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.

Poetry Sunday ~ Shine On ~

Heb. 6: 4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

Shine On...
(c) Joni Zipp

My yesterdays have gone astray
they lurk forever more.
hiding behind the pain inside,
they seek an open door.

My today's have been quite lovely
whenever I praise His name
nothing can hold me captive;
through Him I’m not the same.

My tomorrows will be brighter
more days of sun not rain.
it’ll wash away my sorrows
driving off the inner pain.

My past is gone forever
I hold the hidden key.
On a chain around my neck
it’s locked all memory.

The future of mine has promise
as a beacon holds my gaze
I long for life within the realm
where I carry all my days.

The Lord is the comforting arms,
my strength, my shield, my rock.
I may hold the key to my soul
it is HE who made the lock!




Job 33: 30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.

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Quotation Saturday~ Thanksgiving!

Lev. 22:29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.
***

If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice.
~Meister Eckhart

Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.
~Phillips Brooks(1835 - 1893)

One single grateful thought raised to heaven is the most perfect prayer.
~G.E.Lessing (1729 - 1781)

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
~Chinese Proverb

You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated. It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.
~Barbara Hall, A Summons to New Orleans, 2000

In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.
~Ellen DeGeneres, (attributed)

Any one who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind's eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter light, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light.
~Plato (427 BC - 347 BC), The Republic

Quotation Saturday

I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.
Leonardo da Vinci
...as his last words

My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.
~Anton Chekhov

The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense.
~Tom Clancy

Our lives with all their miracles and wonders are merely a discontinuous string of incidents – until we create the narrative that gives them meaning
~Arlene Goldbard
Do not consider it proof just because it is written in books, for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen.
~Maimonides

Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.
~Elvis Presley
We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
~Ernest Hemingway

In brief, I spend half my time trying to learn the secrets of other writers - to apply them to the expression of my own thoughts.
~Shirley Ann Grau

I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great rewriters.
~James A. Michener

A short story can be held in the mind all in one piece. It's less like a building than a fiendish device. Every bit of it must be cunningly made and crafted to fit together perfectly and without waste so it can perform its task with absolute precision. That purpose might be to move the reader to tears or wonder, to awaken the conscience, to console, to gladden, or to enlighten. But each short story has one chief purpose, and every sentence, phrase, and word is crafted to achieve that end. The ideal short story is like a knife - strongly made, well balanced, and with an absolute minimum of moving parts.
~Michael Swanwick

Salvation

Romans 15:15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,

I like to think myself intuitive with a 95% positive rate. So when I dreamed last night that today’s blog would be about Salvation, I took the cosmos up on its request.


When I look up the word salvation here is what I get:
salvation-
1. the act of saving or protecting from harm, risk, loss, destruction, etc.
2. a source, cause, or means of being saved or protected from harm, risk, etc.
3. Theology: deliverance from the power and penalty of sin; redemption.

I like number three the most, but that is only because I am a Born-again Christian. But when I look at salvation from other religions I find that many believe in salvation, not necessarily the God granting redemption of ones sins, but through suffering, reincarnation or meditation. I won’t sit in judgment of these faiths as I journey through life. I find it quite enlightening that throughout the ages no matter what humans endure, we all seek salvation at one point in our lives.

Through my writing, I am acting as a relay person to protect you from harm, risk, loss or destruction. I don’t want you to risk losing all that you’ve learned so all of my posts are archived. I am a writer helping other writer’s to be the very best they can be whether it is in their writing or in their daily lives that they muddle through.

Sometimes we get confused with where to go, what to be in life, but often times we have a guiding hand in there tweaking us as we go along to choose the right or wrong path. Maybe salvation means being saved. Interesting concept either way.

“His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7

Acts 13:26 says, Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

II Timothy 3: 15 says, And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

I Peter 1:5 states, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

I’m not pushing my faith on any one of you. You are all your own individual human beings whom lay down their lives for something. As we near the end times, I’m sure you think of mortality more and more. Do you think of being in the ground six feet under with worms crawling over you? Do you think you just go to sleep eternally?

Whatever it is you think, before you leave this earth, your last thought will more than likely be either “I’m afraid to die,” or “I’m saved, Lord take me home.”

Salvation, the deliverance from the penalty of sin.

Okay the weird and quirky lecture is over. May you all listen to your instincts as you go through life, maybe, just maybe, you might hear the word of the one that you worship in your faith.

Praise be...godspeed