Many sincere religious leaders, because of their longevity in accepted tradition, and not knowing where else to turn, have continued proclaiming the praises of this thing called ‘church’. So I ask. Have you ever noticed that religion and its many formulas, doctrines, programs, and the outward performances of the flesh, have hindered many in their relationship with our living God? They certainly have. God is Spirit and must be worshipped in Spirit. