There is an analogy that i read or heard someplace. I don't even remember what it was used to say, but it is a really nifty word picture. Imagine a lady sitting and listening to music. She is nodding her head and tapping her feet with the rhythm and smiling about the message in the lyrics. A deaf man is watching her. He knows from experience that when the lady gets done doing this at lunch break she is much easier to deal with in the afternoon. It is good for her soul. So he does the same thing she does. He sits down, nods his head, taps his feet and smiles for about 10 minutes like she does. Of course, since he cannot hear the music, it does nothing for him, except for the placebo effect. Because he tells himself it will help he has a better attitude in the afternoon.
The Christian church service is supposed to be putting into practice genuine relationship with God. People that observe the ritual but do not have a proper relationship with God – everyone has a PERSONAL relationship with God – for most that is not a right relationship, but rather is based on personal rebellion or unbelief – for people that only observe the outward manifestation of a right relationship with God, as they try to do religion correctly, they merely mimic those outward manifestations.
If true followers of Jesus get together to live out their faith together they will have some kind of method for doing so. That method will be kept fresh by the true followers, and will adapt to different situations of daily relationship with God. If the group becomes influenced by people who are no longer in a fresh relationship with God or never have had, then the method will get off track. That is where false religion comes in.
To the degree that the religion is influenced by people who do not have a fresh, living relationship with the Lord Jesus, to that degree it will simply be an unshrunk patch that will tear the fabric of the religion apart when the Holy Spirit actually rules in peoples hearts.
I am looking for work again. I have tried to seek God about it. I have attempted to get my heart right with Him so that He would be free to lead me in the best directions for the job search. I have looked up pertinent promises in the Bible and attempted to line up my prayers with what i know to be God's will based on the Bible. I have attempted to seek God's face and God's strength.
I have done a lousy job of it. I am so imperfect that there is no way that by my efforts i can do the job correctly or effectively. But as I went through the motions of the job hunt this morning i realized that God's peace is ruling in my heart. I reacted to situations not according to what logic would say but rather trusting God. It is not because of what is good in me that I can have peace and joy in my life. It is because God is good and faithful and honors my feeble attempts at friendship by being my friend and filling me with His Holy Spirit. As I type this i have tears pouring down my face because i know how GOOD God is to me. There is nothing I want more in this life than to know that God loves me and that I love God.
Only people that understand this kind of relationship with God can create true religion.
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