book "accept Gods word" could ever seek to.
We would truly be lost without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to guide us on the pathway to God.
My prayers are for all to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour!
Just being in the word helps us by allowing God's word to speak to our heart & soul, it also helps us to find and stay on the path God has laid before us.
Please don't miss out on the fellowship of your Christian Brothers and Sisters, this to is a blessing. God seeks to give us everything we need, its just some feel their wants are a need.
Your books sounds like one worth reading, to see the many different struggles one must face while seeking their place within the body. Thank You for the information!
Thank you so very much for the offer of the Bibles as well.
Yes fellowship is very important but we can not stay as children needing to be fed, we must strive to mature in the Lord and to feed ourselves.
Paying our tithe to God is very important as well, we must seek to know our tithes are not being miss used by those claiming to lead us.
To be in the study of Gods words is what its all about.
Thank you!
It sounds very much like your services are very nice indeed. I just wished many more services could have such meaningful practice's as sharing in the word.
As for understanding the word, there are so many different versions of the Bible which seek to give a better understanding and I use the NLT because it helps me to understand better.
Sister Barbara, sitting down and reading the word and studying it among others is where we learn but we must strive to have our alone time with God not only in prayer but also within the Word of God as it will speak to our hearts and souls.
I'll write more when I finish reading the above comments.
"I have met many of the people you describe as "others (who) would lead us down dark and lonely paths never finding Gods Greatest Gift". Not always is it true that these people are like this intentionally, but their actions sometimes have that effect on those near them."
Three years ago we left a church under those circumstances. We have explored other churches since, but found they either taught aberrant theology, or were more interested in pursuing "mega church" status than pursuing Christ. At this point I have given up looking. I know that sounds bad, but I have a purpose. I realize no church is perfect, all will have problems. In the near future, My plans are to go back to the church we left, but only for the worship service. I plan to spend my time renewing and strenghtening my faith, "studying" God's word and pursuing Jesus as the "pearl of greatest price", before once again becoming involved in "church" again.
Your words describe my thoughts very well on this matter.
"This is a call to those out there to revive the spirit of God living in those that have chosen to except the gifts sent by God. To resurrect the faith in God living in each of us (God has given each a measure of faith). To open the pages of the book which holds our Heavenly Fathers Word, to seek Him within the pages of the word. For if we seek we will surely find!
To set free the truth found within the pages of our Heavenly Fathers Word. Let no untruth of man send you down the wrong path, that path to the second death. I say follow no man for God will lead those with faith through His word. Allow the teaching found within Gods word to unlock those chains that bind us allow the battle won by Jesus be your victory."
I could not say it better!
Thank you Philip, My freind and brother!
Seek out my brother and you will surely find!
May the Lords blessing fill your life with His Love, Peace, and Joy.
Churches have many flaws; after all they are run by frail humans. But Gods tells us "Heb 10:25 - We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming." Though I understand what you and others are saying and I agree, however my concern is that people will interpret this as you should not attend a church if you don't like it. If you don't agree with some thing we should try to change it or bring it before the elder and try to show them the error of their ways. In my understanding there should be only one reason to leave a church (assuming you made a commitment to the church), that is what is called a dead church. If you just don't like the pastor or some of the people at the church but is it is a bible teaching spirit centered church, you should try to work with the church or people make it a try place for God. I have seen far too many people leave good church because of personality clashes. Many others I noticed have left a church over their own sin or pride. Again, I appreciate your comments, but please encourage your reads NOT to "stop gathering together with other believers".
Thank you
I found this very disconcerting as there were people coming and going around me for all that time. That has made it hard for me to go back even though I love the worship service and our pastor has wonderful sermons.
Even though I am currently not attending a church, I agree with your comment.
