The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have.
And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Romans 8:3-4 NLT
“Religion is a bastard.”
That’s what the Holy Spirit told me a few minutes ago. And if you think about it, it makes sense.
A bastard is an illegitimate child whose parents aren’t married. It’s trying to meet a legitimate need to reproduce in an illegitimate way. A bastard is born outside of a covenant relationship.
Religion is a set of rules and regulations to follow. It cannot save you. It’s a false god. It’s idolatry. It’s not married to the Spirit of God.
Rules are good when they’re used correctly, but when they become our god instead of God the Father, it kills what it wanted to protect.
People who are weighed down with religion are suffering from the bastardization of the faith.
The law brings death but the Spirit brings life.
This nation, and quite possibly the world, is suffering from the effects of being born into a generation plagued with an orphan spirit mentality.
An orphan doesn’t know who their father is. They have a father, because someone had to fertilize the egg that became a zygote. But they have no knowledge of or relationship with him.
People who don’t know God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son and those who aren’t being led by the Holy Spirit are wreaking havoc on our world.
There’s a better way.
What God is doing right now is showing us there’s a better way to live than we’ve ever known before. It’s called being a son or daughter of God.
We may have heard about it. We may have had an intellectual understanding of Christian terminology. But when God adopts you into His Family, it breaks every chain of bondage to the lies of the enemy.
Full maturity in Christ is simply measuring up to the love of God, walking in perfect freedom from religious rules and obligations, and extending the power, love and wisdom of God into every sphere of life that we’re connected to.
That sounds pretty good, right?
It’s freely available to everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord.
Our God is in the adoption business. He rescues the fatherless, the widows and the orphans. If you don’t know your Heavenly Father, today’s your day!
Faith starts with believing God at His Word. It grows as that Word grows in us. The Word is alive. The Bible is the evidence that people knew God personally and that He is able to be known. Read it for yourself. Start with the Epistles of John. He was the closest to Jesus.
But don’t take my word for it. Ask God yourself. He wants to have a friendly relationship with you, that’s called reconciliation.
Pray this prayer to start your relationship with God today:
Father in Heaven, I want to know You. Reveal Yourself to me. I believe the claims that Jesus Christ made about being the firstborn Son of God. I want to be a child of God today. Adopt me into Your Forever Family of Faith. Give me the Holy Spirit as the down payment on my inheritance in Christ. Thank You for saving me, because You love me. Amen.
If you’re already a believer and want to go deeper, try this one on for size:
Lord, we beseech Thee, we want to know You more. Come fill our cups with Your Spirit, let us hear it, speaking so softly that it’s like whispers in our minds. Keep our minds stayed on You. Fill our hearts with more of You. Lead us to do more of Your will and less of our own. We submit to You as Lord again today. Give us more grace. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!
Who is your Daddy and what does He do? He’s the Creator of the Universe and He loves you. God’s for you. He won’t relent until you repent. That’s love in action. Then, He’ll gently guide you into the fullness of His love, until you become one with Him and Jesus and everyone who loves Him from a pure heart.
God loves you. Listen to His Heart. Listen to the Holy Spirit. He has wonderful things to say to you. He wants to lead you. Will you be led?
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.
And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
Romans 8:14-17 NLT
Igniter Ministries 