Religion or Relationship?

"And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away: and what have I more?" Judges 18:24a

There is a sad account for us to read in Chapter 17 and 18 in the Book of Judges.  It begins with a man by the name of Micah who steals silver from his mother.  Not knowing that it was her son who had stolen her silver, the mother then curses the one who has stolen her silver. When Micah hears of the curse by his mother, and so that he would not fall under her curse, he confesses to his mother that he was the one who had taken it and restores it back to her.  Upon the return of her silver, she gives Micah a portion of that to make a graven image and a molten image, to set up in their house so that they could worship them.  And because in these days, there was no king in Israel, and every man did that which was right in their own eyes, Micah did as his mother asked. He even went above what his mother asked of him, and he made an ephod and a teraphim and consecrated his sons to become his priest.

Along comes a Levite.  Micah asks the man where he came from and where is he going, and when Micah learns that he was just looking for a place to sojourn, Micah invites this Levite into his home to be his priest. Micah gives this man a suit of apparel, provisions and a salary.  Once Micah sets up idols to worship, and consecrates a Levite to be his priest, he says to himself, "Now I know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest." Judges 17:13

That my friend, is how false religions and pagan practices begin.  Micah had no business setting up idols to worship, and he had no business consecrating a priest.  

We see the same thing in our world today:  Man made religion.

But religion is temporary and religion will leave you empty.

Micah's story continues in Judges 18.

The children of Dan go out and search the land and as they do so, they lodge in the house of Micah.  They ask the Levite if God is going to prosper the way they are going, and the priest, (who took no counsel of God) told the children of Dan what they wanted to hear.  (False religion will also tell you what you want to hear) Not only did they like what they heard from this Levite, but they liked what they saw in Micah's house, and when they left, they offered a higher position and a higher wage to this Levite, and they took Micah's carved image, the molten image, the ephod and teraphim.

When Micah sees what they have done, he and his neighbors run out to meet the children of Dan, and that is where we hear such tragic words from the mouth of Micah: "...and what have I more?"

You see, Micah did not have a Relationship with God, he erected a Religion.  Without his images and his earthly priest, he had nothing.

Religion is nothing more than a man-made imitation of what seems right.  God created us to worship, and he created us to worship Him. 

Man wants to fill that void with everything and anything but God.

What seems right in the eyes of man?  Works.

But a Relationship with Christ is GRACE. Ephesians 2:8-10

Religion is duty, repetitious prayers, beads, Creeds.

A Relationship with Christ is GRACE.

Religion is temporary.

A Relationship with Christ is eternal.

Micah was left with nothing.

In Christ we have everything!

Practiced Religion...

    or a Personal Relationship with Christ...

        The choice is yours...

            But that's just me!

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Words of Jesus.  Matthew 6:19-21

If I Were to Ask You...

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

1 John 5:4-5

My cousin texted me a few days ago and told me that she had just watched an excellent movie and recommended that I watch it as well.

So, I did and she was right.  I was not disappointed.  The movie is called Overcomer and was filmed in 2019. It's a movie about a basketball coach whose team faces an uncertain future when their town's largest manufacturing plant shuts down.  People move away, and the coach is asked to coach cross-country.  A sport he doesn't even consider a sport and doesn't even like.  His team? One lone girl.   What happens next changes the lives of all involved.

In this movie, her coach asks her, "If I were to ask you who you are, what is the first thought that enters your mind."

This young girl reflects on her life and hesitates to answer, and yet later she realizes that she feels unwanted and unloved.

As the movie moves forward, this young girl gets saved.  Her teacher tells her to go home and read the first two chapters in Ephesians and asks her to write down everything the bible teaches her about Who She Is in Christ.

This is her list-

-I am blessed-

-I am chosen-

-I am adopted-

-I am accepted-

-I am redeemed-

-I am forgiven-

-I am an inheritor-

-I am a gift-

-I am sealed-

-I am empowered-

-I am loved-

-I am saved-

-I am created-

...and Jesus died for me, and I am a child of God!

In Christ, we are no longer defined by our past, by our wealth or poverty, by our career, or even by what others have said we are.

No, we are now defined In Christ!

If I were to ask you...

    Who you are...

        What comes to mind...?

            But that's just me!

Bargaining With God

"If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth." Numbers 30:2

Have you ever bargained with God?  Has there ever been a time in your life when you received a 'wake-up' call and knew that you had to make a radical change in your life?  In a frantic cry for help, perhaps you prayed, 'God if only You...I promise to change!'  I had such a moment the other day, but I will get to that in a moment.

There are several instances in the bible where people attempted to bargain with God.  They negotiated, vowed, or even made deals with God in exchange for divine favor, mercy and help.  

