Spring Is In The Air
Welcome to the month of March! The smell of spring is in the air, friends! Here in Texas, the talks about spring break are already happening. And we are about to lose that favorite one hour of sleep with Daylight Saving Time. There are lots of special moments to observe and celebrate this month. From Lent (which started last month on Ash Wednesday, February 18) and concludes next month, April 5), to St. Patrick’s Day and kicking off Holy Week with Palm Sunday on March 29. A very happy birthday blessing to everyone with a birthday this month. Special shout out to my husband celebrating another trip around the sun!
Acceptance Speech
There is concern among spiritual leaders about the times we are living in. A disdain for the things of God. A mockery of holy things. A contempt for the Bible. Imagine people throwing hatred at a singer for giving God glory after receiving his 2026 Grammys award. In closing his acceptance speech, Jelly Roll stated that, “I want to tell y’all right now, Jesus is for everybody,” he added. “Jesus is not owned by one political party. Jesus is not owned by no music label. Jesus is Jesus, and anybody can have a relationship with Him. I love you, Lord.” This is an acceptance speech that any Jesus loving, Holy Spirit filled, and God exalting follower of Christ would scream hallelujah for and thank God for such great stance of faith.
The Pharisees
However, that was not the case for the many people that literally “owned Christianity.” For them, the backlash was, “how can anyone say that Jesus is not owned by one group or the other.” When we look at the Word of God, we see some of the same attitude by people that claimed to own Christianity at that time. The Bible called some of them Pharisee in the New Testament. They were people and leaders that had strict observance of religious traditions and the Bible. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, describes Pharisees well. He states, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices- mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
The Sadducees
The others, the Bible called Sadducees in the New Testament. They are people that deny many aspects of the Bible and still follow some Biblical traditions. In Matthew 16:6,12, Jesus Christ called both groups of people and leaders out. He states, “And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. At last, they understood that Jesus was not speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
Intellectualized Christianity
We have both groups today, doing so much havoc in the name of God and to His kingdom. What is scary is that many people in our day believe this hatred laden approach is the real gospel of Jesus Christ. In a time that Christianity has become intellectualized, followers of Christ have a responsibility to share and live out the real gospel of Jesus Christ they have experienced. At this point, someone reading this is saying, “then who is a real Christian?”
The Real Gospel of Christianity
The Bible tells us exactly the who and how of a real Christian. Romans 10:9. “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” John 14:6, “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Acts 16:31, “They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved- you and your household.” Ephesians 2: 8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Relationship and Not Religion
For the 480-600 million born again followers of Christ around the world, each one is duly marked by Christ’s blood, sealed by the Holy Spirit and has a personal relationship with God, they carry the unshakeable assurance of salvation and eternity with the God of the universe. These ambassadors of Christ have activated faith that plunder darkness, speak the truth in love, discern deception, unashamed of the gospel of Christ and continuously seek to rescue the perishing. This is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in each follower of Christ committed to reflecting Jesus Christ in an upside-down world.
Sacred Season of Lent
So, as we continue in this sacred season of Lent, may the real Christians, please stand up! The world needs the peace you carry. The world needs the joy you exude. The world needs the love that has transformed you. The world needs the fire that warms your heart. The world needs the unshakeable faith that anchors your soul. The world needs the assurance of hope you have in Jesus Christ. The world needs the wisdom you walk in. In other words, the world needs to meet and know the Jesus Christ that saved you, that transformed your life and is keeping you. Because out in our upside-down world, religion is having a wild party; and many are unknowingly attending to their own peril.
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