We are all here to help each other, and I have felt the topic of Religion VS. Relationship pulling at my spirit for a while now. As I said before the term religion does not mean your denomination. I am simply referring to some of the rules we are following in some denominations nowadays were actually put to death when Jesus died on the cross for us.

So this is mainly a personal Bible study that I thought could maybe help other people see the importance of not ONLY living to do GOOD, but also WORSHIPING our GOD, and believe that Jesus died on the cross to SAVE us from our sins.

In fact most, if not all, denominations have aspects that are right along with what the Bible says, but there is also an area where the line starts to get a little blurry. There are times when we get so worried about doing this and doing that “for God”, and we lose sight of what we should really be doing. (2 Chronicles 14:4 (NLT) He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands.) (1 Chronicles 16:11 (NLT) Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.) By doing good I mean thinking that our works are what get us into Heaven. If we believe that is the only thing we need then we are not having a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus.

(Hebrews 13:8-17 (NLT) 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle[a] have no right to eat. 11 Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. 12 So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. 13 So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. 14 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. 16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.)

Before Jesus died on the cross there were burnt offerings and many other religious rules that kept people from having a close fellowship with God. Jesus died on that cross to take all the old laws away so that we could come to know GOD THROUGH HIM. ​

That does not mean that we should throw the 10 Commandments out the window. We should still keep all of those as well as loving our neighbors and our enemies as Christ loves the Church(we are the Church, all children of God are). (John 13:34 (NLT) So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.)  We are nothing without love, which means we are nothing without Jesus because HE is LOVE.

Another thing I am NOT saying is that there isn’t a such thing as sin, because that is very much not true. Even though we sin we can now, thanks to Jesus, repent(turn from our evil ways completely) and get back in relationship with GOD. If Jesus had not bled for us on that cross, our punishment would have been death. Isn’t that something to PRAISE GOD for? It does not mean that we can go on dwelling in that sin though. When the Holy Spirit convicts us and brings our sin to our awareness we should strive to stop doing that sin, and turn completely to God. By no means am I saying that is an easy task to accomplish, but if you ask God to help you he will. (Philippians 4:13 (NLT) For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.) Oh what a loving Father HE is!

Now there are many different denominations out there. Most believe in a very large array of doctrines. Not all believe that Jesus is the intercessor for us to God. (John 14:6 (NLT) Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.) He is the only way for us to get to God and eventually to Heaven. So no matter how many people we help, how much money we tithe, or any other good works we do it is nothing without Jesus. When we get SAVED that is when our spiritual fruit start to grow. Without Jesus we are only living for our Glory, not His. Now like I said earlier denominations in and of their selves are not bad. The Bible gives a perfect example of pure religion in James 1:27 (NLT) Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. Selflessness equals righteousness. Jesus also gives us many examples in the Bible of the wrong things in Religion, even though the word itself is only in the Bible 6 times. He warns us and plainly tells us how to have a close fellowship with HIM, as well as the benefits of being in fellowship with other Children of God.

The biggest hindrance that I feel is happening with organized religion nowadays is because the rules that a lot of denominations are incorporating into their doctrine are man made. They are picking and choosing which rules to follow from the Bible and which ones they think don’t really need to be there anymore. This is why God gave us the gift of discernment. So that if it doesn’t sit right with our spirit we will know it’s not of God.

So I am going to list just a few of the verses I studied while trying to dig into this very broad subject. I am also going to write out the what I got out of the verses. Please do not take my word for it, just as you should with anyone talking to you about God, even your Pastor, look up the verses on your own and find others because there are A LOT.

(2 Timothy 2:15-26 (NLT) ​15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 16 Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior. 17 This kind of talk spreads like cancer,[a] as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. 18 They have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith.

19 But God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,”[b] and “All who belong to the Lord must turn away from evil.”[c]

20 In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. 21 If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

23 Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. 24 A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. 25 Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. 26 Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.)

