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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus relationship’

THE ‘GOODY-GOODY’ FACTOR

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2016| 2 Comments »

Hi and Lois HeavenSometimes, just reading the comics in newspapers — yes, I still read REAL newspapers — can provide great opportunities to tell folks the truth about the most important things in life.

In this case, that most important thing is Heaven.

If you believe there is something beyond this life, would you call it Heaven? And if you would, who do you think goes there?

In this Hi and Lois comic strip involving a conversation between twins Dot and Ditto Flagston, Ditto make a very strong point. Do you believe what he says to his sister?

As it’s understood by many people, Heaven is where people can actually spend eternity in the presence of the creator of the universe and His Son, Jesus of Nazareth. No one has to be a ‘goody-goody’ (which I assume means a smug or obtrusively virtuous person) to qualify.

In fact, Heaven is populated mostly by people who are anything BUT ‘goody-goody’. It’s occupied by those who often:

  • struggled to get their lives in any kind of order;
  • battled with drug, gambling or alcohol addictions;
  • missed the mark when it came to treating others well;
  • wrestled with temptations such as pornography, infidelity and crime.

Maybe this leaves you unimpressed. Maybe you feel like the late, great Groucho Marx, who once said “I wouldn’t join any club that would have me as a member”.

If that’s the case, you’ll miss out on something so extraordinary that even the writers of the Bible struggled to describe the glories of Heaven with simple words.

So if you and I don’t need to be a ‘goody-goody’, then what DO we need to spend eternity with God and Jesus? It’s simple:

  1. accept that Jesus died on a cross as a sacrifice for all the wrongs things you’ve done and all the right things you’ve failed to do;
  2. confess all those moral crimes to God and express sincere regret and remorse for them (also called repenting);
  3. believe that Jesus rose from the dead after three days in the tomb, to crush the power of death for everyone who follows Him;
  4. ask Jesus to become your Lord and Saviour.

Looking for evidence that I’m not just blowing smoke? Paul, a man who had a life-changing spiritual encounter with Jesus, put it like this: “If you openly say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from death, you will be saved.”

When you do these four things with humble honesty, then Jesus comes into your heart and begins to transform your life.

He gives you wisdom to truly discern what is good and what is bad in the eyes of God (it’s often very different from what our culture suggests) and strength to obey God.

He gives you the ability to see that everyone on this planet has the same intrinsic value in God’s eyes. That means, in the words of author Philip Yancey, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less.”

He gives you the understanding that no one can earn their way into Heaven; it’s a gift from God to everybody who freely decides to make His Son their Lord and Saviour.

So, you (hopefully) have a better understanding of Heaven. Interested in learning more? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE ETCH A SKETCH OF ETERNITY

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 18, 2016| 2 Comments »

Etch A SketchSubmitted for your consideration: The Etch A Sketch.

Those of you of a certain age (i.e. children in the 1960s) will probably remember this fascinating little toy. For everyone else, here is the Wikipedia explanation:

An Etch A Sketch has a thick, flat gray screen in a red plastic frame. There are two knobs on the front of the frame in the lower corners. Twisting the knobs moves a stylus that displaces aluminum powder on the back of the screen, leaving a solid line. 
The knobs create lineographic images. The left control moves the stylus horizontally, and the right one moves it vertically.

Wikipedia goes on to note that Etch A Sketch is one of the best known toys of the 1960s and was later inducted into something called the National Toy Hall of Fame.

So what’s my point? I didn’t give Etch A Sketch much thought until I heard a chaplain use it to illustrate the reality of life and what is to come after this life.

Consider this premise: everyone’s life, including yours, is like an Etch-A-Sketch. Through our thoughts, our actions and our inactions, we twist the knobs to paint a picture of our lives.

Most of us would like to think that the picture we’ve been drawing is pretty attractive. Not perfect, of course, but still pleasing to the eye.

That’s hardly a surprise. North American culture strongly discourages any kind of meaningful examination of all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. We’re taught, by parents, friends, workmates, teachers and the media that we’re all OK. And that’s that.

But is it?

