Giving Up Religion

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

I was raised in a Christian home and attended Christian schools, so religion has been woven into my entire life. For a long time though, and even at times today, I thought religion was the point of it all. The first time I heard someone say that Jesus hadn’t come to earth to create a new religion, I had to ponder it a bit. Divorcing the concept of religion from our relationship with God is a complicated process, because it’s not that religion itself, or the practices we engage in because of religion, are inherently bad or wrong. The problem comes in when religion becomes our aim instead of God--because Jesus didn’t come to bring us religion. He came to bring us himself. 

Photo Credit: Flickr User Paul Trafford, Creative Commons

When it’s wrongly understood, religion tells us there are a certain set of rules we have to follow, and if we follow them well enough, God will be happy with us and love us. The problem is, we don’t have the capability to follow the rules well enough to earn God’s love, and that’s where basing our lives on religion falls apart. It’s a game with no winners, ever.

Galatians 4:6-7 tells us how relationship with God is really supposed to be:

Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

It’s not based on something we do; “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” That’s the key right there--on our own, we’re never enough, but God says we’re already enough. We’re his children, dearly loved because of who we are and not because of what we do.

All of this is well and good; it’s certainly important to be reminded that we’re deeply valued and loved by God. But why does this really matter in our everyday lives? What difference does it make? Intellectually I know I’m loved by God and don’t need to try to meet some unattainable standard, but it doesn’t always feel that way. What can bridge the gap?

The answer is the Holy Spirit. The rituals and beliefs of religion can’t, on their own, save us or move us any closer to God. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. To break free from the idea that religion is the point instead of God, we have to believe and let the Holy Spirit do his work.

This is a difficult concept for me. For all my religious knowledge, pointing to the Holy Spirit’s actual work in my life would be a lot harder for me. There’s something about the idea of letting the Holy Spirit work in my life that unnerves me a bit, and I think it’s because I’d much prefer for the Spirit to work within the limits I put on him. A prayer as I brush my teeth, a few minutes of silence on my drive to work, a bit of Bible reading before bed, and I feel like I should be set. All of those activities tend to be rushed though, like I’m expecting God to work himself into my schedule. 

When we really desire to put a relationship with God first instead of getting caught up in the rules of religion, we can’t expect the Spirit to only work through the spare snippets of time we give him in the midst of a chaotic life. It’s not that the Holy Spirit can’t or won’t work through those circumstances, because he can work anywhere and through anything, but to truly grasp the significance of our relationship with God as his children, we have to commit to dwell on it, soak it in, not rush to get to the next thing. The significance and responsibility of being a child of God can’t be crammed into the corners of our lives--it has to become a priority.


Over the next few weeks, what would it look like to set aside intentional time to dwell on our identity as children of God and to ask the Holy Spirit to meet us in that place?


[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]

Hindsight is 20/20

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://encounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

Sporting my pixie haircut in beautiful Colorado, 2012

As I begin to leave my college days behind and start to think about motherhood, the phrase “hindsight is 20/20” comes to mind. For instance, I remember when I decided to get a pixie haircut while working at a summer camp in Colorado—no one ever tells you that a pixie cut is not easier to maintain than simply throwing your hair into a ponytail. It was the summer of hat-hair, bobby pins, and desperate attempts to speed-up hair growth, but at least I made it to the top of a mountain. On a more serious note, I often look back on my first two years in college and how I spent many of my nights and weekends. It’s so much easier to see the negative effects that those decisions had on my life now, rather than when I was living in those moments. Hindsight is 20/20.

This makes me wonder if the disciples ever had similar thoughts about their journey with Jesus. Did Matthew ever look back on the day when Jesus approached him at the tax collector’s booth and said, “Follow me” (Matthew 9:9) and think, “Wow. I cannot believe how much things have changed…” Or, did the disciples look back on their last supper with Jesus and realize that it was then that He had promised the sending of the Holy Spirit?

In John 14:16-17 Jesus says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

These words of encouragement from Jesus demonstrate the relationship between the trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Son Jesus to save the world and the Father also sent another advocate (the Holy Spirit) to be with us forever and continue the life-changing work of Jesus.

