Don’t Just Try, Rely!

Daily writing promptWhat could you try for the first time?View all responses

If you learn to rely
You can say goodbye
To all your guilt and shame.
You can try and try
To get rid of shame
But it’s better to rely
On Jesus the Lord
And let Him supply
The forgiveness you need.
If you will defy
Your pride and self-effort
Jesus will untie
Shame’s hard knots in your heart.
Don’t just barely scrape by.
Continually trust,
depend, and rely
On the living Jesus!
(Read Psalm 25)

Sermons and reasoning
Can’t explain Christ’s seasoning.
You have to taste and see.
Begin envisioning.
“Behold the Lamb of God”
And let Him set you free.

If easy
To just perch
On a seat
For an hour
In church
But not search
For Jesus
With your whole heart
And then depart
Still the same
As when you came.

Jesus doesn’t go to church. He doesn’t need to go because He’s already everywhere. Learn to hang out with Him wherever you are.

Most Christians don’t need more religious information. They need more spiritual formation until Christ is formed in them — in the way they walk and talk and live their daily lives. (See Galatians 4:19.)

I tried church for decades both as a preacher and as a sermon-hearer. Neither worked for me. When I would attend church, it always felt like I was putting Jesus in a religious box for an hour and then I got to let Him out again when it was over.

That was until The Salvation Army asked my wife Ernie and me to start and oversee a sermon-free church. We began with praise and worship and then let anyone present share as they felt prompted by God’s Spirit.

It was an awesome experience that lasted for ten years until we were forced by a Salvation Army leader to stop. Since then, we’ve been gathering with anybody who’s willing to meet like that and let the Spirit lead. We listen to God’s Spirit with people throughout the week and then say and do what He tells us to.

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