Do something unconventional. Really think about your life, about:

  • All the things you regret
  • Everyone who makes you angry
  • Those moments when you are accused of being petty or harbouring secrets
  • Every behaviour that causes you to react negatively
  • Occasions where you passed up ‘doing the right thing’ because it might inconvenience you or your loved ones
  • The times you quickly, subconsciously decided to avoid telling the exact truth because it might make you look bad.

If you’ve been honest and serious about pondering these things, does your Etch A Sketch picture still look good? Mine looks like a drunk cat went crazy on the control knobs until it passed out. Ya, my picture is that messy. That ugly.

Can you fix this picture on your own? Can I? In a word, NO. We don’t have enough stamina, enough honesty, enough wisdom, enough humility to do what must be done to transform the mess into an attractive picture.

So let me be radical and suggest who can. Prepare yourself, because this really is RADICAL. I’m talking about God, your creator.

He can, and does, fix ugly Etch A Sketch pictures every minute of every day. And here’s how: He offers the gift of Jesus, His Son, to everyone who’s willing to accept Him. No matter how ugly or  disgusting or sickening your picture really, honestly is, when you accept the gift of Jesus, then you hand over the Etch A Sketch controls to God.

The first thing He does is shake the Etch A Sketch to wipe out the old picture. Then He starts drawing a new one. And that picture is beautiful. It shows you as generous, humble, wise, loving and unconcerned about “looking good”.

This picture isn’t drawn overnight. In fact, God won’t finish the picture until you and I are finished with this life and in Heaven with Jesus. So it takes patience.

Does this make sense? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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DAMNING OR CHOOSING?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Bizarro GodThe first thing I did when I saw this cartoon in the newspaper was whip out my iPhone and make a photo. I knew it would be the inspiration to reveal the truth about God. And it is.

No doubt about it, our culture portrays God as “damning” souls to Hell. It’s the easiest and fastest way to figure out “religion” (especially Christianity) and requires the least amount of thought.
But is it the truth?

Consider these facts about the God that Jesus of Nazareth believed in and followed:

1. God is perfect. Many, many people will disagree with this, but that doesn’t change the truth. And that perfection is exemplified through Jesus, who many people believe is God’s Son.

One ancient document states it this simply & clearly: “God’s way is perfect”. In one of the original source documents of Jesus’ physical life on earth, He tells his followers, “What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Jesus’ exemplifies that perfection. Here are quotes, from two of His earliest followers, that serve as illustrations: “He [Jesus] never sinned, and he never told a lie” and “There is no sin in Christ”.

2. God’s standard for all humanity is perfection. One of the men that Jesus personally trained to follower after Him that backs up that statement: “Be holy in everything you do, just as God is holy. He is the one who chose you. In the Scriptures God says, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’”.

3. We cannot achieve God’s standard and get into Heaven on our own. I don’t think a single quote from Jesus is needed to prove that point.

4. In the end, we don’t have to be perfect. When we become followers of Jesus — His teachings, His sacrificial death (to make up for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do) and glorious resurrection, God no longer sees our sins. He sees only His Son’s perfection.

This is a gift, offered to every person on this planet. It doesn’t matter what they’ve done (or not done). Their gender and age don’t matter. Their skin colour doesn’t matter. Their status in society doesn’t matter.

The gift is offered to EVERYONE, with no strings attached. And in my mind, this shows how much God loves me, YOU and every other human being.

So, who does the damning? Maybe it’s everybody who rejects that gift. They declare there is no God, there is no Jesus and there is no gift. By doing this, they can continue living the way they please with no thought to any consequences.

The result is pretty obvious. When this life is done, you come before God — with every single wrong thing you’ve done and every single right thing you’ve failed to do — utterly exposed. And as a result, you fall far, far short of God’s qualification for spending eternity in His presence.

Is this you? Are you choosing to damn yourself by declaring there’s no God and no gift? Maybe that’s how all your friends and loved ones think. But look beyond them; is this really what you want to do?

Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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WHAT IS WASTED?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 21, 2016| 2 Comments »

Aiden-WastedSpaceDoncha just love how arrogant we human beings can be sometimes?