As for myself, I did not leave my church for trivial reasons, such as a mere personality clash or not liking that particular church. I left because the leadership was distorting scripture intentionally in order to guilt people into supporting their 11 million dollar church building project. It was a clear distortion of scripture. I also raised my objection to it through my small group leadership, but was censered for it, and accused of being cynical by way of gossip. Sometime after I and my family left that church, their project failed and the leadership publicly repented for having ignored God's leading and for having proceeded in the flesh. That mistake cost them a large amount of money, and about half their membership. (Yes, I give them a lot of credit, and forgivness, for publicly repenting.) It still remains unclear, to me, that they repented of misrepresenting Scripture. A matter that I will resolve before becoming involved with them again.
I'm certianly not thinking that you personally had me in mind when you wrote your comment; I just wanted to distinguish myself from it.
But your point is well taken! No one should leave a church, especially if they had made a commitment to it, for trivial reasons. Even for reasons of emotional distress caused by fellow Christians who attend with you. Every effort should be made to reconcile, even if the problem lies in the leadership of the church.
However, any church that distorts Scripture, or teaches clearly aberrant theology or heretical teachings is not a safe place for any Christian. If it is possible to rectify the errant theologies with the leadership, that's one thing. But few Christians sitting in the pews have the ability or understanding of Biblical theology to correct a pastor (and his elders, if necessary) successfully. Which is why I said I needed to strenghten my faith, by "studying" God's word (not merely reading) and pursuing Jesus as the "pearl of greatest price", before once again becoming involved in "church" again. I'm not doing this alone, as I have a son who is a Moody Bible Institute graduate, and a youth pastor, who is helping me. (Unfortunately, his church is too far from me to make it a practical alternative, though I still sometimes consider it.)
I would suggest that anyone who has stopped attending a church, reconsider their situation to see if reconcilliation is possible. If not, find another church and start over. However, in my opinion, it may be necessary for that person to rebuild their shakend faith; to study the Bible, not just read, and study hard with the help of a trusted freind; and take some time to heal in prayer. But don't wait too long, so bitterness cannot take root.
I enjoyed your comment Robert. It was very much on point! I hope I get to hear more from you in the future.
Thank you so much!
My concerns over those that have lost interest over attending any so call churches springs from those life lessons which no one should be put through least of all from a group calling themselves a church.
I in no way advocate none fellowship of true Christians. My biggest concern is of those propping themselves up as the saved with little or no understanding nor belief in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
I also believe that a so called doctrine of a church should not come from man but from the word of God only.
I will say that if there is a way of bringing a body back into the path God has laid before us than do so, but allow the Holy Spirit to lead and direct that from Love only.
If a Church teachings do not line up with the true teachings of God and those of the Christ Jesus then I would say not to even leave the dust from the building on your feet. I do not advocate what is or isn't liked in one over a body but do see a real problem over some of the teachings within some buildings calling themselves churches.
People should always strive to walk, talk, and live their faith allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them on the true path to God.
I'm saddened by what you went through, but your focus is on those that didn't come to comfort you when it should be on the one that did. Not everyone has the heart to offer comfort whenever its needed. Many men feel discomfort over appearance and with good reasons. If a man would have come to you alone it may have appeared to others like something it wasn't.
I ask that you pray about this and allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide as I will also pray for you.
The word teaches us that our works without faith is worthless. It is all in the Love of God where we must live.
Those who have little or no faith do not act from the heart of God, and this can be found within their own work!
I see you gave answers to Robert and I truly agree with your comments indeed.
I of course through out some of my own answers before seeing yours. Thank you for sharing these truly moving things which has you were you are today!
I agree, and I wouldn't trade any of the miracles I have witnessed throughout my life because of my belief. My life is enhanced because of my belief in Him
Amen!
Thank you!
I do understand what you are saying, though. Thanks again.
I agree with your first comment as it stands, it is what I am trying to get across within my article! Religion is a way in which we chose be what it may but faith is a gift from God.
God's word teaches us that we are all given a measure of faith, but we must allow God to add to that faith as we have little way of adding to our own faith without God.