Dear Daisy,
I grew up in church, and as a child was programmed to say that I’m a Christian. I never questioned it, and when someone asked me what religion I am, I always responded – Christian. Fast forward to adulthood and I’m finally learning Bible truth. Even though I was encouraged to get baptized as a child and did, I didn’t truly understand what salvation really meant; I was just going through the motions. Thankfully, with Jesus, nothing is wasted; He uses all things for His glory according to His purpose for us. Now I want more. Something inside me has changed and I no longer want what the world has to offer. The Holy Spirit has taught me that there is a huge difference between religion and having a relationship with Jesus. Can you help me find more information to support my search? ~ Signed, Done with religion, I want a relationship with Jesus.
Dear Done with religion, I want a relationship with Jesus,
Thank you for reaching out to discover God’s answers from His Living Word, the Holy Bible He breathed for us (2Timothy 3:16-17). It seems that the Holy Spirit is leading God’s children, His remnant, to His truth in these last days. Let’s dig deep and find answers for you.
I can totally relate to your questions and experience through life that you mentioned. I too, had a similar experience. In recent years I have invited the Holy Spirit to teach me the truth of God’s Word that I had never been taught in all my days of growing up in church. The answers He has shown me through studying the Holy Bible cover to cover, has blown my mind and totally transformed me in ways I never imagined possible.
It was through my allowing Jesus to transform my mind and heart to show me His ways and His truth, that Jesus has forever changed me. It’s still hard for me to comprehend growing up in the church and only being taught a handful of scriptures. God has so much more for His children. Thank God now for the hunger that He has placed in you to go deeper into relationship with Him and experience all He has for you.
Let’s see what we can find…
NOTE: Share this blog with anyone you know that needs Jesus.
Who can you trust to teach you Bible truth?
Fact is: Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be your teacher. According to scripture, we are not to put our faith in a man, but in Jesus alone.
- Jesus is the only way to the Father.
- Jesus is the way the truth and the life.
- Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to teach us.
His truths are written on our heart. So no matter where you live or how you were raised, you have access to the truth of Jesus your Savior, regardless of whether you have been taught this truth. The Holy Spirit is your guide. Listen to Him and follow.
“Jesus told him,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6
“33 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,”
says the LORD.
“I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.
34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,
‘You should know the LORD.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD.
“And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”
Jeremiah 31:33-34
“Call to Me, and I will answer you—
I will tell you great and hidden things, which you do not know.”
Jeremiah 33:3
“But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you,
so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true.
For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know,
and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie.
So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.”
1 John 2:27
“26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.
I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you
so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27
- Facts are facts.
- Jesus is truth.
- He says it in His Holy Word.
- It is written; it will be done just as He said.
“God is not a man, that he should lie;
neither the son of man, that he should repent:
hath he said, and shall he not do it?
or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Numbers 23:19
Religion vs. relationship
Right off the bat, let’s clear something up; religion is a fake relationship with God made up of man-made laws. So the term “fake religion” is redundant. Those who follow religion, (which I did for most of my early life until I found Jesus through the help of the Holy Spirit), are the most empty, hopeless, lonely people. They may know of Jesus but they don’t know Him personally. Why is that? Because they were never taught in church that you could have a personal relationship with Him. These ones go through the motions of going to church, serving, possibly tithing, possibly doing charitable events, but the hope, peace, and love of Jesus is absent. They hope they are going to Heaven because they are doing all the things and following the rules that their church leaders told them to follow, but something is missing. It’s the personal relationship with Jesus.
When you reach the point where you are questioning why you do what you do, and why you believe what you believe, that is the Holy Spirit trying to get your attention to stop the merry-go-round you are on and get off. He’s having you question the rituals and expectations that have been taught to you causing you to follow Him to dig deeper for the truth; His truth.
Throughout scripture we can learn through studying His Word that Jesus created us to be in relationship with Him. Even though He sits on the throne in Heaven, He is also with us at all times. He is omniscient and omnipresent; meaning He is everywhere all the time. You are never alone. You may feel like you are, but you are not; He promises in His Holy Word.
“Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20
“Look! I stand at the door and knock.
If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in,
and we will share a meal together as friends.”
Revelation 3:20
He’s referring to you allowing Him into your heart so that you can have a relationship, like people do as they share a meal together.
So what is the difference between religion and relationship with Jesus?
- Religion is a set of man-made laws that people are expected to follow and are told that is the only way to God or Jesus. For those religions that don’t believe in Jesus, their rules point you to false hope, false peace, and false light to worship what you want. They have their own ideals of a heaven or alternative place they created in their religion.
- Relationship is what Jesus wants with you. It is through a personal relationship with Jesus that you will find hope, salvation, and His indescribable peace. You will also walk in boldness in your faith in Jesus as you follow Him in all ways, and enjoy the confidence that you will spend eternity with Him in the true Heaven with God our Heavenly Father and Creator.
What does Jesus say about religion?
“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.’
8 For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”
Mark 7:6-8
The passage Jesus was quoting from Isaiah. Observe:
“Wherefore the Lord said,
Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth,
and with their lips do honour me,
but have removed their heart far from me,
and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men”
Isaiah 29:13
Another lesson from this scripture that comes from Jesus written in the book of Mark: further confirmation that Jesus didn’t come to abolish God’s law, but to abolish man’s law. In those above scriptures, Jesus is quoting the prophet Isaiah from the First Testament that we are taught we don’t have to read. Jesus’ entire ministry was quoting the First Testament. If He’s quoting it, we need to study it to understand the whole message Jesus was teaching.
