Religion

So, I thought for my first entry I would just dive right into the deep waters.

Let me start by saying that I am saved by the grace of God and thankful for His forgiveness and provision in my life. My husband and I moved to Huntsville, AL about four and a half years ago. As an adult, I came to the realization that I had a lot of beliefs and no biblical truths to back them up. God has used the friends I have made and the church that I attend as sandpaper to rub out some rough spots. I have been more challenged in the last four and a half years than ever before in my life.

Now to the photo...

This past Sunday, Paul, our pastor, taught from Luke 6:1-11. This passage speaks to legalism - what has become religion in our society. In a lot of ways the "religion" has become the priority in the bible belt, where I live, and the relationship with Christ has taken the backseat. Let me just say, when I speak of religion I am speaking of the obsession with rules that God has given which leads to a changing of those rules by man.

In the Luke 6 passage, the Pharisees are confronting Jesus and His disciples with breaking the law of the Sabbath. The law of the Sabbath was given to man, by God, as a gift of rest and restoration. The Pharisees had added 39 laws to the original guidelines for the Sabbath. Jesus clearly points out in this passage that He is Lord, even over the Sabbath, and that human need, when serving the Lord, trumps rules and regulations.

We have to remember that there is no way we can ever be perfect. Christ must be our focus. When we are seeking after Him, our hearts will align with His. We will not have to focus on the rules because life will emulate Jesus.

We need to measure our life, not by rules or by what other people say, but by the life of Christ.