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You May Be Religious If…

1. You spend more time defending a doctrine than sharing Christ.

2. You confront people about using YouVersion in church.

3. You see church as something you do and go to rather than something you are.

4. You get angrier when you hear a cuss word than when you see someone hurting.

5. You find the homeless man on the street untouchable.

6. You’re more concerned with your giving record than your lost family member.

7. You dress for church to “give God your best”, but fail to give anything of value to your family.

8. You’re prouder of your Sunday School attendance chart than the baptism count.

9. You see prayer as something that must be done rather than a chance to talk with God.

10. You compare yourself to others for comfort rather than looking to God for transformation.

Matthew 15:1-9

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!” Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.

Any additions to the 10?

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Don’t Eat From the Religion Buffet

Religion isn’t a smorgasbord.

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Did you read that?

No one comes to the Father (God) EXCEPT by Christ.

We can’t pick and choose what faiths we want to combine.
All roads do not lead the the same heaven.
There aren’t many different avenues to God.
It’s only through Jesus.

You can’t earn it.
You can’t get to a certain point to get there.

It’s through Him.

If you are trying it any other way,
you now know what you have to do.

Send me an email,
ask a friend,
comment on this post.

If you’re a “Christian” but are still trying to earn His love somehow,
QUIT!
You do nothing but cheapen His grace.

That’s my post for today.
I think it needed to be said.

24
Aug 2010
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
DISCUSSION 9 Comments
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3 Things I Know

I’m a pretty young dude.

In fact, I’ve been called a “young whipper-snapper” recently.

I have, however, lived life 23 years.

It’s hard to live even that long without learning a few things along the way.

So, here are 3 things that I know.

I hope you already know them as well!

1. God’s grace is enough!
Seriously, that’s all it takes. Nothing more, nothing less. Just His grace, amazing love for His people, and our trust in that grace. I’ve spent portions of my life trying to earn this great grace, but have come to find that it’s impossible. In fact, all I’ve ever done is cheapen His grace by thinking that I can some home measure up, some how do enough.

2. Love compels action!
When I realize that someone loves me, I’m compelled to love them back. I’m convinced, that if we really ever get a glimpse of how much Christ loves us, we can’t do anything but love Him back. Sure, we’re not going to be perfect, but love is going to be an overriding motivation for our lives.

3. The greatest way to love God and love others is to help others know God!
It may sound simple, but we often miss it. We take the grace of God like it’s a gift to us that we can never give to others. God’s love compels our love toward Him and to others (Matthew 22:36-40). With our daily life and our love toward Christ, we should be helping others see Him.

So, I don’t consider myself that smart.
In fact, there’s probably a typo or badly structured sentence in this post.

But, I do know a few things.

These just may be enough!

What is something that you “know?”

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God Can’t Do That

We’ve all been told to not try to be someone we’re not.
As I read these verses, I can’t help but be thankful that God doesn’t try to be someone He’s not….

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

These are some of the coolest verses in all of scripture.

Here is my redneck, country-fied, southern translation of this…

If we die with him, we’ll live with him. If we deny him, he’s gonna deny us. If we aren’t faithful, he’ll still be faithful. Hey, he don’t know any other way. He always has been.

God is so good, the only thing He doesn’t have the ability to do is be bad.
God is in control, but can’t resist loving you.
God is King, but can’t give Himself permission to give up on you.
God created you, but can’t develop a hatred for you.

So yeah, there are some things God just can’t do…

08
Jun 2010
POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson
DISCUSSION 6 Comments
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4 Secrets for Spiritual Growth

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

OK, so it’s in the Bible and it’s not really a secret.
The problem is, we so seldom take the Bible’s advice, the priciples found in it often become like a secret.

James 4:7-8 gives great insight into 4 simple things we can do to grow closer to Christ…

1. Submit yourself to God.

That’s where it starts…turning our lives over to Him. Submitting everything we have and all of who we are go His control.

2. Resist the Devil.

We can’t underestimate the enemy’s frustration with someone that is completely submitted to following God. We must be on the lookout. We need to take proactive steps in resisting the devil. If a certain thing, place, or person puts you at risk for sin, avoid that thing, place, or person.

3. Come near to God.

I remember reading these verses as a 13 year old and thinking, “So if I try to come near to God, He’s gonna meet me in the middle?” Even at that age, I realized how of an amazing promise this is. Come near to Him, and He’ll come near to you. You have to spend time seeking Him!

4. Purify your hearts.

If you put junk in, junk is going to come out. You reap what you sow. Use any catch phrase, but they all mean the same. You must guard what enters your mind and heart. Resist the junk, take in the good things of Christ. You don’t have to be a monk, just dedicated to purifying your heart.

So, let’s learn from each other…

What’s the most critical element to your spiritual growth?