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No, no, I haven’t thrown in the towel. I’m still a Christ follower. Jesus has nothing to do with this. He is in a class by Himself, for the obvious reasons. Jesus is Jesus. He died for me, you and the whole world. Someone who would be willing to die for the likes of me, well, let’s just say, they score big time.

I have no problem with beautiful, amazing, lovely, sweet, gentle Jesus Christ. He is a rock star. I love Him, plain and simple.

What I do have a problem with is religion. The Pharisees. The arrogant, stuffy, stuck up, know-it-all, condescending, judgmental, legalistic Christians. You know the ones who have an answer to every problem, and spout a bunch of scripture at you in one breath with saliva and all… yeah, those kinds of Christians.

I don’t have anything against Scripture. I love the Word of God, even when it cuts deep. Like I said, my issue is with those who call themselves Christians, but will be the first to criticize, judge and gossip about you.

Oh religion, how I hate thee… Where is the love?

I have to say, I don’t love others nearly the way Christ wants me to. I realize I don’t have it in me. If Jesus doesn’t love through me, it ain’t gonna happen.

Hollywood portrays their version of love, but that’s not what biblical love is about. Love isn’t about feelings or moods… it isn’t about goose bumps and racing hearts.

Mature love is grounded, steady, selfless and resilient. Real love stands the test of time. [Tweet this]

Religious people don’t know how to love others. All they know is how to preach scriptures, which doesn’t even penetrate… because half the time, they have trouble believing in it themselves.

When the Word really buries deep in your heart, it will manifest in your life. Love will be evidenced by how you live, act, speak and treat others.

Unfortunately, there are tons of people in the pulpit who don’t know how to genuinely express love toward others. They preach something they themselves don’t live or practice from a real and authentic place. There is a total disconnect.

To me, this equals bondage and death. There is no life, only rote and ritual. Where is the passion?

I look to my left and to my right, and I don’t see it evidenced anywhere. I just see a bunch of people filling up the pulpits and pews every Sunday. When they leave, you wouldn’t even know they went to church. And if you watch closely, there is no evidence of Jesus in their life, just a bunch of empty words.

A sad state of affairs indeed, which is why we need revival.

So what’s the answer? Surrender. How do we surrender? We pray and sincerely ask God to change our hearts to reflect His. We do not have the power to change ourselves. But God can and wants to. He is waiting on us to give up our “act” and come humbly to His throne.

God wants us to be real and authentic, not a bunch of actors memorizing lines on His stage called Life. [Tweet this]

I’m reading a very provoking and convicting book right now called Kingdom Journeys by Seth Barnes. This book is helping me understand why religion doesn’t work. It’s a dead end. God has so much more in store for us if we really take Him at His word.

I woke up this morning with this song on my mind, “Love is a Movement” by Switchfoot. The lyrics really speak to me.

Have you been struggling with religion? What are your thoughts on this? Please share in the comment section below.