RELATIONSHIP > RELIGION (Dig Deeper Included)

RELATIONSHIP > RELIGIOUS RULES
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Have you ever heard someone, or been ‘someone’, who has stated the fact that they want nothing to do with RELIGION? I can see why! RELIGION is a faith based on a set of rules and regulations and we are only good enough if we are able keep all of them. Who can do that??! I am a mess and I realize it.


Even when I have the best intentions and I work so hard to be 'good', I still mess up!

RELATIONSHIP is so much better! God wants to be in a personal relationship with US. This still baffles me. He, better than anyone, knows what a mess I can be!
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RELATIONSHIP = HE changes our heart from the inside out which spills outward.
RELIGION= WE try to change behaviors to be perfect on the outside all the while fighting with our own naturally sinful hearts. 
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I KNOW I can’t measure up to perfection like Jesus, which is what RELIGION expects. If Heaven was based on religion, I would be hopeless, or hopelessly trying to measure up. What an exhausting life that would be!

BUT ISNT THAT WHAT WE ALL TRY TO DO AT SOME POINT?? Earn it. Work hard for it. Do this or that so God will love me more….Or is that just me that fights against this??

1. God created us EACH for a certain purpose. God LOVES us and is excited for us to know the wonderful life He planned for you before we were even a thought in our mother’s mind! Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:13,14
2. ALL of us are broken souls that need God! We are ALL born sinners. Don’t believe it? Do we teach a child to lie? Or be selfish? NOPE. That is inborn. SIN is inborn. Realizing that we will never have this life under our own control is the what I consider is the first step towards God. We begin to see that He is bigger than us. GOD is GOD! I mean, He CREATED us, so doesn’t it make sense He knows what is best for us in this life? Romans 3:23
3. GOD LOVES US! He sent His Son, Jesus to be a perfect, ultimate sacrifice for our sins- the ONCE-and-DONE sacrifice for all sins! Jesus sacrificed Himself for us to be able to be in RELATIONSHIP with our Holy Father God. It sounds crazy, but if we accept JESUS as Lord & Savior, God considers us as HOLY just like Jesus! Romans 5:8
4.   Jesus came to give us access to the amazing, abundant life HERE and NOW, as well as Life Forever with Him in Heaven! Romans 6:23              
5. BELIEVE IT? Can we accept that Jesus came for US?  Jesus came to mend our broken places. Jesus came to give us the same access to God and Heaven that He has. If we can accept this gift Jesus is offering, then SALVATION is OURS! We only need to ask and it is given freely. Romans 10:9-13

 
True Salvation ALWAYS leads to change as we allow Jesus to take LORDSHIP over our life. When we begin to realize what Jesus did for us, we will want to know more about Him.
As this RELATIONSHIP grows, we grow and change to be more like Jesus!  
I choose RELATIONSHIP!! It is just so much better!

SEE BELOW for SCRIPTURES!​

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You may find the rest of this BASICS 101 helpful too! ​

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RELATIONSHIP with GOD > RELIGIOUS RULES
– Dig Deeper in Scripture
 
1.       God created us for a certain purpose.
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. – Ephesians 2:10 NLT
 
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it – Psalm 139: 13-14 NLT
 
2.     We are broken souls that need God.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.- Romans 3:23 NLT
 
3.       GOD made a WAY to fix our brokenness.
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. – Romans 5:8 NLT
 
4.     JESUS came to FIX it!
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23 NLT
 
5.     BELIEVE IT?!
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.[ 12 Jew and Gentile] are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  Romans 10:9-13 NLT

​If you need more questions answered, please let me know! I am here 'cause I love ya!