Religious Freedom Day

Well, tomorrow-Jan 16th is Religious Freedom Day. I am sure it is not what I am thinking. It probably has to do with recognizing everyone's right to choose their own religion and to worship how they choose. Which, quite honestly, I am thankful for, because it is what gives me the freedom to worship and serve the God I love without threat of losing my life or freedom.
But the thought that really rings my bell has nothing to do with freedom of religion, so much as it does with freedom FROM religion.
I have spent a lot of time recently allowing the Spirit to reshape my thoughts on following Christ-to be Christ centered and not man/religion centered. My-how this has changed my thinking. To allow Christ to determine all things and not what pleases man, what I like, what tradition dictates. To begin to beg the question...is Jesus pleased? Does this really represent Christ and how He thinks or merely reflect the religious laws of man.
The Pharisees had almost 700 additional laws to the Bible. Stuff they made into laws-in addition to what the WORD said. Stuff that they began to make equal to the Word..saying that people were sinning if they did not follow them. Wow...I see so much of that in church today. People who make "laws" out of traditions, ideas or opinions and try to make people obey them simply because they like that stuff.
I am so glad that Jesus died to set us free from that stuff-from that religious stuff that messes with our heads. Jesus is so much more than following man's rules...He is life and breath and in Him we live and move and have our being.
So maybe, tomorrow...we might celebrate Religious Freedom Day by simply saying...It is for freedom that Christ died, therfore STAND FIRM in your freedom and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (religion!)Gal 5:1

ALL FOR YOU