Band-Aids And Religion 5/31/2016

Good Morning,

I hope this day finds you rested and at peace with all. My day began with prayer and a hot cup of Door County Red Velvet Mocha Coffee. I am a little sore from the many chores we tackled over the weekend. But this too shall pass.

There is a bandage brand named "Band -Aid". They are a small adhesive bandage with a gauze pad in the middle. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. This is the brand that is kept in our bathroom closet and we use them all the time. They are great for small cuts, scrapes, blisters, small wounds and small burns. I have been wearing this brand since I was a little boy. They should be in every first aid kit, tackle box, vehicle and medicine chest.

What you wouldn't use them for is for severe bleeding, a heart attack, third degree burns, a stroke, or a nervous breakdown. Although I am very fond of these healing tools they would be undersized for any of those occasions and actually inappropriate for some. It would be like responding to a major building fire with a squirt gun or a bottle of water.

Too many people when faced with super sized challenges in life turn to religion to solve their problems. They try it because of emotions or peer pressure. Challenges like marriage, family deaths, divorce, loss of jobs, caught in a crime, or serious illness cause people to seek help. They seek answers found in what they call religion. They go to church, they try reading the Bible and they try prayer. When it does not feel right or go as expected, they become impatient and try a new form of religion (service). They figure if they try to be good and do good things they will be entitled to a blessing of happiness.

This my friends would be like taking a Band-Aid to thoracic surgery or to a limb amputation. You see they jumped into religion by bypassing the most important step. They never started a relationship with Jesus Christ, inviting Him to be their Lord and Savior. They want the blessing without turning their lives over to Jesus. In many instances they return to the sins which caused them the most grief. They have no assurance of heaven through Jesus and in death they are miserable and can see no hope.  In all seriousness their religion has been there own selves. They wanted  happiness instead of love, peace and contentment found in Jesus Christ. Instead of being free from sin and unshackled from guilt, they are burdened by the world and all it has to offer, because they tried religion and not Jesus. They are confused between religion and relationship.

Jesus said.

Matthew 16:24-26English Standard Version (ESV)

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Friends tell them the truth, Religion without Jesus is just religion. With Jesus it is more, It is an invitation to a lasting relationship of love, salvation and obedience.

Have a great day.

Marty