Thursday, March 14, 2024
When I fell in love, I also joined a church.
His family was devout in their religious practices, so I took the important classes, learned all about their traditions, and became a member of their church. Belonging to the family and their beliefs was very important to me.
Eventually, we married and had children. Accordingly, our children were baptized as babies and attended all of the required classes growing up. There were ceremonies for first communion, confirmation, and graduation.
I began to wonder, “Was it the rituals that would save us?”
Mark 7:6-7
6 Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
I found that in all of the pomp and circumstance, my relationship with God was missing. We all went through the motions and observed the required rituals, but we really never got to know God. We learned prayers instead of speaking to God from our heart. Jesus was an idol, but he longed to be a friend. He wanted a relationship, not just religion.
As I walked through a very difficult season, God used the pain of my mistakes to bring me into a relationship with Jesus so I could be healed. I learned to be honest and courageous as I looked at my hurts and hangups. God’s Word became the standard to live by. The more I seek to follow God’s will for my life, the more I experience his power.
It’s not the rituals that we perform or the good works that we do that save us. Jesus died so that we could be reconciled to the Father through him. It is only when we believe and confess that Jesus is the son of God and hand over our will to him that we are saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Questions:
Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus? How can you learn to try less and trust more?
Next Steps:
Make a commitment to attend church each Sunday for one year. Sign up for GrowthTrack. Share your experience with a loved one or close friend.
Prayer:
Father, you are powerful and mighty, all knowing and all seeing. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to this fallen world so that we could be saved through him. Teach me, guide me, and help me to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give my will and my life to you to do as you see fit. Thank you, Lord, for loving. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This post was written by Julie Estep, a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional