Doing the Religious Mix - Martin Wiles

Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead! Psalm 106:28 NLT

I suppose Timmy thought no one would notice—and they didn’t. A church I once pastored decided to host a wild game supper since no church in our immediate area did. Timmy hunted anything—and cooked everything. What better person to head this up, I thought.

Among the many interesting dishes Timmy concocted was a wild game-bird perlo. The name of the particular bird that was supposed to inhabit this perlo escapes me, but I haven’t forgotten what Timmy whispered in my ear before the supper began: “I wasn’t able to kill enough _____ to put in the perlo, so I had to add some ____.” Then he listed a few non-game birds—killdeer, robin, mockingbird. My stomach churned. I knew this man and what he was capable of cooking. Could I try this? For fun, I walked over to the pot labeled “Wild Game Surprise” and dished out a large spoonful. Tasty.

The nation of Israel wasn’t as successful as Timmy at mixing things. The nation began with Abraham and God’s call for him to leave his pagan homeland and travel to a new place. Abraham’s descendants had a checkered history of trying to mix religions. Baal was the primary god of the land—a fertility god. Worshiping him and his female counterpart would ensure their crops, livestock, and families produced—or so they thought. They tried numerous times to get this religious mix mixed correctly but never succeeded. That’s because we can’t mix religion.

I have also discovered what they discovered: God doesn’t share His affection with anyone or anything. He is jealous—or zealous—not in a sinful way, but in a way that is for my good. He knows my pandering after other things at his expense will lead to ultimate disappointment and spiritual failure. I can’t mix loving and serving him with anything else.

The good news is that we don’t have to. God’s love for us is unconditional, immeasurable, and sufficient. What He gives us—love and possessions—is all we’ll ever need. We don’t need compromise; we simply need to trust Him . . . period. Jesus said we couldn’t serve him and mammon—money, possessions, or anything else.

Jesus is all you need. Don’t look for anything or anyone else. Doing the religious mix won't work. 

Father, when I think I need just one more thing to satisfy me, remind me you are all I need. 

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Philosophy Jesus Style - Martin Wiles

And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:50

Fundamentalist was the term Dad used to describe himself. 

Mom’s take on things, I was unsure about. Occasionally, I would pick up vibes that she disagreed with some of Dad’s philosophy. I knew he believed faith was the way to God, but the constant emphasis on rules seemed to interfere with what he attempted to teach me about God. What seeped through was the “thou shalt not’s.” When I finally began meditating on God’s Word rather than just reading it, I discovered God wanted more in our relationship than me obeying a list. 

I doubt the sinful woman who approached Jesus was a churchgoer. She was considered a “sinner” and probably wouldn’t have been welcome. She wasn’t at this party either, but for some reason, Simon, the host, didn’t throw her out. Perhaps her actions toward Jesus astonished the guests and Simon so much that they couldn’t speak. Maybe they let her carry out her actions so they could get more proof that Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. Either way, she stayed and cried on Jesus’ feet, wiped them with her hair, and anointed them with perfume.

Jesus rewarded her actions with praise. He didn’t give her a list of things to do when she left if she wanted to be His disciple. He merely recognized her faith and told her to go in peace. She had discovered what the religious leaders thought they had—but hadn’t. Their service to God was like mine when I was young—obeying a list of commands. Jesus went deeper with the woman.

The philosophy of the religious elite of Jesus’ day was plain. One connected to God through obeying numerous rituals and hundreds of commands. The result was failure and turmoil. By allowing the sinful woman to perform her ritual, Jesus tried to demonstrate their error. His philosophy has to do with repentance and faith. Her actions portrayed her faith, and her faith—not rote obedience to rules--saved her. She received what the religious snobs tried so hard but failed to obtain—a relationship.

What philosophy of religion are you following? If it doesn’t include repentance and faith, it will fail you.

Father, remind me that the way to You is through faith and repentance. 

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Recovering from Religion - Martin Wiles

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. Matthew 11:28 MSG

Religion had frightened me. I needed a break.

Church life is all I’ve ever known. I went before Mom ever birthed me. As a small child, I had my favorite nursery teachers, and my grandmother fed me Hershey Kisses to keep me quiet when I graduated to “big church.”

Then Dad became a pastor … and eventually I became one. I saw the pretty and the ugly side of church. As a young person, I looked at church as more ugly than pretty. I heard about the unkind things various people had said about my dad—and I witnessed numerous ugly episodes as I pastored churches. Hurtful comments—said to my face and behind my back. Devastating actions that undermined my leadership.

Finally, burnout came … or lingered around the corner if I didn’t do something. My wife felt the same. She, too, had been hurt numerous times. We decided to take a break. Not from Jesus, but from religion.

Jesus often needed a break. He went off alone to pray … to consult His Father … to rejuvenate. And He wanted little to do with the religious legalists who burdened others down with impossible and distorted rules and who tried to trap Him and destroy His ministry. Jesus taught the people more about a relationship than He did about rules.

Surveys show the number of “nones,” (those who claim no religious affiliation) are steadily increasing. Among the reasons they give for not attending church: unanswered questions about religion, social and political issues in churches, unbelief in God, dislike of religious organizations, dislike of religious leaders, and religious irrelevancy (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/08/why-americas-nones-dont-identify-with-a-religion).

Burning out on religion is possible—and probably happens more than we know. Perhaps we need to change churches—or even take a temporary break from all physical churches. More than likely, though, we need a reorientation of our mindset, along with a resetting of our priorities.