Not only is Jesus upholding God’s commands, He is teaching us that we cannot earn our way into Heaven. We don’t get points for doing good and following religious rules. Nor do we get points taken away if we don’t obey those man-made rules.
- You are saved by grace through Jesus’ death on the cross.
- He died for your past, present, and future sins.
- Humans are not perfect; Jesus knows that.
- He does not expect us to be perfect.
- He asks us to turn from our sins and follow Him.
When we unintentionally sin, we repent and ask for His forgiveness and then we try to do better.That is what the Holy Spirit does; He teaches us and guides us to stay on the path with Jesus – follow Him. Since Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He opened up the path to communicating directly with Him and with the Father, God, our Creator.
REMEMBER THESE TRUTHS:
YOU DO NOT NEED A HUMAN TO TALK TO THEM FOR YOU!!!
YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO TO A HUMAN IN A WOODEN CLOSET
TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FROM JESUS
A HUMAN CANNOT FORGIVE YOUR SINS
LIGHTING A CANDLE HAS NO POWER
A STATUE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS
A CRYSTAL CANNOT DO ANYTHING FOR YOU
RUBBING BEADS HAS NO POWER
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO A BUILDING TO TALK TO JESUS
YOU HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO SPEAK WITH JESUS
ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT
YOU DO NOT PRAY TO ANYTHING BUT JESUS!!!
Praying to or kissing statues,
or wearing any objects you place your faith in
are considered idols
and is blasphemy to God!
God makes it very clear how He feels about idols. It’s so important that it is the 2nd Commandment He gave Moses to give us to follow. To not follow this command is an abomination to God. Observe;
“3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:
for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me,
and keep my commandments.”
Exodus 20:3-6
YOU DON’T NEED ANYTHING
BUT JESUS!!!
HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN GIVE YOU PEACE, HOPE AND
THE LOVE YOU WERE CREATED TO CRAVE!
NOTHING ELSE MATTERS BUT JESUS!
YOUR IDOLS ARE LIFELESS AND CAN DO NOTHING FOR YOU
BUT DISTRACT YOU FROM JESUS AND
CAUSE YOU TO MISS OUT ON SPENDING ETERNITY WITH JESUS!
Who is your Creator?
Your Creator, God, is not a mean God looking for you to make a mistake.
He is THE God of Love.
He loves you and wants you to walk with Him and be in a relationship with Him.
A personal relationship with Him is what will get you into Heaven. Not church attendance or listening to a pastor.
God laments to Moses:
“Oh that they had such a heart as this always,
to fear me and to keep all my commandments,
that it might go well with them
and with their descendants forever!”
Deuteronomy 5:29
The path to Jesus:
“7 Therefore Jesus said again,
“Very truly I tell you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep have not listened to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:7-11
Receive Salvation today:
“8 In fact, it says,
“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.”
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is by believing in your heart
that you are made right with God,
and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
11 As the Scriptures tell us,
“Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect.
They have the same Lord,
who gives generously to all who call on him.
13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
Romans 10:8-13
Salvation prayer
(Keep it simple, Jesus does.)
Dear Jesus,
Please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart to live.
Help me to follow you in all ways.
Thank you Jesus for loving me and dying for me.
Amen
Now what do I say when people ask?
Hopefully this blog has been helpful for you to find your way towards a deep relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and most importantly with your Creator.
In this learning, we have discovered that anyone can call themselves a Christian and still not know Jesus. With this new found revelation from the Holy Spirit, now you can answer questions with confidence.
Questions:
1. What religion are you?
Answer: I’m not part of a religion.
2. Are you a Christian?
Answer: No, I’m a follower of Jesus, my Savior!
3. No, what denomination are you?
Answer: I’m a follower of Jesus, My Savior. I’m not associated with any religion or denomination. I have a personal relationship with Jesus and follow Him. Would you like to learn more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus?
Tools to help you in your new walk with Jesus
Whether you have been a follower of Jesus your whole life, or you have just rededicated your life to Him, consider praying these scriptures everyday. The more you read them, the more lessons the Holy Spirit will teach you in His Living Words.
The 23rd Psalm. (Pray every day)
A Psalm of David.
“1 The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
Psalm 23:2-6
The Lord’s Prayer (Pray every day)
“9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
“Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever.
Amen.”
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:9-15
Prayer for Spiritual Strength
“14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources
he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him.
Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
18 And may you have the power to understand,
as all God’s people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
19 May you experience the love of Christ,
though it is too great to understand fully.
Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able,
through his mighty power at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus
through all generations forever and ever!
Amen.”
Ephesians 3:14-21
In closing,
Always ask Jesus what you should do in every situation. The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you. If it’s not okay with Him, He will check your spirit and you will have an uneasy feeling and doubt about going forward. Always follow Jesus; NOT your heart; our hearts are fickle and can’t be trusted. Listen to the Holy Spirit; He is trying to protect you. You have a choice to obey or ignore. Choose to obey and stay under His protection and allow Him to continue teaching you
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.“
Proverbs 3:5
“When you know you grow!”
Take note:
“I am not your teacher, the Holy Spirit is.
I’m just the messenger leading you back to Jesus and His truth.”
Daisy Hawkins ~
1John 2:27, Jeremiah 33:3