Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Religion, Faith and Worship - are they the same thing? Part II - Faith & Worship

Faith, true worship, and understanding who God can be to us have nothing to do with the outward trappings of man-made denominational “religion.” Faith and true worship must be in the heart. See Part I on Religion here.

About Faith
In arguing against God’s existence, people often say, “I only have faith in what I can see.” Yet, they’ve never seen the Big Bang happen, or seen an ape turn into a man.

In general, faith is believing in what we can’t see…no different for belief in God than the Big Bang.

Hebrews 11:1: Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Humans are spiritual seekers. From the beginning of time we’ve sought the comfort of spiritual beings or objects representing them. We see it in cave drawings, parchment writings, temple remains, and modern houses of worship.  Some rely on crystals or statues to find strength and inner peace. Improving “karma” is very popular right now. Some folks believe in multiple gods. And some pray to a single God that others say isn’t there. 
   
What triggers this or puts this craving inside us?  Is there really an “empty place” that can only be filled by a Divine Presence?
   
Sales of books like “The Purpose Driven Life” and the “Left Behind” series wouldn’t go through the roof if people weren’t searching for a spiritual center. Doctors say their religious patients are healthier. Even Good Housekeeping Magazine has cited that people who have spiritual beliefs experience less depression and anxiety, and those who pray are 50% more likely to live longer.
   
If a person trusts God, does that make them weak? What is faith if we don't believe in something by courage? We can’t see God like we can see houses or cars. But those things can be gone in a flash.

God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1). This basic message, found many times in both the Old and New Testament, has lasted in peoples’ hearts through centuries, storms, fires, and wars. Unfettered by interpretations, denominations and regulations, faith can be our greatest hope.

About Worship
Many churchgoers think of “Worship” as only the music part of a church service. Worshipping God means everything we do for Him. Church attendance, listening to sermons, singing, praying, reading the Bible or scripture-guided books; giving our money or time to church, missions or charity work; visiting sick people, running errands for someone—these are all forms of “worship.”

What’s not worship? All the memorized prayers said at certain times of day, for certain events, or for supposed cleansing of sin, mean nothing to God if all they are is head-memorized and not heart-felt (see Part I).

We can speak to God without formalized, fancy words and without memorization. We can cry out to Him in our own words, whether in desperation or happiness. He wants that!

Jesus may not have meant for His example of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 to be followed word-for-word, memorized to the point that we don’t think about what we’re saying.

He might have meant just to be sure we include all those steps:
-Praising (acknowledging) Him for who He is;
-Asking for what we need daily without greed;
-Praying that we are as forgiving to others as He is with us;
-Asking that He protect us from giving into sin;
-And lastly, acknowledging that all this is for His kingdom.

That’s what faith and worship are.

Did you know that you can be sure of going to Heaven?
Ask the Lord to come into your heart in a prayer similar to this: Lord, I’m a sinner who needs you. Come into my heart and help cleanse me. Give me the life You know is best for me. In Jesus name, Amen. 

This is partially excerpted from the book, What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People: Improving the Church’s Relationship with God’s Original Chosen Nation. See info in column at right, or Amazon link here.

Unless otherwise noted, all verses used herein are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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Religion, Faith and Worship - are they the same thing? Part I - Religion

Sometimes we interchange certain “religious” words to mean the same thing when in reality they’re completely different: Religion – Faith – Worship – Customs – Beliefs – Tradition – Culture

A person may do all the customs of a religion out of habit or respect for their family. But that doesn’t mean they have true faith. It’s just part of their culture and tradition. They may not really worship God with their heart or really believe in their mind.

We probably get the first three confused most often – religion, faith and worship.

The word “religion” is only used or implied in five passages of the standard Bible; once in the Old Testament (also the Jewish Torah), and four times in the New Testament. Only three of these passages define “religion” as an activity.

By contrast, “faith” and “worship” are each mentioned hundreds if not thousands of times, often as God’s command to worship Him.

We often say “religion” causes many world problems. That’s because certain people take what they believe into their own hands for their own agenda, and for unintended purposes. Then, other people who aren’t reading the Bible for themselves follow blindly.

This results in the deadly atrocities of madmen, terrorists, narcissists and cults.

So what’s the real definition of “religion”? And why is it different from “faith” and “worship”?

