The last month or so I have found myself becoming somewhat complacent in my relationship with God. I have allowed myself to get distracted by events taking place in my life and have not dedicated the time that I should to spending time with God in prayer and study of the Bible. And it has been through this time that I have noticed that I don't have the same sense of fullfillment, peace, joy and general happiness that I have had during those times where I have been better focused on my relationship with Him.
The reason why I bring this up is because I have had discussions with people who dismiss my own personal experiences with God as valid proof of His existence. While I understand why they may be hesitant to take my word for it, the fact of the matter is that my claims are true. When I am putting forth my best effort in pursuing and developing my relationship with God, it is during those times that I am most fullfilled. This past month or so has proven this that much further to me. It's not something I'm faking. It's just fact. I know that when others hear this they often become skeptical because they feel that I am doing this in my own mind. They think things like because I am so used to pursuing my relationship with God, that when I am not doing it in a way that I feel is putting forth my best effort, I don't feel "myself" and therefore I don't feel fullfilled, joyful, happy, etc.. I don't buy this argument for one second; with the reason being that if this were true - if people could simply "fool" themselves into happiness and fulfillment - then the universal truth that "money does not buy happiness" would not be exactly that - universal truth. If God were not real, then the joy and fullfillment that Christians who pursue Him feel would all be in their heads. And if this is true, then that means that we are able to make ourselves happy and fullfilled through anything that we truly believe will make us happy - as long as we believe strongly enough in it. Well, a very large percentage of people in our world today believe very strongly that money can make them happy, but human history has proven otherwise. We cannot make ourselves happy by simply believing strongly enough in something. In order to experience true happiness, joy and fullfillment, that "something" has to be real. Jesus is real, and that is why when I pursue Him, love Him, and grow in my relationship with Him, I do feel fullfilled, joyful and happy; and when I am not pursuing Him like I should, I do not feel as much so. It's not something I'm imagining, it's truth. I'd love for all people to be able to experience this for themselves, but sadly most choose not to. In the words of C.S. Lewis, "We are far too easily pleased".
Monday 30 April 2012
I Don't Want to Be "Religious"
The following are notes that I took in church this past Sunday while listening to a great message by Rick Buck, the Pastor at Emmanuel Church in Barrie, Ontario.
Religion is never a good substitute for love of God and others.
Love God passionately and others selflessly If God truly has our heart then we will do this. We should never be focused on being religious, but rather on simply loving God and loving others as He loves us, for when we do this, we are living as Christ calls us to. We will be in the position to live for Him and be used by Him as He sees fit.
It is about relationship not religion. The acts that we do for God needs to be from love and devotion to Him not out of "religious duty" for that is foolish and meaningless.
I don't want to be seen as a religious person. I want to be seen, and to be a person who is in absolute love with God and who's actions are always a reflection of that love. The Bible is not about mechanics, it is about an amazing relationship with God. And this makes sense because if you look at any relationship, it is always about the meaningful experiences you have with that other person. If relationships were about "mechanics" or "rituals" which had to be performed, then the relationship would not be meaningful.
And a true relationship with God must be about what we can do for Him, not about what He can do for us. And the cool thing about this is that when we pursue God in this way it is only then that we can truly benefit from the relationship with Him. But when our focus is on us and what we can gain then we will not fully benefit from the relationship as we could/should.
One of the biggest strategies of satan is to attempt to get us complacent in our relationship with God. It is an attempt to get our relationship to be surface level and about acts of "religious duty". He wants us to feel like being a Christian is about following very specific ritualistic guidelines (i.e. read your Bible for 30 minutes every night - any less and you aren't a Christian). The reason why he wants us to think this way is because such guidelines are meaningless, annoying and leave us feeling empty rather than excited. God wants us to be excited about the relationship we have with Him, and it is a very exciting thing when understood and pursued the appropriate way - and that way is to develop a meaningful relationship with Him which is based on love for Him, and love for others.
Religion is never a good substitute for love of God and others.
Love God passionately and others selflessly If God truly has our heart then we will do this. We should never be focused on being religious, but rather on simply loving God and loving others as He loves us, for when we do this, we are living as Christ calls us to. We will be in the position to live for Him and be used by Him as He sees fit.
It is about relationship not religion. The acts that we do for God needs to be from love and devotion to Him not out of "religious duty" for that is foolish and meaningless.
I don't want to be seen as a religious person. I want to be seen, and to be a person who is in absolute love with God and who's actions are always a reflection of that love. The Bible is not about mechanics, it is about an amazing relationship with God. And this makes sense because if you look at any relationship, it is always about the meaningful experiences you have with that other person. If relationships were about "mechanics" or "rituals" which had to be performed, then the relationship would not be meaningful.
And a true relationship with God must be about what we can do for Him, not about what He can do for us. And the cool thing about this is that when we pursue God in this way it is only then that we can truly benefit from the relationship with Him. But when our focus is on us and what we can gain then we will not fully benefit from the relationship as we could/should.
One of the biggest strategies of satan is to attempt to get us complacent in our relationship with God. It is an attempt to get our relationship to be surface level and about acts of "religious duty". He wants us to feel like being a Christian is about following very specific ritualistic guidelines (i.e. read your Bible for 30 minutes every night - any less and you aren't a Christian). The reason why he wants us to think this way is because such guidelines are meaningless, annoying and leave us feeling empty rather than excited. God wants us to be excited about the relationship we have with Him, and it is a very exciting thing when understood and pursued the appropriate way - and that way is to develop a meaningful relationship with Him which is based on love for Him, and love for others.
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