Religion vs. Grace

Matthew 23 is very clear...Jesus speaks very plainly about religion; I think it's safe to say the He hates it. Over the years I have listened to sermon after sermon about God's grace and mercy and I partially understood but there was something in me that wanted to be the best Christian I could possibly be so, in my passion, I myself, got entangled in religion. (THANK GOD FOR GRACE)

My former Pastor was constantly trying to teach me about God's grace and mercy, but me being me I was having a hard time embracing the truth about it. I think maybe I wanted to please God with how "good" of a Christian I really could be, and in order to do that I had to be "perfect" --DO THINGS JUST RIGHT--. During this time (I call it spiritual puberty) I became somewhat religious--critical--and self-righteous! This is not the easiest thing to admit, but it is the truth.

I believe that most Christians get "caught up" in religion completely by accident. I remember when I first met God, He was everything that I had been searching for! I was overwhelmed by His love and I wanted to serve Him with everything in me; that is where it all started. I wanted to do everything RIGHT.... I wanted to follow His Word to the T..... I just wanted to SERVE HIM with everything and I wanted to do it RIGHT! In my passionate pursuit I TOTALLY missed the point--if I want to serve Him I have to love PEOPLE!! ALL PEOPLE!!

 What must it look like from the world's perspective?  We are fighting silly battles over silly things, all the while the lost are watching and perceiving us as fools. I am grieved at how religion is destroying the Body of Christ...it's like a cancer!How is it that we expect the broken and the sick to come when we ourselves are pale, shriveled up and sickly from the symptoms of religion?

If we (the Church) can't love one another, overcome and even celebrate our diversity how can we embrace the broken and the lost? If I love and serve people (ALL PEOPLE saved or not) then I love and serve Christ... If I judge and criticize people then I judge and criticize Christ--PERIOD

God has shown me such a magnificent picture of grace...and I just wish I could paint it as clearly to the Church--If WE could just get it so would everyone else!

We are called to love as Christ loves--not criticize like the Pharisee

Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love

Just Bb

We are the body

These men cannot prove the things they accuse me of doing. “But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.--Acts 24:13-16

I don't understand the division in the church today... It truly makes no sense to me. I believe that Jesus Christ was born, He was was crucified, and He rose! Because of what He did on the cross I am saved--PERIOD!! The rest are simply details that have separated and divided the Church for centuries!!

I don't care if you tag yourself as a Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, or whatever if you call Christ your Lord and Savior then I call you brother or sister--PERIOD!!!

We all serve the same God, have the same commission, and have the same goal--WIN PEOPLE to Christ!! God called us to reach an unreached world and make disciples--NOT to argue and criticize one another over doctrinal differences!

I am not concerned with how you worship, or how you dress, or any other detail of your doctrinal beliefs...what I am concerned with is PEOPLE, after all PEOPLE are the reason Christ came and died...
Are they being reached, are they being saved are they being loved by the Church. Do they see the love and unity of Christ when they look at the church, or do they see a bunch of irrational rioting between denominations?

Let's just agree to disagree. LIVES are depending on it!!!

Jesus went into some pretty peculiar places and did some pretty controversial things; people didn't understand Him either... I follow the Way--call it a cult if you like; but the Word calls it Christ (John 14:6) 

We are the Church...We are the body of Christ...Let's join hands and build the Kingdom together

Pastor Brandiilyne

Who do you see?

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’—Matt 25:37-40 NKJV 

The Word tells us quite clearly to minister to the hungry, the sick, and even to the prisoners. When we read these verses literally immediately we have a picture in our minds as we unconsciously stereotype the people who would fall into each category.

When we think of the hungry a picture of a child from a third world country with a swollen stomach is probably the image we have.

When we think of the sick a picture of a person lying in a hospital bed attached to machines pops into our minds.

…And when we think of prisoners we visualize a rough looking character painted up with tattoos, dressed in stripes, wearing shackles on his hands and feet.

...and this is reality--this is what our physical eyes see everyday!

But if we will open our spiritual eyes just for a moment we can see a perfect portrait of a drug addict…

Addicts are people who started out hungry…they have a gaping hole on the inside that they have been trying desperately to fill—In their efforts to fill that VOID they became very sick with a disease that no Dr. can cure---Which in turn locks them in a prison from which hey cannot escape!

Unfortunately addiction generates a mental picture as well, and with it comes a stigma that produces criticisms and often times judgments. Today I pray that as we shine the Light of God’s Word onto the people trapped in addiction the first picture you see from this point forward is that of Jesus Christ!

Today is The National Day of Prayer, and today I pray that we as a people open our eyes to peoples needs and see beyond their faults, and love them as Christ does. 

Pastor Brandiilyne Irvin