Relationship or religion

Chris Ney - In our lives we crave structure, we crave some kind of guidelines and boundaries; we also even more strongly crave and desire to have good meaningful relationships. The kind that does not fade in the rough times, the kind that is also there is the good times. These can come in the form or friends, family, etc. I know growing up we had rules to follow, even if we didn’t understand why we had to follow or there were consequences, when we got older it turned into more of a relationship with our families and parents. The rules were not so enforced, and it seems like more of a doing life together.

Would it surprise you to hear me say that church has also fallen into this kind of a role, the rulebook roll of religion instead of the relationship role? Where we bring people into a building and tell them to live by God’s standards or else. Reach the bar or maybe you have no place here. How wrong is that? Jesus can and was yelled at by the religious leaders because He hung around the drinkers, the sick, the hurting, and the tax collectors. The worst of the worst was whom Jesus chooses to be with because those are the people that Jesus came to be a part of. He desired not to lower the bar but He desired to demonstrate love. A kind of love that looks past the mess and into the heart of the hurting and broken. The funny thing is that the harshest words that Jesus ever spoke were at the religious leaders who would rather cast out or kill then deal with the mess. Jesus is in the business of cleaning up messes like me. He is in the business of cleaning up messes like you to, no matter where, or what, or when your mess is or has been, Jesus can help you clean it. He didn’t come here for religion. He came here for relationship, to adopt us as His sons and daughters

2 Corinthians 6:18 “ I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty” Wow what a good good Father. Today is the day I would urge you to step out of religion and step into relationship with Jesus, He is the only one that can save

Confess your mess to Him, believe with your whole heart Jesus died for your mess, and believe that He is alive and defeated death, hell and the grave for you

Jesus equals relationship not religion

You are loved