When Religion is not enough

When Religion is not enough

When religion is not enough where do you turn? John 11:38-57 is a story that continually leaves me astonished at the Pharisees but alert in my own life. I do not want to become so “holy” that I lose true faith, heart, and belief in God. We can become so “religious” in our lives that we lose faith and belief in the greatness of God. We can also become jealous and upset at what others receive or other persons answered prayer that we also miss Jesus blessings and miracles.

Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

When religion is not enough where do you turn? What does the Bible say about religion? What are the warnings?

38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father,I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year,spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.

54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.

55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.

Food for thought: What is more important to you… your religion or your relationship with Jesus?

Prayer: Abba Father, may we be reminded that You sent Your Son into this world, not for religion. After all, He did away with the ‘law’. You desire a relationship with us. May we never forget that in our quest to please You. Seek ye first Your righteousness… to Your glory, honour, and praise Lord. Amen

May God’s grace, mercy, and peace be with you. Amen

Published by godlywoman911

I became a Christian at a young age and baptized at the age of 13. My journey has been bittersweet. A majority of my life I have been a Christian. But not a Godly Woman. After many failures, tears and tribulation I realized that something in my Christian life had to change. No longer can I profess that I am a Christian but don’t show daily that Christ lives in me! No longer can I claim that I am HIS child when my thoughts, actions and deeds were not overflowing with HIS love. No longer could I live the way I was living and not seek him daily in prayer, scripture and worship. As the Lord blessed me with that knowledge I felt him also calling me to write my journey and share my thoughts, learning and mistakes with others. Hence the reason for 911. Not only was it a crises in my life to become a Godly Woman but as I delved into scripture to understand how to be Godly, I realized that we are living in crazy world where the desire to be Godly was no longer important. Many boast that they are a Christian and weekly attend Church, but lack the Godly qualities that Christ seeks in ALL of his followers. My deepest desire is to serve Christ faithfully, obey HIM joyfully, trust HIM always, seek HIM eternally and become his close friend so that I can share in his truth and knowledge. I pray that this blog blesses you and provide you with the strength, courage and wisdom to be a Godly Man or Woman.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.