Welcome Friends
Today is a great day to come together and inspire one another.
Psalm 133:1-“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
Let’s grow together today in the Lord
In 2012, the Muscular Dystrophy Association was putting on their yearly MDA muscle walk
to raise awareness. I gathered some of my family together, formed a team and off to the big city
2 hours away to walk the mall to show our support.
100’s of people gathered at the mall and walked.
For those in the store that didn’t know what was going on, what was their clue
that it was an MD awareness walk?
Our t-shirts…Just like my team, many other teams also made matching shirts for their own individual group.
What about my walk with the Lord?
How do others around me know that I am on team Jesus?
I definitely didn’t show it very well as many could see from my past.
I loved gossip, drama, I am right and you are wrong attitude,
I also did good. I was attending church regularly, tried to be nice and do good
things for others.
But….back then, I was not actively seeking God,
I was learning about Him, I had knowledge of Him, I was trying to do good things
with my life
but I was not pursuing a real relationship with Him
This is called…merely having a religion. I was practicing religion, not living in relationship.
Today, my life is different. I am no longer just learning about Him and doing good works,
I am actively seeking Him and forming relationship with Him.
There is difference between knowing about God and knowing God personally through a relationship
Many people learn about God through religion, but true faith is about a personal relationship with Him.
Just as many supporters of muscular dystrophy came together to walk the mall
We all knew about the cause but did not personally know every individual affected by the disease.
We can learn about someone from a distance, but that doesn’t mean we have a real relationship with them.
To truly know someone, we must spend time with them, talk to them, and build a relationship.
The same concept holds true with God
Knowing about Him is not enough
We must seek Him personally, spend time in His presence, and develop a one-on-one relationship with Him.
Even Satan and the fallen angels know who God is
Simply knowing God is not the same as walking with God.
True faith requires more than acknowledgment
Jesus desires a personal relationship with us, not just religious knowledge and doing good works
Just as knowing facts about a person doesn’t mean we truly know them,
Hearing about God isn’t the same as knowing Him intimately.
We must actively seek Him, listen to Him, and walk in His ways
I went from a religion to a relationship.
The more I seek Him, the more He transforms my heart, the more my heart is transformed,
the more my worldly desires slowly start to fade.
This is how my walk in the Lord is different today than it was in my past
How is my walk different today?
Less self-centered to more God-lead
By remembering that Jesus gave His life for me and I surrender my life to Him.
Learning to quit with the- me myself and I attitude- and focus more on the needs of others.
God did not create me to live for myself and my own selfish needs
He designed me for a greater purpose
To follow His plan, bring Him glory, and serve Him with my life.
Daily self-examination
Many times a day !!
The secret to a beautiful garden is daily inspection for weeds.
Trying to immediately recognize my sin, acknowledgement of my disobedience, repent,
and most importantly-change my ways
When dealing with the strongholds of satan over certain areas of my life
I might need to repeat the above many times.
Repentance is better than ignoring it as if it never happened
Active participation
When I pray for life changes, I don’t expect God to just show up and fix everything while I sit and do nothing.
It requires teamwork-both God’s power and my active participation.
I need to do my part and what I can’t do, God will do His part working behind the scenes.
We are team with God being the leader
Remembering my teammates
I am part of a team-a family of fellow believers
We are called to lift each other up, encourage, support, and strengthen one another
as we are all growing and maturing in Christ at different paces.
We all need to be helping each other in our journey of faith.
Not destroying, damaging and tear each other down.
We each have different gifts and wisdom to share.
I may know a little about one thing, and you may know a little about another,
but together, we grow stronger in faith and understanding
Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Come just as you are with an open heart and He will transform your life in ways you never imagined
Heaven Father
Thank you Lord for showing me that my life was missing something
a true genuine relationship with You.
Life is so much more purposeful and joyful when I reached out to You seeking a deeper relationship
and not just a surface relationship.
I pray for those who are yearning to know You and don’t know where to begin.
Draw them close to You, Lord, and open their hearts to Your truth.
Help them see that the desires of this world are temporary and cannot satisfy
and that true life, peace, and joy are found in You alone.
in Jesus’ name I pray
Amen
I invite you to join me on this journey
Let’s allow God to transform our hearts.
True change starts from within, and when He changes us, we can better impact the world around us
https://echosofmyfootsteps.com
Interactive Lesson #28-I Don’t Want To Be Religious