~~For these verses I felt like God was saying that we are supposed to do good works, but we are also supposed to keep a very close eye on the works we are doing. To make sure that our lifestyle reflects the fruits of the Spirit. We have to make sure that we do not let other men drag us off God’s plan for our lives. We cannot always believe what we see, hear, and think. The devil will attack us anyway he can. We are not to judge other people, but to help them learn the Truth with love because you will win someone for The Kingdom a whole lot easier out of love than you will with judgement.~~

Another example of this is (Colossians 4:5-6 (NLT) 5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.)

Galatians 2:15-21 (NLT) 15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”[a]

17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[b] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

~~These verse clearly state to me that nothing we do in works will get us to Heaven, or a close fellowship with God. The only way to do so is by accepting that Christ died for us. If works would have been good enough to get us closer to God Jesus would not have had to die for us.~~

So it isn’t just about what you can do to make God love you more. Nothing you do would have every been good enough to get into fellowship with God if it wasn’t for Jesus dying on the cross for us. We are all sinful humans, we do not have any righteousness in us without being covered by the sacrificial blood of Jesus. He was the last and ULTIMATE SACRAFICE for us. So how exactly do we have a relationship with Jesus? Well after accepting HIM as our Lord and Savior first and foremost, then we have to seek HIM.

The only way we can continue to grow as a Child of God is to draw nearer to God and HE will draw nearer to you.

I am not going to type the whole chapter, but take a few minutes to read Matthew 23 (NLT). Remember this chapter is Jesus himself talking. He is not talking about a specific denomination(s) of course. He is just warning us of things to watch for as Children of God so that we do not get led away from HIM.

Colossians 3:11 (NLT) In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Jesus is the answer. When we have Jesus we will do works with the right heart. We will not do them to glorify ourselves. We will do it to GLORIFY the LORD! That is what God wants. He wants us to worship HIM. Praise HIM. Seek HIM. He wants to be welcomed into every aspect of our lives. (Philippians 2:13 (NLT) For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.)

(Hosea 6:6 (NLT) I want you to show love,

not offer sacrifices.

I want you to know me

more than I want burnt offerings.)

He wants us to know HIM! Isn’t that amazing that the God that made the Universe and everything in it wants to know us?! Each of us individually. That should constitute some PRAISE! We are that important to HIM!

(Lamentations 3:25 (NLT) The Lord is good to those who depend on him,

to those who search for him.)

So I guess what I am trying to get at is that no matter what we do in this life to make us feel like we are a better person than someone else, we are just the same. NOTHING without JESUS! So make sure you keep looking up instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing. They may not be doing it the way you or I like it or agree with, but as long as they have Jesus that is all they need. If there is anyone one that you know that doesn’t have Jesus give them the Good News. That is what we are here for, to reap the Harvest for Him!

I hope that this first blog post has been very inspirational for you. Was a very deep Bible study, not even sure I scratched the surface, but apparently that is all HE wanted me to learn and soak up for the night. Thank you for visiting

1. Words of Knowledge- This is the knowledge that GOD can give us about anything in our life or someone else’s. It is the SPIRIT telling us what we should do in a situation.

2.Words of Wisdom- This gift usually goes with the gift of knowledge. The SPIRIT gives us this gift in order for us to know how to apply the word of knowledge to our lives.

3.Prophecy- In my opinion this is the greatest gift because this is GOD speaking to you word for word something that you or someone else needs to hear. For instance when someone is praying for you and they say GOD says”….” That is them prophesying over you. I really feel like the first 3 gifts all work together for the most part.

4.Faith- The SPIRIT gives us this gift when we really need it. When GOD calls you to do something for HIM, and you just don’t feel like you can do it, the SPIRIT will fill you with enough FAITH that you can do your calling. We automatically have some faith when we get SAVED, but there are times when we need a GOD sized FAITH.