That’s the first thought that went through my head when I saw this graphic in an atheist internet community. The quote is from an American author, blogger (we have something in common!) and atheist activist.

Think about his statement for a minute. Then think about all the things humanity DOESN’T know. Like what is consciousness? How do we store and access memories? Does life exist anywhere else in the universe? Why are moths attracted to light? Who is responsible for creating hip-hop? (OK, that last one might show my bias.)

This little list is just the start. Spend some time researching on the Internet and you’ll find a universe of articles delving into the myriad of other things we humans simply don’t know or understand.

So ye gotta give Hemant Mehta for his audacious ego. I mean, who is he — or anyone else, for that matter — to declare that if humanity is God’s special creation, then the universe is full of a “lot of wasted space?” How would Mehta credibly define “wasted space” in the universe?

I do believe humans are God’s special creation. To our limited knowledge, no other creature has anywhere near our level of self-awareness. Or awareness of a world beyond our own. Or awareness that something, or someone, must have created it all.

To me, all these “awarenesses” are a gift from the creator and master of time, space and the universe. The One who decided there would be air to breathe, music to hear and way, WAY too much reality TV. (OK, God didn’t decide that last one. “Reality” television is a cunning and diabolical Hollywood initiative.)

As God’s special creation, most of us have a clear knowledge of right and wrong. It’s called the Moral Law and without a creator, it simply wouldn’t exist.

Most of us also know we’re a long, LONG way from anything resembling “perfect”. Indeed, humanity can’t even agree on what is perfection.

From my faith perspective — I follow Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s Son — I’m relieved that I don’t have to address that idea. Jesus followers like me know that perfection is established by our creator. And it’s utterly out of our reach, no matter what we do or how hard we try. It’s like hoping a certain U.S. business mogul and politician will develop class and empathy. Not gonna happen.

Those of us who follow Jesus are blessed in that we don’t have to be perfect to satisfy our creator. Oh, we still have to strive for it. But even as we fall short (it’s called “sin”), God offers all of humanity a gift — the life, teachings, sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus.

God wants perfection. That’s a fact. And when we accept the gift of Jesus, when we make Him our Lord and Saviour, God doesn’t see the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do. He sees only the perfection of His Son. Then he welcomes us to spend eternity with Him.

Sound appealing? Yes or no, post your comments below and let’s have a conversation.

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BETTER THAN HIS CREATIONS

Posted in In The News, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 16, 2016| 6 Comments »

Jeffrey DahmerWhen I saw this graphic, on an Internet atheism community, the first thing I did was check to confirm its message. And that message is true.

If your memory is foggy (or you weren’t born yet), here are the horrifying facts: between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer raped, murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys in the American state of Wisconsin.

Deemed sane enough to stand trial, Dahmer was convicted of 16 murders and received life sentences for each one.

While in a maximum security prison, Dahmer began reading the Bible and in May 1994, he was baptized.

Dahmer had weekly visits with his pastor until November of ’94, when he was murdered by another inmate.

So there are the dry facts, the “highlights” of which were used in this graphic to express disgust without having to include a single adjective or exclamation mark.

Do I understand how nauseating the point of this graphic is to most people? Absolutely. Looking beyond the emotion, do I believe the statements in the graphic? Absolutely. Indeed, this reality is among the most important reasons that I call myself a follower of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is God’s Son).

If you’re still with me and you believe in God, think about this: do you really want the creator and master of time, space and the universe to be consumed by the hatred, pettiness, hard-heartedness and lack of mercy to which we human beings so often cling?

I can tell you right now that I would not follow Jesus if His Father was no better than His creations. What would be the point? God would not deserve my love and worship.

So the truth of Jeffery’s Dahmer’s prison life shows me the depth of God’s love and concern for ALL of humanity. He wants everyone, including YOU, to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

But how could that be possible when we all fall short of God’s standard of perfection? Every one of us has done wrong and failed to do right — so often, in fact, that there’s no way we can ever explain them all away or make up for them. In other words, we’re doomed.

