Oil and water

One thing believers are good at is mixing covenants or promises from God.

An amazing thing that brings freedom is to stop doing that.

The promises made under the Old Law are fulfilled and/or replaced by Jesus.

God is not good to you because you're good or avoid sin.

That's Old Law thinking and living and is the operating system of most religion today.

God wants you to know and walk with him, not just to know about him.

________________________

I remember several years ago watching the TV show "Alias" and being blown away when I realized that the main character was working for "the bad guys", but was surprised to find out they were the bad guys because they were so good at working alongside of and so similarly to "the good guys".

Then the movie "A Beautiful Mind" blew me away in that pivotal scene when you realize, seeing through they eyes of a "normal person" that the main character was someone who'd been seeing reality through a completely unhealthy and made-up/fictional lens - and until that moment, everyone believed them.

The old movie, "The Wizard of Oz" had the less sneaky, but still revealing moment when you finally see the giant and overwhelming voice of the wizard is actually that guy behind the curtain saying "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

Those and many other cultural references are good reminders that there are a lot of ways we can see things, including ways that we're not aware are only manufactured realities that someone else wants us to see, hear, feel, experience, etc - and they want us to do so deeply.

And sometimes, I'd probably say most of the time, those who want us to believe those manufactured realities also deeply believe in them because they were told they are truth.  So don't think I think they're all liars and crooks, though some actually are.  Most people just believe what they're told.

__________________________

Do better, try harder, "don't you feel bad about ______", read your Bible and pray everyday and God will reward you for it, don't skip church, "you're just getting what's coming to you", "you know the more you give the more God will bless you with", give more, be serious about this, etc.

We don't think about it a lot because it's "our normal" that we inherited from people who also inherited it back as far as we can remember.  Even though what we inherited seems like something from the New Testament, it is only in the sense it's the very thing Paul and others warned everyone about.

Under the Old Law, you had to keep all the laws perfectly so God would bless you and yours.  Had to keep them perfectly, not "just try". 613 written laws and a lot of oral traditions or interpretations too. If you didn't keep them perfectly, no blessings for you.

Jesus came along and told everyone, "This whole system is harder than you think and you can't do it to the level it needs to be done." And then he died for the sins of the world and raised up from the dead, sent the Spirit for anyone who'd receive him and changed everything.

We no longer "make God happy" by working harder, being good, keeping our hair trimmed off our collar, not playing cards or going to the movies, going to church every time the doors are opened, giving more money, or any of the things we often hear said.  What pleases God is our trusting and depending on him.

_________________________

In John 6, it says, "...they inquired, 'What must we do to perform the works of God?' Jesus replied, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent'.” And that's really it - believe in the message he was bringing and in what he was doing and what he did, what he's still doing, etc.

Jesus came to bring grace because we can't keep the law.  Read through Romans a few times and though it might not make a lot of clarity happen quickly since you might not know who Paul was writing to and why, you'll still unmistakably see that Jesus came to do something different that say "do better, try harder."

When we mix things up and listen mainly to people who probably genuinely believe Jesus did come to get us to try harder, we fail miserably, live in fear, pledge to do better, beg for the forgiveness we have already been given as if God has taken it from us, and run through that cycle over and over. It's a kind of hell.

It's the very thing that Jesus came to set people free from so they could and can walk with God personally and not at a building, not at the feet of eloquent speakers or in the "worship" presence of great songs or any of that stuff from the merch table that religion sells.  There's no spiritual swag, just Jesus.

Sure, there are some great people and places that "get it" and live for and with Jesus and, as you lean into God, it won't take you long to figure out who is being filled by God and who is being filled by punching their church and church activity ticket each week so they stay right with God.  He'll lead you through it.

________________________

In 1 Peter 2:9 he says, "for you're a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." That's 100% what he did!  It's why we "declare the praises" of God - it's why we give him all the credit.

We church-ify so much of our language and terminology that we sometimes miss out on some amazing things. Peter is saying that God has given us the hook up.  We are blessed beyond our comprehension. The words he used were amazing news to the people who heard them. It's helpful if we figure that out.

We aren't called into living in subservience to an institution for the sake of building, growing, and serving an institution. We are called into life with God. That 100% can and might overlap into some kind of connection with an institution, but it might not. Go where God leads and be okay with it - be at peace.

Let the goodness of God and the love of Christ compel or pull you into the good things he has for you to do and experience. Not the guilt or the pressure or the helpful and friendly reminders of well intentioned religious people to remember to "keep on the sunny side of life" by being busy religiously.

And always remember, you can't mess this up. God did the good stuff and invites us to join him. He uses any of our mess ups to help us grow, if and when we're ready. He moves us at his pace when he knows we're ready, not just to keep us in synch with others so that some group has the appearance of success.

________________________

So how can you know?  How can you know if what you're hearing from people or remembering from past religious experiences is from God or from people who want you to do what they want you to do?  Just ask him.  He'll answer.  And if he doesn't answer quickly, that's a kind of answer too.  Be okay with that.

If someone pressures you into a commitment that seems like it's mixing up the receiving of God's grace with your joining them in some kind of commitment to their organization or group, let that sit for a bit and see what's going on.  Like oil and water don't mix for long, same with God and other stuff.  

That's it.  Enjoy the ride when you can.

Grace and peace.