5. Healing- This gift can be stronger for one person than it is for another. GOD calls us all to heal many different things, and I may not be as strong as someone else to heal this person, but I may be stronger than someone else to heal this person. We all have our strong areas on things that we can heal.

6. Miracles- The BIBLE is littered with miracles all the way through it. We are all called to preform miracles. I think that this gift also goes hand in hand with healing, because a lot of the healing that GOD wants us to preform will be classified as a miracle. Many other miracles can also happen though, that is one reason why we need to constantly stay in our BIBLES, and learn GOD’S will because the BIBLE clearly tells us what we are capable of with DIVINE intervention, we have supernatural powers.

7. Discerning the spirits- This is one of the gifts of the SPIRIT that is really needed because many people can not tell the difference between a demonic spirit, GOD’S angels, or just a humanly spirit such as greed. When someone has this gift they can see through people’s walls. The spirits inside people can manifest themselves in many different ways. Even if we don’t see them manifest the SPIRIT can tell us when it is there. We always have to remember that satan and his demons will appear to us as good, so if we do not use our gift of discernment we can be fooled if we are not very careful to follow the SPIRIT that lives in us.

8. Tongues- I think this is one of my favorite gifts to witness and experience, you can feel yourself being filled with the SPIRIT as you speak in tongues. There are two ways that this gift can manifest though that I didn’t even know about before I started this study. It can happen as you speaking an earthly language that you do not know how to speak such as Spanish, or it can be the language of the angels. If you speak in the language of the angels satan can not understand what you are saying. You are praying directly to GOD. This is a very powerful gift, because many times we do not know what to pray, but when we pray in tongues we are automatically praying the WILL of GOD. (Romans 8:26(NLT) (1 Corinthians 14:2 (NLT) If you have this gift of the SPIRIT you can pray in tongues 24/7. Whenever you need to pray in tongues it will be activated.

9. Interpretation of Tongues- This of course can either go with the gift of speaking in tongues so that you can understand what you are praying, or it can be so that you understand what someone else is praying. (1 Corinthians 14:5(NLT) (1 Corinthians 14:13-14(NLT)

These are given to us to help other people in our church, family, and anyone else that we may encounter. The gifts that the SPIRIT gives us are with us from the time we get saved, and will manifest as we need them to do GOD’S will. Depending on what job GOD needs us to do, our gifts may change as we need them, we have them all as Children of GOD. There are also many ways that we can stir these gifts up as well.

The BIBLE specifically states that we should be eager for these gifts of the SPIRIT.(1 Corinthians 14:39(NLT) (1 Corinthians 14:1(NLT). The SPIRIT will give us the gifts that we need to use when we need them. For instance if we speak in TONGUES then the SPIRIT can also give us the gift of INTERPRETATION so that we can know what we are praying, or the SPIRIT can give someone else in your church the gift of INTERPRETATION to say what you are speaking.

These are very important tools for us as Children of GOD to have because they help us to help the whole body of CHRIST. These are tools for us to use to win people to the KINGDOM, and to help us give someone something they may have been waiting to receive from GOD themselves. We have to make sure that we do not get so worried about using these gifts that we forget to SEEK after the one who gave them to us, GOD. When we become prideful with them, and are not seeking HIS will in how we use them they will become weaker. We need to make sure that we are growing the FRUITS in plenty more than we need to worry about using the GIFTS. HE will bring the gifts out as they are needed. The way we can show eagerness for the gifts is to show GOD our eagerness for him!

I pray that this post helps anyone who needs it as much as it has helped me. Amen.

Thank you for reading! If this post has touched you in anyway I hope that you SHARE it because we never know who else GOD wants to get this message. Thank you, and please let me know what you think.

You can also follow the blogs that are posted by following the blog’s Facebook page as well as Twitter, and Google+ that way you will never miss an update. We all need a little inspiration and to make sure we stay in fellowship with other CHILDREN of GOD. I would love to hear from anyone who feels they need to comment or e-mail me.

