Religious conformists

I am so taken with the phrase RELIGIOUS CONFORMISTS, for I believe that is what the church has become; a group of people that conform to a religious liturgy instead of people who are passionate followers of the Lord Jesus Christ and all aspects of Him. I have been wondering lately how we got to this point. Jesus was not a religious conformist. In fact, He stood in the face of all religion and proclaimed that those who were religious conformists were pharisees and lost. He continually accused those who were conformist of not knowing Him at all. And yet, churches today are full of religious conformist-people who conform to a form of religion, who honor them with their lips, but with their deeds deny Him. Pious people that look down upon "sinners" and long to have things their way. People who are more concerned about form, method and fashion instead of seeing where God is at work and joining Him there.
Jesus could not stand such-and so I am wondering if He is saddened in what He sees in those who claim to wear His name. Are we merely religious people. And if we are not, how do we look, act, live differently from those who are? What sets us apart-the religious activity is the same.
It is a matter of the heart-one who is passionately following-not at a distance, but chasing after, refusing to be conformed to anything except the Image of God, knowing that apart from Him we can do nothing, reflecting His glory in all that is done. Not conformists....but renegades for the Kingdom.
Maybe it is time for a remnant of renegades to rise up and slay religion only to unleash a journey of relationship with the ONE who created us for just that! After all, it was the religious who nailed Jesus to the cross in the first place.
ALL FOR YOU

light and power

During the recent ice storm, many of us lost power in our homes for several days. It was odd to drive by the homes, especially at night and to see the darkness inside. As we drove, we looked for any sign of Light-to indicate that power had been restored. As we saw the lights in the homes, we knew that electricity had been reinstated in that home.
The same could be said for each of us. The world is driving by looking for Light-any sign of power in our lives. But sometimes, all they see is darkness. How sad it is to me to think that we have the LIGHT of the World, the POWER from on high and yet, all people see is darkness. People see the LIGHT and know you have the POWER. As we LIGHT our homes with electricity, should we not LIGHT the world with the POWER that dwells in us. For as they see the LIGHT in us, they will know that POWER has been restored to our lives...
So quit living in darkness and walk into the LIGHT-the world is watching and looking...ALL FOR YOU

beavers

Okay, so I went to see the Narnia movie. I must confess, I haven't ready the books, so I didn't know exactly what to expect. Jim and I had talked about it a little and I was prepared to look for meaning beyond the story. After all, that is how I live my life.
As we got into the story, I was a little thrown by the beavers. I got that the wolves could be demon angels, doing the the evil one's bidding. But I couldn't figure out the beavers. In the middle of the movie, I asked Jim what the beavers meant. Jim looked at me as if I was crazy and simply stated that it was a movie and that they were pretend. Now, I am frustrated. I asked him how I was supposed to know what to read into and what not to read into.
When we got home, I was talking to Drew about the movie. Come to find out, he has read almost all the books-started in third grade. How I missed that, I am not sure. Towards the end of the conversation, I made mention of the beavers and how if he figures out what they mean, I would like to know.
Drew replied by saying, "that's easy mom". Awestruck, I asked him to explain. He quickly explained that the beavers were the Word of God. I asked him how he got that. He said that the beavers were those who gave instruction and lead the characters to Jesus. They introduced the kids to Jesus and they instructed them on the journey.
How my 12 year old picked up on that and I didn't, I am not sure. But I thought it was awesome that he deduced that the beavers were the Word of God. So now, I am all about the BEAVERS.
point of the story...sometimes kids know more than we think and can explain things to us. They see more than we see and are often paying closer attention than what we think. So, becareful how you live...you may say one thing and do another-and think they aren't seeing it. But they are. If they can understand Narnia-they can understand you! And if they can see that Beavers are the Word, they certainly are capable of studying the Word and learning about Jesus. Let's not sell them short.
ALL FOR YOU

under armor

Recently, Noah's coach gave him some UnderArmor to wear as part of his uniform. His coach wanted to be sure that the team was protected from the elements. He didn't buy some cheap imitation, but gave them the real gear, so that they would be able to perform at their best, uneffected by the elements.
UnderArmor is the new rage for anyone who is an athelete. UnderArmor is athletic wear that helps protect atheletes from the elements. The clothing has the ability to help keep you cool during the heat of the summer. The winter wear has ability to keep you warm during the cold of the winter. It is amazing! When you are dressed in the right gear, you are protected.

I wonder how many of us are dressed in the "right" gear for atheletics, but don't have our underarmor on for spiritual battles. We are all about wearing our UnderArmor to protect us from the elements of athletics, but I am more concerned that we have our UnderArmor on for the spiritual elements that are attacking all around us. God has given us HIS Armor-to help us to be able to stand firm against the devil and the spiritual forces of wickedness. He has given us the belt of TRUTH, the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS, the shoes of PEACE, the shield of FAITH and the helmet of SALVATION. God has not given us some cheap imitation, but the UnderArmor that is needed to help us to perform at our best against the spiritual elements that are against us.
So get dressed...and don't forget your UnderArmor. ALL FOR YOU