We are meant to freely enjoy God. Period. However, the spirit of religion will tell you otherwise.
I was listening to the Bible this morning (audio version) and Jesus was sternly addressing the religious crowd in Matthew 23. Jesus was and is passionate about dealing with those who misrepresent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They misrepresent the amazing, beautiful, wonderful and fulfilling relationship that is only found in Him. Not in religious formulas and duties.
Religion is like going through a crazy maze with no way out, constantly frustrated, stressed out, and burned out with no joy of life. But relationship with Jesus so full of life and love!
We have more religion hanging off of us than we realize sometimes. And I don’t want to be like that. Religion is a hindrance to an exciting relationship with the Holy Spirit and the flow of the anointing.
Here are just a few signs that you may have to deal with some religious thinking in your life:
- Religion is works oriented. It tries to earn God’s love and favor by DOING outward things.
- Religion refuses to keep an open heart towards godly revelation. Religion says that God can’t or won’t do that!
- Religion relies on formulas to seek God rather than freedom
- Religion draws attention to him/herself rather than God.
- Religion looks down on others walk with God.
- Religion views God as cold, distant and unengaged in your life. Not as Friend. There is no real sense of the powerful Father son/daughter relationship. Your heart struggles to say, “Abba”
- A religious spirit becomes joyless, cynical, judgmental and critical. You are born again but have no real, tangible, joyful ongoing relationship with Jesus. You project righteousness but inwardly are filled with anger and resentment.
- A religious spirit becomes prideful, isolated and unengaged from the body of Christ and EASILY OFFENDED
- A religious spirit is argumentative about the things of God because of your own views of theology and God.
- Religion judges others by their appearance. Not remembering that EVERYONE has a story.
- Religion tries to conform to outward holiness without an inward transformation of the heart.
- Religion performs Christian duties but has no real passion or hunger for God.
- Religion seeks for position and honor in the church more than honor from God.
- Religion tries to get the weak willed, the uninformed and those not yet strongly rooted in Christ and the Word to conform to same junk you live by.
- And one of the worst symptoms of them all of a religious spirit: Religion severely lacks the love and compassion of Christ for others.
If any of these religious symptoms describe an area in your life, go to Jesus and ask Him to remove anything that is not rooted in the love of the Father. Ask Jesus to fill you with His joyful presence.
When we know the truth about what the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, feels and thinks about us and how much They enjoy us and how free They want us to be, this truth will make you want to dance!
“You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” Psalm 16:11