-Abraham negotiated with God concerning Sodom- Genesis 18:23-33

-Jacob's vow- Genesis 28:20-22

-Jephthah's vow-Judges 11:30-31

-Hannah's prayer- 1 Samuel 1:10-11

And that is just to name a few.  There are other examples in the bible for God to prove whether or not He was truly calling a man to do something.  I think of Gideon and the fleece he threw out to God. Not only once, but twice.  Judges 6

The other day I had my wake-up call.  I was sitting in my doctor's office waiting for the EKG and Chest X-ray test results.  Before the tests, the words of my doctor didn't sound promising.  During the tests, I prayed.  Waiting for the results I prayed.

I will be transparent: poor choices in my eating habits had brought me to this moment.  Half-hearted diets, promising myself I will exercise more and laziness to put those self-made promises into action finally came to a crossroad.  I prayed and asked God that if my tests came back clear, I would change my eating habits.  Healthier foods and smaller portions.

Was I bargaining with God in that moment, or was I finally facing reality of a sin in my life?

Whatever it may have been, I could relate with those who had prayed the same prayers.

My tests came back clear.

God doesn't want us to buy His favor...

    We just simply need to ask and trust in His mercy towards us...

        But that's just me!

Waiting and Watching

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Words of Jesus, Matthew 24:42

"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Words of Jesus, Mark 13:32-37

"Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Words of Jesus Luke 12:37-40

"And the Lord direct your hearts unto the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." 

2 Thessalonians 3:5

"Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:8

My little dog, Grace, puts me to shame when it comes to waiting and watching.  We have a Ring camera in our living room, and we can see all of her activity while no one is home.  She is a busy little girl.  She runs from window to window to watch for us.  Sometimes she howls, calling for us.  Other times, she is sitting on the back of the couch, watching out the window for us to come home.  But there is something I've noticed; she never sleeps when we are away. No matter how long we are gone, she is constantly waiting and watching.

When my husband or son is at home, and I have to leave to go somewhere, she gets up on the back of the couch to wait for my return.  She won't even play her favorite game of ball with my husband or son.  No.  She patiently waits for me to come home.  When I drive by the window, I see her stand up in recognition, and then she jumps down from the back of the couch and is already waiting for me when I come in through the door!  Such excitement! Such anticipation!  Such a happy reunion!

I was thinking about this the other day; am I waiting and watching for the Lord's Promised Return?  Does a day go by, maybe two or three, before I realize that I haven't been waiting or watching for my Lord? Do I tend to think that since more than two thousand years has passed, that the Lord won't Return in my lifetime?  Do I even bother waiting and watching?

Lord, Help me to watch and wait...

    in excitement and in anticipation for your Return...

        I think it will be sooner than I realize!

            But that's just me!

The Wedding Day

Harvest  (Band)

Lately I've been thinkin', as I look all around me,

I see by the signs that we're soon gonna be leavin'

The Bridegroom is comin' to take us all away,

Maybe it's tomorrow, I pray that it's today!

We will fly away, in the twinkling of an eye,

Leavin' all our heartaches,

Telling them all goodbye,

We will fly away when He hears His Father say...

"Jesus, go and get your bride,

today's your wedding day!"

Now when we see the Bridegroom on the clouds in the sky,

Will He be telling you hello, or telling you goodbye?

Oh, be sure and be ready, 

To meet Him face to face,

We've got to fight a good fight, We've got to keep our faith!

Fully Charged, Low Battery, or Just Dead?

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

We've had brutally cold temperatures up here in the North this past week.  Days of subzero temps and deadly windchills can be draining and deadly.  On one of the coldest days of the week, my son called asking my husband for a 'jump-start' for his car because his battery had died, and the dependable battery charger, we learned, was not as dependable as we thought.  After a jump-start and an appointment at our Local car dealership, the dead battery was replaced with a new one.

Reader, do you have a Dead Heart?  God will give you a New Heart when you turn from your sin and turn to Him.

"And a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God."

Ezekiel 36:26-28

As most of you know, I recently upgraded to a new iPhone.  Checking the battery level before going to bed the other night and seeing it was still at 80%, I decided not to plug my phone into its Charger; after all, this is a brand-new phone, and I was told at the time of purchase that it had a much larger battery. Imagine my surprise, when I woke up the next morning and the icon of the battery was in red and I had a 'low battery' warning.  I asked my husband how this could happen, and he explained that the activity that occurs during the night on most iPhones, like open Apps, up-dates, and WIFI searches will drain the battery.  He suggested that no matter what the battery level is at night, it should be plugged in for a full, dependable charge in the morning.

Reader, are you coasting in your Christian Life?  Do you think you are doing just fine right where you are? Are you living not Fully Charged, but not quite Dead?

