04. Your views on religion.
Organized religion has a bad rap and I agree that there's a valid reason for that. It's often misunderstood because of all the looney's out there who preach the end of the world and picket solider's funerals in "the name of God". Let me assure you as best I can, this is NOT of God. The Bible is a book of God's word and it preaches one fundamental thing, LOVE. Yes, among other things of course; but EIGHT different times in the Bible, in EIGHT different books, God tells us that the greatest of all commandments is love. These people who go around preaching otherwise don't have it right. They've turned their God into a politician and put Him on one side of the fence or the other. This is not the way it was intended, this is not the lesson of the Gospels, this is not God.
It's unfortunate that people get so caught up in the drama and politics of the church and what they think God is that they completely miss out on who He really is. In truth, God is none of those things and He would stand for none of those things. Religion shouldn't be organized around preaching a message that intimidates and condemns people and like most things in this modern day world it has come to be corrupt. I would go as far as saying that religions who preach anything other than love, are of the enemy. Many understand this crucial point, but there are millions more that are still in the dark. That thought alone breaks my heart, that there are people in the world who truly believe that they aren't "good enough" for God's love and believe God is absent from their life. To those of you that are thinking, hey Kelci, that's me, I've really made a mess of my life and it's too big to be undone. Let me tell you something, listen carefully, read it as many times as you need to for it to sink in; God loves you, not because of who you are or what you've done, but because of who He is! I don't care who you are, I don't care how long your list of sins is, it does NOT and will NOT change God's love for you, ever. Jesus died on the cross for you and that is ENOUGH. Don't question it. Don't over think it. Just believe it.
God is NOT religion. You do not have to believe in religion, to believe in God. You do not have to go to church to have a relationship with Him, to pray to Him or to live a Godly life. God does not track your attendance at church, do NOT let anyone else tell you otherwise. God is not condemning. Jesus did not come to bring judgement, He came to bare your judgement. Period. The church was built and created to harvest the word of God. Harvest. This means to gather. That's it!! To GATHER! To bring those who love God to one common place of worship. To give those people wisdom and knowledge so that they may go and share the word, so that they may harvest others and they too can enjoy the love of God.
Let me assure you that you can find a good church. You can find a religion worth believing in, but you have to invest your time in sorting through all the crap. That's what will always be in the headlines, crap. You can't go to the headlines or media for God, you will only be disappointed, you will only find judgement. Ask your friends, your family or even a coworker. Call me. Seriously, call me. I will talk to you about this for hours if you'd like, just ASK! But don't give up on God because you can't bring yourself to believe the message you've heard on the streets. I promise you, it's probably not the real message at all.
I know some of you are Buddhist, Jewish, Baha'i or whatever else you'd like to call yourself and I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm NOT saying that you're going to Hell, don't let anyone ever tell you that you are and if they do, politely smile and understand that they are ignorant. If you believe God is love, you're right, you can call yourself whatever you want. Find something real to believe in and pursue it, but don't let the reputation of crazies ruin it for you just because they're the only ones who make headlines. What is right, what is noble and what is good, is rarely popular.
Organized religion can be a great thing, it brings the message of God to thousands.
It can change your life and teach you a wonderful way to live.
BUT and this is a big but; it is important to remember that it is not the church that saves, it is God. The church and organized religion are simply a vessel. Go on a journey and find your vessel. Investigate. Challenge your own heart, your logic and what you think you know. I promise you'll find something, maybe you'll find yourself, or a friend who needs you and your message as much as you need them.
Whatever you find, wherever you go, just remember this one thing, it's LOVE.
Love is my religion; Jesus is my God, who is yours?
God is Love and Love is real,
Kelci
