Are you hungry?

What are you searching?

If you don’t know what you are searching for, you will be satisfied with the first thing you will land upon.

If you don’t know what you are looking for, say if you are thirsty for water, a cup of tea or coffee will not satisfy you, a glass of coke or beer will not satisfy you. The thirst will not be quenched, though they are all liquids.

You search for what you have lost.
What did man lose?
Man never lost religion.
So, man’s search is never for a religion.
What did we lose?
We lost the Kingdom. We lost the dominion. We lost relationship with our Creator.

Religion is man searching for God, but Christianity is God searching for man.
Religion is man’s attempt to get to God on his own terms.

Christianity is God’s attempt to get to man by giving up Himself.

At the heart of religion lies fear, ritual, sacrifices, laws, punishment, doing. “Do good, be good.”
It’s man’s effort to earn and deserve their place with God in heaven.

Religion is man’s ways to please God. But the Bible says without faith, it is impossible to please God.

Religion aborts the God of the now. It causes people to be structured, rigid.
Religion is doing things legally.
It’s man’s wisdom and man’s effort of following man made do’s and don’ts to please God or satisfy our own selfish agenda and not of God.

Tradition is a means by which religion controls people. Religious people are locked into “the way we’ve always done it” find it hard to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Why I resent religion?
Religion says slave, Jesus says sons and daughters.
Religion puts you in shackles but Jesus sets you free.
Religion makes you blind, but Jesus lets you see.
Religion is man-made, Christianity is God made.

Religion, thus is a burdensome yoke of man-made rules and dead rituals. It’s a futile attempt to please God and save oneself by good works.

One must be willing to break free from tradition and religion to experience true freedom.

Jesus did not come to set up another religion.
In fact, He came to abolish religion.
He came to establish a relationship.
The relationship between God and man that was lost.
Jesus not only revealed the God as a loving father, He made a way to be reconciled to the Father. Christianity is not a religion. It’s a personal relationship with Christ. It’s to be in God’s family. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!”

And the good news is that we don’t work towards achieving this.
No matter how hard you try to be good, you will never be good enough to qualify for heaven.
We can never meet the requirements of salvation through our good works or efforts.
Jesus paid the price in full on the Cross. He said, if’s finished.
We are saved by grace through faith. Not by our works.
Jesus already paid the price for our sins.
Which is why salvation is freely mine. Forgiveness is mine.
It’s not based on my efforts, but Christ’s obedience alone.
Religion says do. Christianity says done.
We do not to become something, for example holy. We already are because of what Jesus finished on the Cross, and that’s why we do.

All religions set up rules to make oneself worthy. Christianity says we are “made” worthy by Christ’s sacrifice for us. There is nothing we have to do, in fact there is nothing we “can” do but accept God’s amazing grace.
In the Kingdom of God, there is nothing about striving. It’s all about yielding to Him.
If we stop trying to change ourselves by willpower and phoniness, God’s Spirit will change us as we trust Him.

A religious ‘guru’ would want you to be like him, behave, teach, preach like him. A copy of the ‘guru’.
God is not interested in spiritual imitation, which is what religion tries to make. He is interested in spiritual fruition.

So, Christianity is not following a set of rituals. It’s to become Christ like by the power of the Spirit of God.
Following Christian religious rituals doesn’t automatically mean you are a Christian.
Going to church does not make anyone a Christian. Like sitting in a garage whole life does not make you a car.
It’s not about gong to a place to worship but to come to the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Many are going to church every Sunday, but how many are going on the road which leads to life?

Jesus told a religious leader, who came to meet Him secretly, unless you are born of Spirit and water, you do not enter the Kingdom of God.

Jesus was beaten, scourged, was spit upon. His body was completely bruised, exposing the internal organs and His face was marred and beyond recognition by the crown of thorns that was forced on Him.
He took upon Himself what we all deserved, that’s why we call it grace.
He was nailed to the Cross, hanging there naked that you don’t live in shame.
The first thing that He said in all this is, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing.”

When He hung on the Cross, He was thinking about you
He died. He was buried. And He rose again on the third day.
His grave is the only grave that is empty.

Come to the Cross. There’s room enough.
He stretched His arms wide to embrace you in this relationship. Come!