(Day 45 of 100 days of Summer 2014) (2 Chronicles 3-4) A few days before His encounter with the Samaritan woman, Jesus was in Jerusalem celebrating Passover. One night a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee, sought Jesus out. During the course of the conversation we learn several things from the Lord: we must be “born again” if we are to see the Kingdom of God. God loves us enough to have provided a way back “home” to Him; we find our way back to the Father by trusting and believing in His Son. Jesus did not come into the world to judge the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in Jesus are not judged; those who do not believe in Him are judged, not because of their deeds, but because they have not believed in the name of Jesus, the only Son of God. The statements Jesus makes to Nicodemus in this conversation are a death sentence to religion. Merriam-Webster defines religion as, “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.” “Practical” religion tends to remove the most important element necessary to our relationship with God: faith. Simply put, we must believe. The Apostle Paul states it well in Hebrews 11, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” A few sentences earlier, Paul wrote, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” This is what sets religion apart from relationship. The sickness that is in our hearts robs us of the ability to see reality as it truly is. This “spiritual blindness” is something we are all born with, because a long time ago the very first man and woman chose to break trust and relationship with the Father by doing the one thing He had commanded them not to do. This single act of disobedience has been humanity’s demise. When we choose to trust in Jesus, believing in His words and learning Who He is, our spiritual blindness begins to lift. The more we get to know Him through His words, the clearer our sight becomes. Why all this talk of religion? Because religion – man’s systems of worship – is one of the greatest deterrents to true worship. Remember what Jesus told the Samaritan woman? “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” This phrase doesn’t make sense unless you think about it in terms of relationship. We worship in spirit (from the heart) and truth (openly, honestly, admitting our faults and weaknesses to Him and to one another). This is the only way in which we can approach the Father. There are as many different types of hearts and personalities as there are people. God delights in this… He made us each unique. He loves the variety! Unfortunately one of the biggest symptoms of the sickness in our hearts is the tendency to believe – deep down – that everyone else should look like, think like, and act like we do! This perspective gets us into a world of trouble. It makes us jealous, selfish, untrusting, and ultimately unloving. This by-product of Adam’s disobedience has been exploited by the evil one to create hatred among races and family members alike, not to mention the Church. Ultimately, Satan’s ultimate goal is to destroy all relationship, because he has relationship with no one! Digging Deeper Pastor Mark Reeves
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 14:46:37 +0000