Thursday, April 10, 2014

Lent: Day Thirty-seven ~ God is Not a Religion

Luke 2: 40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

God is Not a Religion

Pss. 86: 13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

“Religion is for people afraid of going to hell…Spirituality is for people who have already been there.” ~ Vine Deloria – Sioux

I hear so many times people saying, “Don’t shove your religion down my throat.” Maybe they are misinformed but scripture from the bible is not a religion; God is not a religion so when I post a scripture and you’re offended and tell me to stop shoving my religion down your throat, allow me to enlighten you.

Scripture is not a religion. Faith in God is not a religion. Now when a Jehovah’s Witness knocks on your door and tries to shove a pamphlet in your face, THAT is someone trying to force their religion on you.

I’ve been approached many times in the parking lot by a JW and as you’re trying to unload all your groceries, they run up and try shoving a pamphlet in your face. Now THAT to me is trying to force a religion on you. When someone physically approaches you and feeds you their religion as if it is the only one and the only RIGHT one that exists.

Spirituality is not a religion either and TO ME that is just what God and all His biblical testimonies are, primarily. The Buddhists don’t own spiritual awareness, the Native Americans don’t have the market cornered on spirituality. Spiritual experiences are for all whether faith in one God or not.

My spirituality is a deep rooted faith in one God. It is rooted in there being only ONE God, who had a Son through a divine Immaculate Conception, who then died for mankind and all his sins, thus bathing us in the Holy Spirit!

If religion is defined as the worship of One God, then yes, I am religious. I will walk with the Holy Spirit and share with you all that that entails, but I will not say that this is the one and only faith that you must adhere to in life or that it is the only RIGHT one. 

We are all of different creeds and I respect that. I cannot judge someone whose only faith is in spiritual awareness and I would hope that I am not judged for believing in the trinity.

When I was a child, I was raised Catholic and very much wanted to be a nun and dedicate my life to Christ but be it as it may, God wanted a different path for me and in every breath I took, He guided each step. He is the one who put me on this spiritual path. He did not sink me into a religion and guide me in the way of becoming a nun; He had different plans for me.

Spirituality is hard to find a definitive definition. Scientist define it “the search for the sacred”. There is a definition on spiritualism that is defined as: the belief that all reality is spiritual. Metaphysics: any of various doctrines maintaining that the ultimate reality is spirit or mind. If God did not want us to be spiritual beings why use the word over 600 times in the Bible?

Why did God take me on this journey? Why did He set my path on the spiritual aspect rather than a religious road? I think it is because He wanted me to know the differences in life based on spirituality.

Being called a Jesus freak is okay with me. I’ve already stirred up thoughts with this Lenten series and some have been good, while others I can sense are tired of it all already. I’m not called to please you, I’m called to please my Lord and Savior who is guiding my fingertips. I am guided by the warmth washing over me by the Holy Spirit and what comes out in these posts are for all to walk away with and think about.

You can walk away in agreement or disagreement that is for you and where you are in your journey of life. All I know is that God is my divining rod. I can choose one way or the other, I can believe in all He has shown me, or I can shrug off all He has conveyed and take a different path. That is free will.

If you pick up a bible and read it, do you walk away with questions, enlightenment, doubts or unbelief? Enlightenment to me is an AHA moment where a lightbulb goes off in my head. And when I read the bible, I walk away enlightened by the knowledge that God has placed on my heart. I have read many different doctrines and the Holy Bible is the only one that gave me clarity.

God is not my religion, He is a way of life for me. I am a very spiritual person who sees God in everything, and I do mean everything. The land, the trees, the soil, the animals, and yes in human beings whether they have the Light of the Lord in them or not, I see them as spiritual beings set on a different path than me.

My religion is my church (Christians) and my church family (where I go to praise and worship) where we are all set on the same path walking hand in hand with the same beliefs. You can poke fun at me, laugh at my pain, correct me because I’m not grammatically perfect, scoff at my imperfections but please, don’t make fun of my spiritual beliefs. I judge no one and don’t care to BE judged.

God is not a religion, He is a spiritual journey. Embrace it.

1 Cor. 16: 18 For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.


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