The Christian Religion..............

Christian religion is a phrase I just heard on the television. In addition to this phrase I have heard, "Holiday tradition", "world Christmas" and "only if it doesn't offend anyone", all of which have broken my heart. Jesus Christ, born of a virgin Mary, the Son of the living God, came to this earth for one purpose, to save His children from a life long separation from Him!

WOW!

Let that sink in for one minute. I know some people think I am crazy, but this man named JESUS really has changed my life. He didn't come so that we could have a fun thing to do in December, not to boost the economy, and most certainly not so that families could have a safe little tradition or even religion for that matter. Jesus came to this earth so that we could reign victorious over satan and his schemes. He was born so that we could wake up in the morning and feel the presence of the Lord as if He were (actually is) in our hearts. He was born so that He could die, die for us, die for the broken, retched, and hopeless! He lived, so that He could die, so that we could live.

So this year, please, if you have not given your entire life over to Christ, do. I'm not just talking about your "salvation" although to date, my greatest blessing in life is my salvation in Christ. It isn't my amazingly handsome husband or happy healthy baby boy, it is my Savior. But know there is so much more to this whole thing than a stinkin "Christian Religion". Hear me say............HE WANTS TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND! And anything less just makes Christmas a shopping focused, tree decorating, unfulfilling, joke!

Christ came to this earth and died so that we could have a life of purpose, of hope and most certainly not for religion. He spoke constantly against religion as a matter of fact. He spoke of relationship, of things that were miraculous and supernatural. He did things that only HE could do and He allowed His servants to do things that only they could do because of HIM. He walked those roads in the Middle East not so that we could "co-exist" but so that we could all be saved. Saved from the pit of hell, you bet ya, but in some moments, for all of us, He came so that we could be saved from the hopelessness of this life.

In 2003 I was hopeless, and a sweet couple came along and told me of a Man who could always offer hope. They told me of a Book that could always release strongholds and heal men. They taught me of a Savior that was seeking us, not us seeking Him. And do you want to know the best part of it all, I believed them, and the even better part is, I still do! I still know that regardless of how I "feel" this Jesus thing is real and He has rocked my world for the last almost 7 years. He has completely recharted my course. He has healed me of about a million pains from my childhood and forgiven mounds of sin from my early adult years. He has broken addictions and given me the grace to grasp a hold of the life I have always desired. And just for the record, yes I do fully anticipate experiencing more and more intimacy, freedom, redemption, and grace for the next 50+ years to come. I don't intend on settling for a "Christian Religion" this season or any other. I want to sit in awe this awesome Holiday season, in awe of His submission to come to this earth for US. I want to sit in awe of His hunt for the lost sheep. I want to sit in awe for being that lost sheep and the sound of the angel's song when I was retrieved. I want to sit in awe of the fact that even the people who harmed me in my childhood can fall under His saving grace and that even the people that I hurt so desperately in my adulthood can forgive me by that same power.

I am asking you this year, no matter where you are in your journey towards faith in knowing Christ, to take a step towards Him and not towards religion. Don't celebrate this season in vain as if celebrating the birthday of a distant relative. Go celebrate this Holiday like someone who is smack dab in the middle of the family. Talk to Him and tell Him "thank you" as if He were sitting right next to you instead of far away in a distant, make-believe land. Don't settle for anything less in your life than victory (never perfection) and abundance (never safe and sound). I certainly don't think the the timing of reflection and amazement at our Savior's Birth and the relief and rejuvenation of the "New Year" is at all a coincidence. One goal worth having this 20-10 is getting to know that Baby in the manger as your one and only best friend for life! I love you all and I do pray that you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

K