Granted, I’m pretty certain no one reading this blog has even considered committing anything like the vile acts that Jeffery Dahmer did. But like it or not, that’s NOT the point. We’re still busted.

But God doesn’t want us to be busted. He wants us to spend eternity with Him. So He sent Jesus to earth to teach us about God, to show us how to live and, finally, to die as punishment for all the wrong things we’ve done and the right things we’ve failed to do.

Believe in Jesus, commit yourself to following Him and when this life ends, God will see YOU just like he saw Jeffrey Dahmer: perfect, exactly like His Son. Without a single blemish. And He’ll welcome you into eternity with Him.

Interested? Yes or no, type your comments below and let’s have a conversation.

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YOUR VERY OWN WEEKEND AT BERNIE’S

Posted in Movies & TV, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 9, 2016| 5 Comments »

Weekend_at_BerniesSomebody mentioned it a week or so ago and since then, I’ve been thinking about the 1989 American cult movie favourite Weekend at Bernie’s.

If you know anything about this comedy (and its 1993 sequel), you’ll know it’s hardly a cinematic classic. Basically, Larry and Richard do their best to make it seem like their corrupt boss (Bernie) is alive and partying because the boss ordered them to be killed unless he – the boss – stays alive.

What follows are various hijinks as Bernie the corpse appears to be partying at his mansion and even having sex. Oh, and Bernie has a habit of disappearing, causing no end of trouble for Larry and Richard. You’ve probably figured out by now that this ain’t Casablanca or Citizen Kane.

But something about the movie’s theme struck me. We all are trying to hide something, to put on appearances and make things seem real to others when we know very well the opposite is true.

For Larry and Richard, it was making a corpse appear to be alive. For you and me, it might be pretending we’re better people than we really are. More compassionate and less judgmental, more generous and less petty, more interested in doing what’s right and less interested in serving our own greedy “needs”.

We know the truth, but if we can just fool others, then we’ll:

  • qualify for the raise in pay
  • get the girl (or guy) we desire
  • gain the favour of someone with power and influence
  • earn the promotion we’ve long wanted
  • win the respect of others.

Now consider this: if you believe in a creator, maybe that creator is personally interested in YOU. And that creator knows you better than you know yourself.

Followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) believe God knows everything about us. We also believe He is perfect and that’s His standard for judging every person on this planet.

If that’s the case, what are you going to do with the knowledge that all the flaws you’ve carefully hidden from the world are absolutely out in the open with Him? How are you going to explain them away?

You may not like the answer, but here it is: you CAN’T. No one on this planet, no matter how virtuous they seem, can. No one is good enough to get into Heaven.

So here’s the good news: you don’t have to be. God made a way for every person to spend eternity with Him, no matter how good or bad they are. And that way is Jesus.

By dying on a Roman cross, Jesus paid the penalty for EVERY bad thing we’ve done and EVERY good thing we’ve failed to do. Our only obligation is accept what He did. Believe in what He did. And know that He is alive and ready to work in your heart RIGHT NOW.

Interested? Post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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IF YOU ACCEPT THE GIFT….

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2016| 1 Comment »

orange-gift-box1If you’ve read any of the material on Frank’s Cottage, you’ll know that I often refer to Jesus of Nazareth – who many people believe is the Son of God – as God’s gift to anyone who is willing to accept Him.

What I haven’t written about is some of the things that could very well happen to you if you accept that gift.

If you’ve spent the majority of your life not following Jesus, you’ll be challenged to change the way you think about almost everything. Your worldview simply can’t stay the same.

You’ll also need to become comfortable with mystery, because as much as we can know God through ancient documents and through Jesus, much of Him will remain a mystery until we’re done with this life.

If you live in the Middle East or many parts of Asia, telling anyone that you follow Jesus could set you up for job loss, torture, imprisonment or violent death.

According to the The Pew Research Center, in 2018, Jesus followers were persecuted in 145 countries, more than any other faith group (Muslims were second, Jews were third).

If you live in the “developed world” (North America, most of Europe, Australia/New Zealand, some parts of Asia), you’ll be constantly exposed to behaviours and attitudes that go against the teachings of Jesus.

