(1 Ki 19:19-20 KJV) So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
Does God need our religion?
Somehow I suspect not… religion is a man made and labeled phenomenon that we identify by certain forms of behaviour, namely worship and prayer to a deity greater than ourselves. It is supposed to be a humble acknowledgment of life’s creator and maintainer. It seems to me that true worship and prayer, like any genuine relationship, is a personal heart felt experience and it is reciprocated wherever sincere faith and need is present. Considering that every so called - atom, planet, star and life form has been authored by an invisible all powerful force called “God” then what is impossible?
As a father I would gladly give to my children whatever they needed that would help them live better lives otherwise the whole purpose of creating them would be ill founded and reflect upon me. What is the point of creating something only to have it self destruct? This would make me an idiot. And yet, in human terms, we often see children neglected and abused simply because their parents do not have the resources or the time to look after them properly. So what goes wrong? Somewhere along the way there is a disconnection or an inequality of distribution such that everything that God gives freely is unfairly distributed to his human children or in some way blocked… Since God is perfect, one can only assume that there is something wrong and blocking this free flow of Godly goodness…
I always found it interesting that Jesus never followed in his earthly father’s footsteps to spend his life turning out wooden chairs and tables… Not only so, but he also encouraged other working fishermen to quit their jobs and follow his way. In the eyes of the world, Jesus was unemployed as were his followers and yet he was not unemployed, he was attending to God’s business. In return God and the angels provided for all his needs. Jesus didn’t need to work for money to buy food. Whatever he needed was miraculously provided. This is fundamentally important and not to be overlooked.
Most religions today are not giving, they are parasitic, they feed off the rich and the poor in the name of God… this is not the way, this is a corruption of faith. This is a confidence trick. It is getting people to give you money on false pretences in good faith, so that you can live at their expense. God has never wanted our money or our tithes, God has only wanted our hearts and minds… God already has everything… These tithes and offerings were simply a way to provide material evidence of our faith, but these days it proves nothing and just pays the living expenses of the corrupt who praise God with their lips only, yet live by exploiting their neighbours and the earth's natural resources.
(Luke 18:18-23 KJV) And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
RELIGIOUS (PART 2)