John 16:7 says, “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

It is difficult to understand that it is better for us to have the Holy Spirit living in our hearts than it would be to have the Son of Man walking besides us in the flesh. But, because it is written in the Word, we believe that it is true and invite the Holy Spirit to bring the transformative power of God into our lives. The Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Helper, and Advocate—He brings life into our weary souls, picks us up when we have fallen down, and fights on our behalf. These qualities are easy to simply write on paper and believe them to be true, but can we recognize when we have actually experienced the Holy Spirit in our lives?

If we apply the perspective of “hindsight is 20/20” to our spiritual lives, it’s possible that we could recognize the power of the Holy Spirit working in our hearts. Take a moment to truly invite the Holy Spirit into your heart and allow you to see His power throughout your life. Rather than being satisfied with seeing how God has shown up in our past, I suggest that we ask the Holy Spirit to be present in our daily lives. When this happens, when we can feel His power moving in our hearts daily, we truly will display the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

A life lived in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s influence on our hearts can have a significant impact on sharing the Gospel and God’s grace with others. When we are transformed by the Holy Spirit and display fruit of this transformation, it is an amazing testimony to the love of God. Let’s pray relentlessly to the Holy Spirit that we might be changed—that we might be able to fly and fully live in obedience to God’s call for our lives.

For a song reflecting on this week’s message, check out Beautiful Things by Gungor. It is one of my favorites!

[Megan Stephenson is a recent graduate of Grand Valley State University and works for a private education group in Grand Rapids as an Assistant Registrar. She loves spending time with her husband, Ben, trying out new breweries, restaurants, and local attractions. She also self-identifies as a crazy cat lady, despite owning no cats of her own, thanks to her loving and allergic husband.]

Into the Furnace

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media]

Many of us have heard the saying that “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” We often use these words to offer comfort to others in a time of sorrow or suffering, but are they really true? As Christians, can we honestly say to one another that God gives you just enough sorrow and pain so that you don’t get pushed to the edge?

As we read this week in 1 Kings 19, Elijah was fleeing from the threats of Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife. He ran into the wilderness to escape the hand of Jezebel, but also to attempt to flee God’s presence. He prayed that the Lord might take his life—Elijah was on the edge and ready to jump. He had reached a point that seemed so desperate and helpless that death was the only answer.

God gave Elijah more pain than he could handle, and it was in this moment that the Lord showed up. Instead of comforting Elijah with words or empty sayings, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and simply said: “Get up and eat.” God provided the much-needed nourishment of breakfast to sustain Elijah through his difficult journey. After Elijah rested once more, the angel appeared again and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” This time Elijah was strengthened and continued his journey, finally arriving at Horeb, the mountain of God.

During Elijah’s most vulnerable moments, even when he had given up on his own life, God reached down and merely offered him something to eat. This simple comfort amidst extreme suffering was the turning point for Elijah. The angel also recognized that Elijah could not handle the journey alone; he needed help along the way to strengthen and sustain him.

God recognizes when we have reached the edge, and it is during those times when He shows up in our lives—often in the form of family or friends. While I have dealt with pain in my life, my suffering seems like nothing compared to the sorrows I have seen my family and friends go through: loss of a loved one, depression, bankruptcy, and terminal illness to name a few. Standing on the outside looking in is often difficult—we don’t know what to say or do and are afraid of offending or of being vulnerable.

However, as we saw illustrated in Elijah’s story, God calls us to purely be with our brothers or sisters in suffering. Whether that means cooking a meal, saying a silent prayer, or listening with an open heart, we might not know which is best. But in those moments, God shows up with us in the furnace and offers healing, peace, and redemption.

Photo Credit: Flickr user erix!, Creative Commons

1 Peter 5:10-11, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Maybe we need to reconsider how we view fellow Christians and human beings during their intense times of pain and suffering. Instead of simply offering empty words and clichés like “God will never give you more than you can handle”, maybe we are called to step into the furnace with our brothers and sisters during their darkest times in life.

Who do you know that simply needs a brother or sister to walk into the furnace with them today? Pray that God opens your heart and eyes to see what He sees, that you might listen to the Holy Spirit’s calling and jump into the furnace with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

[Megan Stephenson is a recent graduate of Grand Valley State University and works for a private education group in Grand Rapids as an Assistant Registrar. She loves spending time with her husband, Ben, trying out new breweries, restaurants, and local attractions. She also self-identifies as a crazy cat lady, despite owning no cats of her own, thanks to her loving and allergic husband.]