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trACker number374 Religion is a Burden of Dos and Donts but Reconciled Relationship Brings Rest
by Dudley Anderson trACker number374 The e-Devotional helping to keep you on-track GodTracker is online at www.godtracker.co.uk 09 September 2011 Dear God Tracker Religion is a Burden of "Dos" and "Don'ts" but Reconciled Relationship Brings Rest What is Christian practice? Is it being kind to your neighbour? Is it dutifully reading the Bible, praying every day and paying your tithes? Is Christian practice religiously attending church Sunday after Sunday? And when a Christian fails at one or more of these practices, does that leave him feeling that he has let God down and that he is any less of a Christian than the guy on the pew next to him? The author, Rick Marschall once said, "It is my observation that when Christians feel they have let God down, it is usually not because of some grievous sin, but more often a feeling that we have not put into practice what we know to be the truth." I know I might offend some people when I say that the saddest word that I know to describe the Christian walk is the word religion. I remember during the 1970s when I became a Christian people around me were talking about people like me as, "having found religion," or "becoming religious." But, to me, becoming a Christian means entering into right relationship with God. Whereas being religious implies asserting human effort in attempting to follow and implement rules and regulations of a belief system. This means that one man can be more religious than another, if he practices more closely the tenets of his religion than the guy on the pew next to him. Jesus faced people like this in the teachers of the law of his time. In Matthew 23:27-28 he says, ""Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness." Religion is practiced on the outside but reconciled relationship is practiced on the inside. If you feel as though you have let God down it may be because you have not put into practice what you know to be true. This could be because, like me, are trying to practice religion on the outside without first coming into right relationship with the Lord God on the inside. Jesus Christ was many things but religious, he was not. Come to him today and learn from him in that he was humble and gentle. Yoke up with Christ and you will find his burden is light. Religion is a burden of "dos" and "don'ts" but reconciled relationship brings rest. God-tracking is not religious. Blessings Dudley >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GodTracker is now also available as a blog. Check out: http://godtracker.blogspot.com/ Our hope is that, by sharing experiences in tracking the will of God, we will draw closer to him and discover the awesome value of walking with God. Let us know what you think by e-mailing [email protected] God knows the plans he has for you. So go ahead and track them! GodTracker now on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46298024089 What is trACker? GodTracker and trACker owe their origins to an international Christian radio programme produced by Dudley Anderson called, OnTrack. Although OnTrack went off-air in 2005, trACker has continued to help people to track God's plans and purposes for their lives since July 2003. You can now hear Dudley Anderson on UCB UK Saturdays from 00:00 to 05:00 GMT and Sundays from 06:00 to 12:00 GMT Listen to UCB UK on DAB, Sky channel 0125 or online at http://ucbmedia.co.uk >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> VoW Verse of the Week Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Quote of the Week A Sample of Dudley's Fave Quotes. "A religious spirit will always feed our pride; whereas true spiritual maturity will always lead to increasing humility." ---- Rick Joyner Don't Give-up, Look-up! Look-up and Fix Your Eyes On Jesus! The Religion That You Accept James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Pray "Father, I am sorry for being so religious. I have slipped into religious procedures and routines instead of relationship with you. I ask you to renew my friendship with you O Lord, as I yoke up with Jesus the author of my faith. Together we can touch the world. Together we can heal the sick and care for the needy. Good works earn me no points in heaven but I know that, to please you, I need to flesh out my faith through love and relationship with a heart of repentance. Help me live what I believe and walk with you in the cool of the day. I trust that this is the religion that you accept. Amen. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Why not recommend trACker to someone? Point them to www.godtracker.co.uk or click on http://www.godtracker.co.uk/tronline.shtml#recomend Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa Dudley Anderson began writing for radio in 1994. Dudley currently writes a weekly e-mail Christian motivational thought called GodTracker and has complied 2 devotional books based on GodTracker. More information at surereaity.net Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |