Religion

...now browsing by tag

 
 

June 20

Thursday, June 20th, 2024

Jeremiah fought for all he was worth! No, not a UFC no-holds-barred kind of fight. Unless you are talking about a spiritual battle.  

In Jeremiah 1:17-19 we find these words: “Get up and prepare for action…Do not be afraid of them. For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall…They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (I wrote about that in my June 18th post).  But that was just the beginning. In 7:1-8:3, we find one of the biggest issues Jeremiah has to fight through: faulty religion. Strangely enough, what Jeremiah had to fight with is not a lot different than today.

Here is a short analysis:

  1. Faulty religion trusts in external observances and institutions. Too many today think going to church, maybe lifting their hands, or putting money in the coffer is all they need to do.  Trouble is: one can do all of that, and more, without one bit of heart.
  2. Faulty religion exhibits ungodly behavior. I remember joking as a teenager with my classmates who were of a certain religion. They could party Friday night, go to church on Saturday morning and take care of things, then “go parking” on Saturday night and feel as thought they were alright. After all, they had “done their duty.” There is something wrong with that picture.
  3. Faulty religion turns its back on God instructions. Jer. 7:13 says, “While you were doing these wicked things, says the Lord, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but your refused to answer.”  (NLT). How often do we do “our own thing”? God’s Word is seen as a killjoy to our lifestyle.

It’s easy to allow what could and should be a vibrant, alive, and life-changing faith to become old or even misdirected. Let’s challenge ourselves to not allow our faith to become an outward thing but to be a “heart thing.”

August 14

Monday, August 14th, 2023

I had a dream once of playing professional baseball. Like most kids growing up near Pittsburgh, it was either baseball or football. I latched onto baseball. I loved it when my dad would take us to a Sunday doubleheader at Forbes Field where I could watch the Pirates play whomever.  I was at a game and that was all that counted. That dream died when I realized I wasn’t good enough but I still loved the game of baseball. (I had that same dream about basketball. Other than a cranky back and old knees, you can see where that got me!). I took up cycling in the 70s and became more serious in the 80s. I can no longer play baseball or basketball, but I can still cycle! 🙂 I get my kicks now watching my grandson play baseball and football.

Several years ago my brother gave me a book called Sermon on the Mound by Michael O’Connor. I recently decided to get the book off the shelf and read it in its entirety. Mr. O’Connor had/has a love affair with baseball. Early on in his book, Mr. O’Connor was writing about his love for baseball and its importance in his life. He wrote something which struck me:

“Organized religion, ironically, had a hand in my spiritual undoing. I think God is as comfortable with religion as the Rockettes are in Levi’s. That’s because, although He is interested in our buildings, our financial stewardship, our liturgy-all those things that hold an appropriate place within the fellowship and kingdom of God-He’s not hung up on them. God is primarily concerned with relationship. He love us, not our stuff. He longs for us to return to Him that same love.” (p.20-21)

There are discussions about religion vs relationship going on all the time. For or against. While religion is a term used in church vernacular, it carries a weight around with it that is hard to bear. It speaks of rules and regulations, of heavy-handedness, of misery.

Relationship, on the other hand, carries with it a freshness, a closeness, an openness determined not by “have to” but by “want to.” Because of that thinking, I would most definitely agree with Mr. O’Connor. I would much rather have a relationship with Jesus than a religion.

What say you? Even deeper, what would you say you have?