Jesus never intended for “religion” to take the place of our relationship with Him. Religion is about rules, practices, liturgies, and tertiary discussions. Religion is the fluff that can clutter our lives and hide what Christ wants us to enjoy: the relationship with Him. We can burn out on religion, but we’ll never burn out on the relationship.

Don’t let religion—and the negative things often associated with it—steal your love for Christ or your desire to obey and serve Him.

Prayer: Father, remind us that a relationship with You is what Your Son died to give us.

Tweetable: Are you a recovering religion addict?

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Flashback Friday - Why Are There So Many Denominations? - Martin Wiles

Why Are There So Many Denominations?

Series: Hey God…I Have a Question

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. Ephesians 4:5-6 NLT

Variety is the spice of life, and with religion, there’s certainly a plethora of flavors.

During my early years—the ones I don’t remember, I was a Baptist because my parents were. Around age six, I became a Methodist—not by choice but because my father decided God was calling him into the ministry. He chose a local college that happened to be Methodist. The only difference I noticed then—or for the next eight years, was that Methodists sprinkled for baptism while Baptists dunked. At mid-life, I was scorned by a particular denomination due to an unfortunate divorce. Having a bad taste in my mouth, I mosied over to a charismatic denomination where I stayed for the next five years. Here I noticed quite a few differences in liturgy, music, and doctrine. Currently, I’m back where I began as a child. Read more...

Tweetable: Do denominations confuse you? 

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Flashback Friday - How Can I Know Christianity Is the Only True Religion? - Martin Wiles

How Can I Know Christianity Is the Only True Religion?

Series: Hey God…I Have a Question

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NLT

Why can’t choosing a religion be like many other things in life? Many options…none wrong…some with just better benefits?

As a teacher, I’ve noticed most students tend to score higher on multiple-choice tests than they do on short answer or fill in the blank. Recognizing answers is easier than producing them completely on my own. Multiple-choice tests also allow one to use the process of elimination. One answer is clearly wrong and normally easy to eliminate. If I can find one small error in two of the other answers, then I can select the correct choice. Read more...

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Flashback Friday - Are All Religions Equal? - Martin Wiles

Are All Religions Equal?

Series: Hey God…I Have a Question

For the past fifteen years, frosted chocolate pop tarts have been my breakfast of champions. Ironically, I’ve never cared for the most popular brand name manufactured in the United States. I’d rather have a particular store brand. Then I discovered this retailer wasn’t the only one manufacturing this style of pop tart. Several other retailers also had identical store brands. Shape, consistency, taste, ingredients. All the same. Probably one company manufacturing all of them and attaching different labels depending on which retailer they’re destined for. My eyes and taste buds pronounce these dissimilar labeled pop tarts as equal. Read more...

Tweetable: Do you think all religions are equal? 

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Flashback Friday - Religion Defined - Martin Wiles

Religion Defined

How I define religion—or how others teach me to define it, may not be how God outlines it all.

I’ve heard and studied the various descriptions of religion. But not all of what I’ve heard and read is an actual definition. Much of it I’ve gathered by watching people’s mannerisms. What they don’t actually say but articulate nevertheless. Things like, “I am a good person.” Or “I think in the end everyone will make it into heaven.” Or even, “I hope the good things I do will outweigh the bad things.” Beliefs I can’t prove from examining the Bible but viewpoints seized by others nevertheless. Read more...

Tweetable: How do you define religion?

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Doing the Religious Mix - Martin Wiles

Then our ancestors joined in the worship of Baal at Peor; they even ate sacrifices offered to the dead! Psalm 106:28 NLT

I suppose Timmy thought no one would notice—and they didn’t. 

A church I once pastored decided to host a wild game supper since no church in our immediate area had one. Timmy was a friend who hunted anything—and cooked everything. What better person to head this up, I thought. 

Among the many interesting dishes Timmy concocted was a wild game-bird perlo. The name of the particular bird that was supposed to inhabit this perlo escapes me, but I haven’t forgotten what Timmy whispered in my ear before the supper began: “I wasn’t able to kill enough _____ to put in the perlo, so I had to add some ____.” Then he listed a few non-game birds—killdeer, robin, etc. My stomach churned. I knew this man and what he was capable of cooking. Could I try this? Just for fun, I walked over to the pot labeled “Wild Game Surprise” and dished out a large spoonful. Tasty. 

The nation of Israel wasn’t as successful as Timmy at mixing things. The nation began with Abraham and God’s call to him to leave his pagan homeland and travel to a new place. Abraham’s descendants had a checkered history of trying to mix religions. 

Baal was the primary god of the land—a fertility god. Worshiping him and his female counterpart would ensure their crops, livestock, and families produced—or so they thought. Though they tried numerous times to get this religious mix mixed correctly, they never succeeded. Religion can’t be mixed. 

What they discovered, I have as well: God doesn’t share His affection with anyone or anything. He is jealous—or zealous. Not in a sinful way, but in a way that is for my good. He knows my pandering after other things at the expense of Him will lead to ultimate disappointment and spiritual failure. I simply can’t mix loving and serving Him with anything else. 

The good news is I don’t have to. His love for me is unconditional, immeasurable, and always sufficient. What He gives me—love and possessions, is all I’ll ever need. I don’t need compromise; I simply need to trust Him…period. Jesus said I couldn’t serve Him and mammon—money or possessions. Or anything else. 

Have you discovered that Jesus is all you need?

Prayer: Father, when we think we need just one more thing to satisfy us, remind us You are all we’ll ever need. 

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