Jul 10
28

God Is Not A Religion

By Robin D Harris

God does not belong to a particular church and He has no religion: I have found this to be true and extremely liberating. When we realize that God is not associated or affiliated with a denomination, church group, and or religion, it takes the limit off of who HE is. So, God is not Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal Holiness, Church of God in Christ, Buddhist, Islamic and on and on..He does not reside in any denomination, neither does any denomination or Church for that matter, have a monopoly on God. HE is God.

God did not send His Son to create a new religion, or start a new denomination. Neither did he send His Son to separate The Body of Christ. However, religion and denominationalism does just that–seperates. For example, certain denominations(religion) teaches us to adhere to rules and formulas, what you can and can’t wear, make-up or no make-up, and other ghastly “laws.” Christ was sent for the purpose of reconciliation, and tearing down barriers. The teachings of Christ and the Spirit of Liberty is a whole lot more than mindless submission to someone’s rules and doctrines. We are created to think and discover Christ freely. Salvation has never been an excuse to be ignorant. Ignorance is a commentary on what we do not know. Often times, thats why rules and dogmatic ideas are implemented: to keep us in the dark and afraid to seek beyond what we are told we can not do. But Saints, serving God is so much higher than this! There is so much more about God and His glory to discover. If you want more of God, you must free yourself from polluted institutionalized religious thinking.

I know that many of us have been born, reared, raised, and even proclaim we will die for or die being a certain denomination! Well, the problem is that we are dying to that school of thought, church idea, program—dying for a handed down religious concept. In other words, that church, etc is put above God. Some people are more committed to their churches than to God. We have been cultured into knowing the doctrine but not God. God cannot be limited to any single perception, thought or definitely a church. I have often heard people jubilantly proclaim that their church is “Holyghost headquarters.: He cannot be limited to your limited thinking. God is everywhere. Isn’t that liberating to know that He does not just hang out at the church down the street with best choir, or better sound system? God is bigger than that! He wants to inhabit us all.

I want to submit to you a God that is limitless and larger than your church, denomination, superintendent, Bishop, Pastor, building fund, all of those things that sometimes get more Glory than Our Father. Religion stops progress. It holds people in bondage and fear. Many doctrines, rites and rules are designed to manipulate and control the Body of Christ. Sometimes the church becomes the plantation, and the members the slaves!

But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty! The Spirit of God is your emancipator…walk in freedom, explore Your Father through relationship not religion. God is not behind the 4 walls only. He is Omnipresent. This is a clarion call for all who are bound by rituals to break free and embrace God. He wants to inhabit your Praise!

R. Denise Harris

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Jul 10
27

How to Study Daniel and Revelation Seriously in Order to Prepare Us For What is About to Happen

How to Study Daniel and Revelation Seriously in Order to Prepare Us For What is About to Happen
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sandy_Shaw]Sandy Shaw

This outstanding leader in Babylon, Daniel, has a profound and searching dream and vision. Daniel saw the oddest things. These were the most strange things.

In Chapter 7 of the book of Daniel, we read that Daniel talks to an angel. He sees it when he awakes and writes in all down in his diary, and it becomes part of The Word of God. But, what is it all about?

Now, this prophetic man has been in Babylon for around seventy years. His nation Israel were taken away as captives and that happened because of the seriously sinful way in which they were behaving.

God does deal with nations and individuals, and can act in judgment.

The dream divides in to seven features. There are four extraordinary animals, and three human figures. In the latter group we have ‘the ancient of days’ and ‘the son of man’ and ‘the saints of the most high’. Do check all this by reading it for yourself in Daniel Chapter 7.

The animals come out of the sea, but all the figures come down from the clouds, like something majestic and kingly and godlike descending. The four beasts are ferocious. They do damage, and then fade. It is a picture of evil coming from below, and it is all so threatening.

The second part is so comforting, and that is why we need the whole word of God. Yes, read and study the whole of the Word of God.

In the Book of Revelation, which means to reveal, or to unveil, or to draw back the curtain, we have in Chapters 13 and 14 a commentary on Daniel, which is really the Bible interpreting itself.

We learn in verse 17 that the four beasts represent empires and rulers.

The winds, the spirit, and the influence of evil spirits upon our world, and upon the history of mankind, are explained, and this tells us quite a lot about what is going on in our world in these present times. All kinds of cruel and brutal beasts arise, and out of this turbulence come four beasts.

These are things which are to happen in the future, but again we must ask, and ask in the Name of Jesus, what does all this mean? When we come to such a passage we must ask our heavenly Father in such meaningful and sincere way, showing that we really want to know.

Revelation speaks about the last world Empire, and there it describes the beast as having ten components and this is all tied up with the end of human history, and this beast will have learned certain things from previous Empires.

In Revelation Chapter 13 at the second verse 2, the beast looks like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion, and from this the anti-Christ emerges.

Remember – anti means instead of – not against.

One day, one person will emerge, and he will be ruthless, violent, vicious and cruel and will destroy all opposition. There will be an Empire with ten rulers, and one little horn will dominate. One man will take over, then we will know we are in the last days.

How far are we away from this? Many who know what is going on within nations and between certain nations would suggest that this will not be all that far away.

The serious study of Daniel and Revelation can help prepare disciples of Jesus Christ for what might quite suddenly explode upon us.

Sandy Shaw

Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prison, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Children’s Panel in Scotland, and has travelled extensively over these past years teaching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, making 12 visits to Israel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and most recently in Uganda and Kenya, ministering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the poor areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.
He broadcasts regularly on WSHO radio out of New Orleans, and writes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled “Word from Scotland” on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column.
His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Study-Daniel-and-Revelation-Seriously-in-Order-to-Prepare-Us-For-What-is-About-to-Happen&id=4731375] How to Study Daniel and Revelation Seriously in Order to Prepare Us For What is About to Happen

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