You’ll find these behaviours and attitudes dominate your workplace, the media and the lives of most of your friends and relatives. Indeed, you unconsciously supported and participated in those behaviours. Now, if you’re serious about following Jesus, you must change.

One of the most significant changes will be how you think about people who don’t follow Jesus. When you finish with your life, you’ll meet God and He won’t see any of the wrong things you’ve done and right things you’ve failed to do. He’ll only see His Son’s perfection. But that will NOT be the case for all the people around you. What are you going to do about that?

If you’re the first person in your family (biological and extended) to follow Jesus, don’t be surprised that it creates a significant barrier between yourself and them.

In one of the original-source biographies of Jesus, He tells His followers “Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God.”

If you live in middle class comfort (like me), you’ll be constantly challenged by Jesus to consider your lifestyle — how you spend your free time, the size of your house, the number of vehicles you own, how much time and money you allocate to charity.

Is all this serving to dissuade you from considering a life of faith in Jesus? Good. Because following Jesus is not a hobby or a pleasant Sunday pastime. And He’s not interested in lukewarm “fans”.

Jesus wants to invade your life, make you the person God always meant for you to be, and have you serve as His ambassador to a world that desperately needs real hope — in this life and the life to come. And it’s a hope YOU will have if you accept the gift of Jesus.

Are you ready?

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WHAT ABOUT PROOF?

Posted in Me & The World, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 21, 2015| 7 Comments »

PROOFHooo, boy. There’s a lot to unpack in this graphic, isn’t there?

Kindly presented by an Internet atheist community, I grabbed it because it presents such a wonderful opportunity to tell you the truth about the creator and master of time, space and the universe.

1.  If there were proof that a god exists, atheists would be denied the freedom to claim that God doesn’t exist. And if God has proven anything over the centuries, it’s that He’s all about free will.

Want proof? One of the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth (who many people believe is the Son of God) said “God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth.” That’s right, God wants everyone to be saved. He doesn’t force a single person. It’s up to us.

Another ancient writer goes further: “Today you must decide who you will serve … But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” See? More free will. In fact, the entire existence of atheism is proof of free will.

2.  Like it or not, God wants us to come to Him in faith. The evidence comes from one of Jesus’s early followers: “Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.”

So the very thing that many atheists hold in contempt is the very thing that God is all about. He wants a relationship with free-thinking people. He’s not interested in programming soulless robots to do His bidding because no matter how you look at it, that’s NOT a relationship.

3.  The “facts” that “could be repeated, tested and demonstrated” is for logic and mathematics, not for the creator of time, space and the universe. As Matt Slick puts it on the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website:

How do you “prove” there is a Great Being outside of our universe? Do we look for footprints in a riverbed? Do we examine evidence under a microscope and say, “A ha! There’s God!”? That would be the wrong approach. If God exists, He would be beyond our universe, non-material, and transcendent.

For me, the evidence of God is the universe. No God means no universe, no Frank’s Cottage, no you or me.

For me, the evidence of God is Jesus. Original-source biographies of His physical life on earth refer to Jesus as God’s Son at least four times. There’s no provable reason to believe that’s not so.

For me, the evidence of God is the set of morals that are common to a majority of people on this planet.

Where did these morals come from? How do we really know that it’s wrong to kill, to rape, to steal, to lie, to defraud, to cheat on our spouses?

Why are these moral absolutes? Because they were implanted inside us by our creator. And we clearly see what happens when these implants are ignored (see: ISIS, the Taliban, Nazi Germany, the Pol Pot regime, Josef Stalin and whoever has committed the latest mass murder).

So what do you think….do I, as a follower of Jesus, have a fiction that I simply want to believe? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE SIN EATER

Posted in Movies & TV, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Sin Eater 11.15While on a plane flight, I watched an episode of the American TV crime drama “The Blacklist”, staring the brilliant James Spader.

Besides enjoying the taut suspense, I was intrigued by an apparent power that Spader’s character had: he could suppress the terrible memories of people he wanted to protect.

