How do you separate this? Easy! Check out the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible and you can see this easily. Relationship with Jesus or religion with the Pharisees. Who accomplished the Father’s will?

A relationship with Jesus superseded all the laws of the Pharisees. A relationship with Jesus healed the sick and caused the blind to see. A relationship with Jesus brought the dead back to life. A relationship with Jesus made it okay for the disciples to pick and eat grain on the Sabbath even though it was against the law of the Pharisees. A relationship with Jesus is a life filled with grace, mercy and love. A relationship with Jesus fulfills the law. A life of religion is a life lived by the law. Which one will you choose?

In fact, it was the Pharisees that Jesus chastised and gave most of His comparisons against. Notice, it wasn’t against the world or the lost but rather against the religious. Jesus cared for the lost. He healed them. He took the time to teach them. He brought the children close to Him. Take a look at Paul’s early life in the book of Acts. He was zealous for the Lord. He exposed and saw many Christians killed until Jesus met Him on the road. His eyes were blinded for a season, but he was finally able to really see what it was all about. He had a revelation. He had been zealous for the Lord and religious, but now he had a relationship. How was he changed? This man who judged everything by the law eventually wouldn’t even judge himself. Check out the following scripture:

“I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”(NIV - I Cor. 4)

How can we judge ourselves? We are just human. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. There is a higher walk here. Please don’t miss this. Meditate on it until you get it. There is another level. If we have the relationship and walk with Him, we live in a different realm.

What is the difference between a caterpillar and a butterfly? A caterpillar is a very limited creature. It is destined to stay close to the ground. It is easy prey to its enemies. Its sight distance is very limited.

The butterfly, on the other hand, can rise above the things that held it down. Its sight distance is much greater. It can fly above the things that were obstacles before. Gravity takes on a whole new meaning because flying supersedes it. Please hear this. It can operate on a whole new level. It can feel the wind beneath its wings and soar higher and higher.

What was the cost of going from a caterpillar to a butterfly? Death! The caterpillar had to willingly lay down its life to attain a new one. One could argue that it would have died one way or the other, so it wasn’t that big of a choice, but nevertheless, it did have to make a choice. It had to spin the web before it was killed or too weak and old to do it. It made a choice.

We also have to make a choice. We can live our lives like the caterpillar and be grounded all of our lives, or we can receive the invitation from Jesus to die to ourselves and become alive in Him. Then we can soar to new heights and live the way we were meant to live. We can walk with Him. We can supersede the things that hold us down. Walk with Him.

Relationship or Religion - It’s your choice.

I hope this message has brought you encouragement. Many are the voices that preach the law and try to make men live by it. Many are the programs that try to keep us comfortable so we will stay where we are. They want our money to build their own kingdoms. They want the praise and worship that should go to Him. The goal is all the same, to make you live like a worm. Don’t listen to them. Get out of your comfort zone and spread your wings and fly.

Joseph