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;" Ephesians 5:18

How do we do that?

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Ephesians 5:18-20

Last week's church services were cancelled due to a blizzard.  Snow Days are fun when you can have a day off from school or from work but having a Snow Day from church...not so fun.  It made for a very long week not being able to worship with my friends and other Believers and to hear the Preaching from God's Word.  I could tell that my Spiritual Battery was draining from the lack of Fellowship.

Just like my phones nighttime activity that drains its battery, sin can creep into a Believer's life that can slowly drain our Spiritual Battery.  Apathy, Critical Thinking, Laziness, irritations, lack of patience, can dull the Fruit of the Spirit if we are not connected to the correct Spiritual Source.

So, how can we as Christians, begin each day with a Full Charge?  By prayer, confessing our sins, and reading God's Word. Yes, it's as simple as that.

                

Christian, are you Fully Charged...

    Low on your Spiritual Battery...

        Or are you just plain dead?

            Recognize it and do something about it...

                But that's just me!

"Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you."

Corrie Ten Boom

No Data

"Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth." Colossians 3:2

At one time, cell phones did not exist.  Now we can't live without them.

Cell phones have gone from convenience to something we depend too much on.

At one time, cell phones were just a phone.  Now they are small, hand-held computers.

I recently upgraded to a new phone.

Big mistake.

I didn't realize at the time of the data transfer that I had two active Apple accounts.

Big mistake.

The only data transferred from my old phone to my new phone, was everything from the account I no longer thought existed.  It was all useless to me.

My old phone data now erased, my new phone data now empty.

Twenty years of purchased Christian music and six years of photos completely deleted.  Pictures of families, special events and vacations all gone and can no longer be accessed.

I confess, at that moment of realization of everything that had been lost, I had a meltdown; there was weeping and gnashing of teeth to be sure! 

A couple of weeks have passed since then and the thought of all the things lost doesn't hurt as much and I've learned a few things about myself in the process:

1-I became too dependent on the technology that I held in my hand, and

2-It became too important to me.

I had to confess to the Lord that I spent way too much time looking at a small screen, and that this little piece of technology had become a part of my anatomy.  It's been attached to my hand or my hip for far too long.  It's time to let go of the importance I've placed on my cell phone.

I won't be saving much on my new cell phone...

    Instead, I will be saving it all in my heart...

        But that's just me!

"....for the fashion of this world passeth away." 1 Corinthians 7:31b

"There is nothing solid and lasting in this world system; it is its nature to pass away. It is folly for believers to act as though its values were permanent." Morris

No

When I was a little girl and asked my parents if I could do something or go somewhere with one of my friends or when I asked for something I wanted, (like the latest trend in fashion or toys) their response was not always, "Yes."  When their answer was, "No," sometimes I wouldn't accept their first response. For some reason I thought that if I went into great detail as to why they should allow my request, that they would change their mind.  When that didn't work, I chose, "Please? Please? Please?"  After much pleading and drama my parents would look at me and calmly respond, "The answer is still no."  I didn't realize it at the time, but sometimes when they told me "No," it was actually for my own good.

As my children were growing up, there were times I had to deny their requests for their own good as well.  As for my grandchildren.... not so much!  LOL

I want to share an excerpt from The Christmas Ring, by Karen Kingsbury, Published by Thomas Nelson 2025.  On Page 57, Ben and Vanessa are having a conversation about prayer.

Ben searched her face, her eyes. "Great attitude." He sauntered beside her. "We both know that God doesn't always answer our prayers with a yes."

"He doesn't."

"But that was true for Jesus, too. His greatest prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was met with a 'no.'"

After reading those words, I couldn't keep reading the story.  This Author's words kept reverberating around and around in my head.  I went in search for my bible.  

"And when he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Jesus praying in the garden, Luke 22:41,42.  You can find this recorded in Matthew 26:39-44 and Mark 14:32-39.

Think about this for a moment, it's profound.

Jesus was both God and Man.  Jesus was God in the flesh.  Since before the beginning of time, God provided a plan to redeem man back to Himself.  

Jesus stood before Pilate and spoke these very words, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." John 18:37

Jesus already knew why He came to earth; to pay a price we could not pay ourselves.

So why did Jesus pray a prayer when He already knew the answer would be 'No.' ?

Was it to be our example to pray about everything?

Was it to show us that God tells us "No" at times for our own good?

Was it to show us true humility and submission to God The Father?

Or was it simply out of agony for what was to come: bearing the sins of the whole world?

This has given me a lot to think about.

Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to carry Him back into heaven...

    And yet He chose to accept, "No," to His prayer, not for His own good...

        But for my own good, and for yours...

            But that's just me!