Real religion is defined in James 1:27: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
   
1 Samuel 16:7b says: The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

The first Commandment is the most important of all Ten Commandments for both Christians and Jewish people:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  You shall love the LORD
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall
teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your
house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Moses in Deuteronomy 6:4-7, NKJV).

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment (Jesus in Mark 12:28-30, NKJV).

God reminds us over and over that he doesn’t care for rituals if we don’t love him straight from the heart (Isaiah 1:13, 17, 1 Samuel 15:22, Matthew 7:21, Romans 9:32).
 
Do we go through the motions of “religion” without thinking about what we’re doing? That’s just ritual.  Good works minus true faith are meaningless.

See Part 2 here.

Did you know that you can be sure of going to Heaven?
Ask the Lord to come into your heart, and acknowledge that you have fallen short of His glory – even into sin. Don’t pay attention to what the world says about “organized religion.” Allow yourself to “…be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). Empty traditions, denominational differences, grudges and hatred of our fellow man - these keep us from knowing true inner peace and having one-on-one relationships with God.

This is partially excerpted from Sheryl's book, What Every Christian Should Know about the Jewish People: Improving the Church’s Relationship with God’s Original Chosen Nation. See info in column at right, or Amazon link below.

Unless otherwise noted, all verses used herein are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. 


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Saturday, October 9, 2010

Citizens of Richmond, Virginia fight to keep their 'Christmas' Parade

Once again this year, the battles over Christmas in U.S. public places are raging. But the citizens of Richmond, Virginia have already won without being dragged into court.

Richmond residents were joined by other people around the country to make a big enough uproar that their city listened.

The annual Richmond Christmas Parade was to be re-named the Dominion Holiday Parade. Word got out that Richmond’s volunteer parade planners felt pressured by this year’s biggest parade sponsor—an energy company called Dominion—to take the word “Christmas” out of the Christmas parade.

A letter on the parade website's home page stated as of October 5 (although it may be re-worded with an update) that a decision was made by the city to change the name to a “holiday” parade in order to make everyone feel welcome.

It accomplished the opposite, by making Christians feel unwelcome.

When the change to “Dominion Holiday Parade” was announced, citizens immediately rallied and the news extended outside of Richmond. Thousands of e-mails and phone calls poured in to Richmond’s city offices and into cities and states where Dominion offers services. According to a story at Richmond’s NBC12 (WWBT-TV), the volunteer parade committee changed the name back to “Christmas” due to this outpouring. Dominion did not object further.

NBC12 also took a poll about this issue. As of October 8, results showed 95 percent of respondents had a problem with the name being changed to “Holiday” parade in the first place.

What’s the big deal over Christmas?

Year after year, cases against Christmas in United States public venues reach the courts because of misinformation—that if a city or state allows a Christmas celebration, they are “establishing a religion.”

And year after year, lawyers fighting to retain religious rights in America, must go to court to prove that the First Amendment says this:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

This is often argued case-by-case from circuit court to the U.S. Supreme Court, using lots of court time and defendants’ money. However, there is nothing in the entire Constitution that prohibits “free exercise” from taking place in public, especially on peoples’ own time—not at their jobs, not at their schools. The Richmond parade committee were volunteers. Anyone who attends the parade does so voluntarily. No one is forcing them. It’s taking place on a Saturday (December 4), when the majority of people don’t work.

This Richmond case shows that people can make a difference.

For Christians who object to “Christmas” being omitted at parade and party-time:
-Stop silently going along with the changes.
-Stop attending your employers’ parties which have now been re-named “holiday parties.”
-Send letters to legislators and organizers.

For those who object to public celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah or other joyful religious undertakings in December, perhaps the following suggestions would work:
-Stop taking the “holiday” days off that your company offers at this time of year.
-Refuse to accept gifts at this time of year.
-Refuse to accept bonuses at this time of year.
-Remember that if it weren’t for Christmas traditions, it’s doubtful you would be garnering those benefits or getting asked to participate.
-And remember…it’s your own rights that may be removed next.


Interested in helping to defend Christmas? Go to Liberty Counsel's Save Christmas Campaign.

Photo: 2009 White House Blue Room Christmas Tree being erected. In public domain at Wikimedia Commons as a work of the U.S. Government.

(cmp.ly/0 - This writer has no connection to, and has not been compensated, for referring people to the Liberty Counsel site).
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