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Jesus and Religion

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“Christianity was never intended to be an “ethical system” with Jesus Christ at the head. Our Lord did not come into the world 2,000 years ago to launch Christianity as a new religion or a new system. He came with eternal purpose. He came as the center of all things. Actually, he came to be our religion. He came in person, in the flesh, to be God’s salvation to the very ends of the earth. He did not come just to delegate powers to others to heal or cure or bless. He came to be the blessings and the full glory of God are to be found in His person.”  ~A.W. Tozer
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I came across this quote by Tozer and I was again reminded of the centrality of Jesus and the decentralizing of religious institutions. It seems the more we succeed in the church, the more we create something that competes with Jesus. Jesus came to be our faith, our religion, not to compete against what we have created.

As churches grow and initiatives progress, we tend to pat ourselves on the back for what we have accomplished. Yet the community of faith is supposed to be something different, the measuring metrics are different, the outcomes are different.

The larger a church grows the more complex the machinery needed to maintain it. Expansion moves towards the ever elusive dollar, and soon a congregation might find itself serving their structures and initiatives and programs rather than the God who inspired the movement.

When the church moves in this fashion, the teachings become more about behavioral modifications and sinning less because we are so busy “doing” religious stuff that we forget that Jesus -is- our religion.

For the follower of the Rabbi, there is no substitute for who He is…There is no to do list that trumps His presence…There is no self-improvement program that transcends His power.

Jesus is the center. Jesus is the personal revelation of the Father. Jesus is our religion. In becoming our religion, He has demolished the machine that has been created in His name yet lacks the power of His presence.

Monty

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There Are No Add-ons!

This Sunday we will launch into our new conversation “Losing My Religion” with a message called “There Are No Add-ons”  In the Bible, the letter to the Hebrews is an incredible, powerful and creative offering helping us see there is a better way.  This weekend we will navigate through the first four verses. In many ways the these verses outline everything else that follows in the letter. So if you are ready to experience God and lose some religious baggage come and join me this Sunday at SVA @ 9 or 11!

here is an outline for Sunday:  conversation one: there-are-no-add-ons

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Losing My Religion intro

Join me this weekend at SVA as I begin a new conversation called “Losing My Religion” We will begin a new journey unpacking the letter to the Hebrews…If you have found that the formulaic life and check list faith aren’t working for you, and you want to experience God in a real and dynamic way…get to SVA this weekend.

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You Become Like What You Pursue…

As I look around me I am overwhelmed by the variety of things we are pursuing.  Things like: The perfect house…the right career…the right guy or girl…escape from life’s realities through books, film, poetry…

We pursue justice…vacations…accumulating stuff and things…the American dream…passions…health goals…life goals… financial goals…pleasure…money…power and control…recognition…family and independence…

We are tired and weary from the elusive pursuit, yet every day we get up and the race begins all over again.

What are you chasing after…who are you becoming?

The reason this is an important question to ponder and ruminate upon is because we become like the thing we pursue. The things that get our time, energy and focus are what we slowly shape-shift into becoming. Generally, the things we pursue are not actually what we truly desire, there is something deeper, but we have invested so little time into our souls that we are deaf to her cry.  Out the soul’s deepest longings are desires that would bring about life, beauty and joy.

The soul is timid, powerful but timid. The energy-draining-crashing-around we exhibit as we pursue something generally causes the soul to stay in the shadows, waiting for a quieter moment…but the moment passes us by as the volume of life drowns out the soul’s whisper.

Psalm 34:14 in the Amplified translation notes:

“Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace                  and pursue (go after) it!”

Interesting…I wonder what our world would be like if instead of pursuing global-economic primacy nations instead pursued peace. I wonder what would happen in our neighborhoods if instead of one-upping the Jones’ we chose peace and received contentment. I wonder what our soul would sing if we chose to live a lifestyle that pursued peace and not all the stuff and things that we think will bring us peace.

King David was a man that longed for God’s peace yet lived a life where peace was as tangible as a steak at a Vegan seminar. Wars, subterfuge, marital conflict, adultery, betrayal and constant criticism nipped his heels daily. Yet his words seem to lock in on something beyond…something fascinating…something beautiful…something his soul was crying out for: Seek after…inquire for…and crave peace…then by all means make that your pursuit!

The greatest gift God has given me is an otherworldly saturation of peace in the midst of storms. A feeling so powerful and so real that I have wondered what it was, where it came from… and then, I pray it will never leave. It is more than peace though…it is God’s own Spirit unleashed in our soul causing her to sing in such a way that all those other pursuits fade on the sidelines of life.

To pursue peace is to become peace. Your presence will affect the people around you. Your countenance will be a calming reality and a contagious morsel. Your eyes will radiate a sense of God’s power and presence that is beyond the normal human pursuit.

You see, when we pursue peace and embrace it we are allowing God’s Spirit access to the control center of our life. As The Spirit slowly begins to lead us, there is something forming, growing, expanding and bringing even more peace with it and that is the very life of Christ Himself. The Spirit’s role is to form the living Christ in us by faith.

Jesus was called the prince of peace…the bringer of peace…so to pursue peace is to pursue the author and embodiment of peace, Jesus.

When we run around trying to experience a feeling we never quite get there because peace isn’t a feeling, it’s a person.

Let’s choose to pursue Peace at work; at home; in our communities of faith; in our storms; in our goals and in our soul.

Jesus said it this way:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Jesus gives us peace by giving us Himself…no formula…no hoops to jump through…no major clean up in order to deserve it. No, He offers us His peace in and of Himself…to hold Him is to have peace…Isaiah said the the punishment that brought us peace was taken on by Jesus. (Isaiah 53:5).

May you be fascinated by Him this week, and may you experience peace as you pursue it in the face of the Messiah.

~Monty