Thank you again for visiting LLMJ Blog! May you be blessed with GOD’S GRACE and to walk around with a BOLDNESS for JESUS that you have never had before! Amen.

Now I have always thought, since I got SAVED, that in order to receive anything from GOD you had to do good works before you got any REWARDS. Our GOD is all knowing though, HE rewards you as soon as you become HIS CHILD because HE knows the plans HE has for you. (Jeremiah 29:11(NLT). HE will give you all of HIS gifts before any of us DESERVE them, because if HE waited for us to EARN them HE would be waiting all of ETERNITY.

In (Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT) is says 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 

~So if we have not received these gifts through the HOLY SPIRIT then we are trying to make worldly fruits GODLY FRUITS, and that is not possible.(Galatians 5:19-21(NLT) When we try to show the ATTITUDES that relate to the FRUITS of the SPIRIT we are only showing them on the surface, not with a CHANGED HEART. 

The BIBLE says in 

(Galatians 5:19-21(NLT) 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now even though GOD gives us these gifts as soon as we become HIS children that doesn’t mean that we don’t have to work to keep producing GOOD FRUIT. Not only is there FRUIT of the SPIRIT, but there is also fruit of the world. If we do not continuously fertilize our TREE then we will quit producing FRUIT, but if WE wholeheartedly follow GOD we will continue to fertilize the ground that the FRUITS grow from.We should not have to tell people that WE ARE CHRISTIAN. The BIBLE says that people will know us by our FRUITS.

The FRUITS of the SPIRIT that we receive when we are SAVED are tools to help us bring in the harvest. Whether we realize it or not EVERYONE is watching us. They are trying to see what WE have that THEY don’t. People don’t understand why We are so full of JOY and PEACE. The only way ANYONE can have that is through the HOLY SPIRIT. WE are GOD’S light, but it is up to US how BRIGHT we SHINE.

The only way that WE can shine BRIGHTER is by staying in the WORD, be in FELLOWSHIP with FRUITFUL people, WORSHIP GOD in everything we do(through every trial), and making sure to PRAY all the time. This is the ONLY way that the FRUITS will continue to grow.

When WE feed the SPIRIT it becomes stronger. This doesn’t mean that WE will never sin again because the ENEMY is constantly trying to take us out. Although it will make our SPIRIT stronger so that it is more capable to fight against the flesh more easily. As the SPIRIT grows stronger the FLESH grows weaker. The BIBLE says “Be still and know.” (Psalm 46:10(NLT). I also believe there are many other ways we can feed our SPIRIT as well in addition to a quiet DEVOTIONAL.

For example when we are at work or driving in the car we can listen to and audio BIBLE or PRAISE/WORSHIP music. It has been said by many people that what goes in is what comes out. This doesn’t mean just food wise. The music WE listen to, what WE watch on TV, etc. plays the same role if WE put trash in then trash will come out. We don’t need to think about it as we listen if our other tasks need our thoughts. Our SPIRIT soaks it in either way. We can even experience revelations of what our SPIRIT soaked up at a later time when we NEED it.

Now I am NOT saying that we don’t need to sit down alone and pray, study, and worship as well, because that is FIRST and foremost. That is how we get CLOSER to GOD. Although we need to remember to ask ourselves is this feeding my SPIRIT or my FLESH?

This is one of the hardest things I have ever had to learn as a CHRISTIAN. Many of us don’t necessarily think that the TV show we are watching is actually feeding our fleshly desires. Now not all TV is bad, but we have to be very careful. Years ago there were many words that weren’t even allowed to be spoken on TV, women wore more modest clothes, etc. Nowadays you can find anything you are looking for with a change of the channel or linking to the internet. So when have to GUARD our SPIRITS and make sure that we are continually feeding them and not our fleshly desires.

After every BATTLE we get stronger. That is how GOD prepares us for the next. When we step out in FAITH and do what HE tells us to this time it will be a little bit easier to do it NEXT time, and there will always be a NEXT time.