iBelieve

This is a theme spoken pretty much about recently. So I figured I'd say something about it and hopefully let YOU get something out of it.
First of all lets see what the word religion means, off to wikipedia!
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values.
It also says
They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature.

So, a religion have rules, and if you read the old testament you'll find lots of rules.
A religion have a cultural system and a belief system, we'll if you go to church it's usually a system they use there. They might even tell you what you should do so that you can say you "believe"

There is only one problem here.

First of all, yes there is rules in the OLD TESTAMENT, this is BEFORE God sent Jesus to earth! therefore He HAD to give us a "preferred lifestyle" because God can't stand this stuff that is "illegal"
BUT what happens in the NEW TESTAMENT ?
Haven't read it?
Well among lots (!) of other cool stuff it says
1. John 3.3: And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
And
Acts 10.43: Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
So if we believe/hope in Jesus he forgives our sins and purifies us.
Now that can't be to hard. It's pretty much just up to faith, and wikipedia said nothing about faith being religion. Just that some people used the word religion in stead of faith.
But how do you believe? How can you know for sure that you are saved?
That is kind of an easy question, the hard part is to believe it
Romans 10. 13 says:
for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
Basically if you put together these pastures it says that as long as you believe in Jesus and say it with you're mouth you are saved. And you don't need to to anything else, AT ALL!
Either I or God recommend this. The "rules" are guiding pins. Stuff that God knows that if you follow these you'll live a good life. But God knows we are weak, we fail time after time. That's why He sent Jesus (John 3.16), but that's another theme for another day. Back to the point, since these guiding pins can't be called rules anymore that becomes a fault in the hole Jesus = religion thing.

Now the second and a bit hard part.
The system thing. Because yes there is definitely a system that flows around the Christian community.
But! This is man made, God did not create this system. We did, as pathetic as we are. Because we feel it's easier to do all this stuff if we have a system, if we go to church each Sunday, and do good deeds, then God must love us right?
Well yes, but ONLY because he all ready loved you! And he wont love you more because of this, and He will never love you less! You see God loved man, He is just "allergic" to sin. Lets put that into perspective.
Lets say you love horses, but if you are near them you get a rash or allergies, because they are not pure or clean. Therefore you need a medicine that can help you be with the horses with out getting allergies.
That's pretty much what God did when He sent Jesus. He loves us and wants to be with us, but he is allergic to sin. Therefore he sent the best medicine of all time, Jesus.
And all we need to do is accept His love.
So if you're pastor cries out that you need to do this and that you need to do that the next time you go to church (if you bother at all) just lean back and think to you're self that. God loves me for who I am and not for what I do.
Following Jesus does not equal praying at least once a day and doing lots of good deeds.
Believing in Jesus is how to follow Him!

I hope you goy something out of this and that it wasn't to far off from what I was gonna prove
Here is a link to the video that "inspired" me, think it makes more sense

Until next time, have a blessed life!