“I’m a sin eater,” he tells co-star Megan Boone, who portrays a deeply troubled FBI profiler, in a 2015 episode. “I absorb the misdeeds of others, darkening my soul to keep theirs pure. That is what I’m capable of.”

How’s that for an amazing ability? Imagine if a real person could do such a thing? It certainly didn’t make Spader’s character, FBI fugitive Raymond Reddington, a happy person. So would a real life person use such a power?

Well, prepare yourself for a little controversy because a real person DOES have that power and uses it all the time.

His name? Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is the son of God.

Stick with me while I explain.

More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus was physically on this earth, walking around Israel with a band of rag-tag followers and telling anyone who would listen that God was not a far-off, angry entity.

He was (and is) in the hearts and minds of anyone who would welcome Him, passionately loving that person and offering them an eternal place in Heaven.

The problem? This perfect God could not, and cannot, stand the “sin” that you and I commit. That means the wrong things we do every day and the right things we fail to do every day. That means turning our backs on God and living like He doesn’t exist.

God sent Jesus to fix that through an extraordinary process: Jesus, who was (and is) as perfect as His Father, became our sin eater, absorbing our misdeeds and taking the punishment for them by dying on a Roman cross.

Anyone who believes in Jesus and follows Him has their sins absorbed and their soul made pure through his sacrificial death and resurrection three days later.

This means when this life is finished and His followers appear before God, the wrong things they’ve done and the right things they’ve failed to do are wiped out. Jesus followers are as pure in God’s eyes as Jesus Himself.

This strikes me as a pretty good deal. That’s why, after much consideration, after reading many books and after debating with some brave Jesus followers, I decided to accept that deal.

So Jesus lives in my heart and mind. The more I listen to His leading, the better my life is.

This same deal is available to you, no matter what you’ve done (or not done), no matter how dark (or light) your soul may be.

Interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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THE CURE FOR “RELIGION”

Posted in It's Not About 'Religion', tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 10, 2015| 2 Comments »

When I first saw this graphic, generously shared on an atheist internet community, my first reaction was “Hmm…wonder where I could buy a great shirt like this?”

I’m a person of faith who knows the world needs a cure for “religion”. You know, all that stuff that says you can torture, rape and kill ‘unbelievers’. (Or worse still, people who leave my “religion” for another “religion”.)

Am I overstating it? Then let’s examine the “religious” part of just one faith, Christianity. You may have experienced it:

  • People who appear to have it all together sitting in cold-hearted judgement of others.
  • People who sniff their disapproval of those with tattoos or nose rings.
  • People who claim they welcome others to their churches — as long as those people fit in, ’cause hey, we’re certainly NOT going to change for YOU.
  • People who seem to spend more time angrily opposing things than lovingly offering an alternative.

All this is how I see “religion”.

Is there a cure? Absolutely, but it’s controversial. It’s Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is God’s divine Son.

Still with me, but wondering what the heck I’m writing about? Good.

During His physical time on earth, Jesus had little use for the rituals of “religion” and the self-righteous, soulless lives it so often produces.

In  one of the four original-source biographies of Jesus’ life, He says this to people like you and me: “Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.”

In his book The End of Religion, Canadian pastor Bruxy Cavey writes “Notice how Jesus is not pointing toward a different and better religion, but instead He invites us to Himself as an alternative to the weary way of religion.”

Exactly. That’s the thing you might not know: being a Jesus follower isn’t about a religion. It’s about a person and how you and I can have a relationship with Him that starts in this life and stretches into eternity.

That means no guilt-induced rituals that create nothing but spiritual fatigue. It also means thoughtfully, consciously turning away from the elitism of “us versus them” and the smugness of judgmentalism.

When people honestly, humbly come to Jesus, they come knowing they are every bit as imperfect as the people they are tempted to judge. They come with the realization that it’s them who must change.

That was the case for me when I decided to believe in and follow Jesus at age 42. And it’s made me a better person.

Do you want to be a better person without the shackles of religion? Then check out Jesus, because He tells everyone who will listen that “anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.”

Sound interesting? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.

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