I Don't Believe in Religion
Hey Everyone,
What comes to mind when you hear the word "Religion"? To me, it brings to mind people who believe differently than I do telling me or fellow Christians that we are "religious" and that they think our "religion" is stupid/doesn't make any sense etc. I hardly ever hear it said in a form of reverence or pride from none believers and believers alike. While the words, in themselves, are not wrong and if you like to classify yourself as religious then that's perfectly fine, but for me, the words don't fit and I could easily say I can't stand them.
Jesus Christ is my Savior, He is NOT my religion. I don't live by a set of rules or standards because otherwise I'm going to Hell; I choose to live my life a certain way because I respect and trust my God knows what's best for me. People may not get this, and even some fellow Christians may find my views insulting, but I really don't care. I know that may sound harsh, and maybe it is, but I choose to live my life to please God not men, and I have strong convictions no matter if some people I know, think I don't because of certain choices I make.
The word religion to me sounds cold and distant which my God is not! He is here with me now, He is alive, and He is working in my life in ways I can't see or comprehend, but I trust Him. I'm going through some difficult things health wise and it has me pretty scared and somewhat depressed some days and most days I feel like curling up in bed and crying my eyes out, but that's OK and I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I'm human.
When people ask me why I'm so religious or what my religion means to me I like to tell them that I'm not religious and I don't have a religion. I am a Born-Again, Christian, who was saved by grace. This is not because of anything I did to deserve it or because of any rituals I follow, it is because my God loves ME and died to save me from an eternal life in Hell after my time on Earth is finished. I don't deserve it and I fail Him daily, but I choose to follow Him and strive to please Him with my life. I like to say that I want my life to be a testimony of who Christ is and that I have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe which is far from just living by a standard of rules and regulations. It is a daily struggle to go against my flesh and the pulls of this world, but I know that even when this life get's difficult He's there and I have seen Him do wonderful things in my life and others, so there's no way I can deny His existence or His hand in my life.
I believe that although there are set standards laid out in the Bible for certain situations it is more about how we live daily to serve and bring glory to His name rather than how closely we follow those rules. So many people get caught up in debates on what God meant by certain things He said and which of those things still apply in the 21st century we live in today that they forget what our purpose on this earth really is; it's to spread the good news of His salvation and to further His kingdom here on this earth. I'm not saying we are not supposed to read His Word and apply it to our lives and we aren't supposed to discuss His Word with fellow believers so we can better understand it, but too often churches and families get so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we end hurting our relationships and not showing His love the way we should. It's sad to me when nonbelievers are skeptical of becoming saved because of how we represent ourselves. Too often they think of us as judgmental and hypocritical. I get that we are humans and we are allowed to make mistakes, but we can't get so caught up in following rules and setting standards that we loose sight of our true purpose and callings. We need rules and we need standards, but not everything is black and white and not everything is right or wrong.
We need to focus on what God is calling us to do and going where He leads no matter what other people may think or say about us. Being a Jesus follower can be scary and it can be tough, but thankfully we have the God and Leader of angel armies on our side and He is not going to fail us no matter how many people judge us for what we believe/do. To me being a Christian is about how I live and Who I live for not about doing what other believers think I should.
A lot of people I know are go to church every Sunday, kind of people and I had someone tell me that because I don't, that I am not going to grow in my relationship with Jesus. This, I found to be very insulting because, although I know I'm not perfect, and I'm not always the best example of who Christ is, I would like to believe that on a general basis that others can see Him in me. I pray, daily, that He would shine through me so brightly that others would see Him and not me. I have not been to church except once, maybe twice, since last August. The reason is, is I work Sunday mornings and although I know there are church services in the evenings, often times I'm too tired after coming home to go back out again. There have been many Sunday nights I'd like to go, but lately the thought of getting out of bed to make myself food sometimes is too exhausting so I don't go. Instead I watch sermons on YouTube, I read my Bible, I pray, I listen to Christian/Praise & Worship music 80% of the time, I read Bible studies, etc. and even though some may think I'm not growing in my relationship with Christ I believe I am...because when I am going through a hard time He comforts me and gives me strength to get through the day. Praying for me is like breathing and at one point in time, I was going to write a book called, "How to Make Prayer Second Nature," and I was going to try and get it published, but I never finished it...maybe someday. :) Anyways, my point is, is that I may not go to church, but going to church doesn't make me Christian...believing in God and allowing Him to save me from myself every minute of every day is what makes me a Christian. I'm greatly looking forward to the day when I'm not so tired and I can make it to church because I do believe that church is a good thing, because we can learn from and we can strengthen one another, but I'm not going to go just to go and so that people see me there and think of me as being a good Christian. Once summer camp starts, we have Staff Worship Thursday nights and we have church services on Sunday mornings which are some of my favorite parts of the week so I'm greatly looking forward to going to those, but again, if I don't make it to church before then, I have great confidence that I am still as much of a Christian as if I went to church every Sunday.
There is A LOT more I could say on this subject, but not only is this post long enough, but I'm in a lot of pain and exhausted so I'm going to get something to eat and lay down. I hope that this post encouraged you and that you are following Christ with your whole being rather than just going through the motions. I might post more on this subject at a later date.
