Good day, dear ones.
Only 6 minutes ago did I run out of time for saying, “Good morning.” Time is flying by. I need to get out there and make some sawdust
You may be noticing a pattern I’m trying to implement—wrapping up the essay with a quote from the day’s reading in Proverbs.
Blessings on the rest of your today.
May the Lord add His blessing to your day—and the rest of this New Year.
Love, Ray.
Perhaps there is no greater distortion of God’s plan for man than RELIGION. By RELIGION I mean that man-made system of superficial righteousness that is void of a heart-level passion to love and please God. Formal liturgical RELIGION is too easily driven by legalism, following rules, saying prayers, quoting creeds, participating in ceremonies and rituals, along with an endless exercise in psycho-spiritual gymnastics required to curb guilt and convince oneself that, “I’m OK—I’m a nice person—therefore I’m sure God will take me into His heaven.”
Besides the dangers of being tangled up in the trappings of RELIGION, I would guess that one of the most deceptive forms of personal evaluation is COMPARISON. For those who choose this approach, Paul puts forth this warning: “Of course, we wouldn’t dare to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. They compare themselves to one another and make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and then they judge themselves by their own standards. What self-delusion!” (2 Corinthians 10:12. The Passion Translation).
The heart of the matter is still the HEART—requiring a heart-level HEART AFTER GOD—a passionate desire to worship God, please God, and conform to His purposes. That’s way beyond RELIGION as we’ve defined it. That core attitude makes for a vital RELATIONSHIP with God that will never fail to produce the fruit of repentance—the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (Galatians 5:22-24)—proven by a CHANGED LIFE (Romans 12:1-2).
Consider this piece of relevant advice from David: “Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most.” (Psalm 37:4. The Passion Translation). Do you see how this equation works? If God is your utmost delight and pleasure, then what you desire most is exactly that—being delighted and finding pleasure in this RELATIONSHIP. That’s not a “vicious circle”—it’s a VICTORIOUS CIRCLE!