Until Next Time!
<3Abi
What comes to mind when you hear the word "Religion"? To me, it brings to mind people who believe differently than I do telling me or fellow Christians that we are "religious" and that they think our "religion" is stupid/doesn't make any sense etc. I hardly ever hear it said in a form of reverence or pride from none believers and believers alike. While the words, in themselves, are not wrong and if you like to classify yourself as religious then that's perfectly fine, but for me, the words don't fit and I could easily say I can't stand them.
Jesus Christ is my Savior, He is NOT my religion. I don't live by a set of rules or standards because otherwise I'm going to Hell; I choose to live my life a certain way because I respect and trust my God knows what's best for me. People may not get this, and even some fellow Christians may find my views insulting, but I really don't care. I know that may sound harsh, and maybe it is, but I choose to live my life to please God not men, and I have strong convictions no matter if some people I know, think I don't because of certain choices I make.
The word religion to me sounds cold and distant which my God is not! He is here with me now, He is alive, and He is working in my life in ways I can't see or comprehend, but I trust Him. I'm going through some difficult things health wise and it has me pretty scared and somewhat depressed some days and most days I feel like curling up in bed and crying my eyes out, but that's OK and I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I'm human.
When people ask me why I'm so religious or what my religion means to me I like to tell them that I'm not religious and I don't have a religion. I am a Born-Again, Christian, who was saved by grace. This is not because of anything I did to deserve it or because of any rituals I follow, it is because my God loves ME and died to save me from an eternal life in Hell after my time on Earth is finished. I don't deserve it and I fail Him daily, but I choose to follow Him and strive to please Him with my life. I like to say that I want my life to be a testimony of who Christ is and that I have a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe which is far from just living by a standard of rules and regulations. It is a daily struggle to go against my flesh and the pulls of this world, but I know that even when this life get's difficult He's there and I have seen Him do wonderful things in my life and others, so there's no way I can deny His existence or His hand in my life.
I believe that although there are set standards laid out in the Bible for certain situations it is more about how we live daily to serve and bring glory to His name rather than how closely we follow those rules. So many people get caught up in debates on what God meant by certain things He said and which of those things still apply in the 21st century we live in today that they forget what our purpose on this earth really is; it's to spread the good news of His salvation and to further His kingdom here on this earth. I'm not saying we are not supposed to read His Word and apply it to our lives and we aren't supposed to discuss His Word with fellow believers so we can better understand it, but too often churches and families get so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we end hurting our relationships and not showing His love the way we should. It's sad to me when nonbelievers are skeptical of becoming saved because of how we represent ourselves. Too often they think of us as judgmental and hypocritical. I get that we are humans and we are allowed to make mistakes, but we can't get so caught up in following rules and setting standards that we loose sight of our true purpose and callings. We need rules and we need standards, but not everything is black and white and not everything is right or wrong.
We need to focus on what God is calling us to do and going where He leads no matter what other people may think or say about us. Being a Jesus follower can be scary and it can be tough, but thankfully we have the God and Leader of angel armies on our side and He is not going to fail us no matter how many people judge us for what we believe/do. To me being a Christian is about how I live and Who I live for not about doing what other believers think I should.
A lot of people I know are go to church every Sunday, kind of people and I had someone tell me that because I don't, that I am not going to grow in my relationship with Jesus. This, I found to be very insulting because, although I know I'm not perfect, and I'm not always the best example of who Christ is, I would like to believe that on a general basis that others can see Him in me. I pray, daily, that He would shine through me so brightly that others would see Him and not me. I have not been to church except once, maybe twice, since last August. The reason is, is I work Sunday mornings and although I know there are church services in the evenings, often times I'm too tired after coming home to go back out again. There have been many Sunday nights I'd like to go, but lately the thought of getting out of bed to make myself food sometimes is too exhausting so I don't go. Instead I watch sermons on YouTube, I read my Bible, I pray, I listen to Christian/Praise & Worship music 80% of the time, I read Bible studies, etc. and even though some may think I'm not growing in my relationship with Christ I believe I am...because when I am going through a hard time He comforts me and gives me strength to get through the day. Praying for me is like breathing and at one point in time, I was going to write a book called, "How to Make Prayer Second Nature," and I was going to try and get it published, but I never finished it...maybe someday. :) Anyways, my point is, is that I may not go to church, but going to church doesn't make me Christian...believing in God and allowing Him to save me from myself every minute of every day is what makes me a Christian. I'm greatly looking forward to the day when I'm not so tired and I can make it to church because I do believe that church is a good thing, because we can learn from and we can strengthen one another, but I'm not going to go just to go and so that people see me there and think of me as being a good Christian. Once summer camp starts, we have Staff Worship Thursday nights and we have church services on Sunday mornings which are some of my favorite parts of the week so I'm greatly looking forward to going to those, but again, if I don't make it to church before then, I have great confidence that I am still as much of a Christian as if I went to church every Sunday.
There is A LOT more I could say on this subject, but not only is this post long enough, but I'm in a lot of pain and exhausted so I'm going to get something to eat and lay down. I hope that this post encouraged you and that you are following Christ with your whole being rather than just going through the motions. I might post more on this subject at a later date.
Until Next Time!
<3Abi
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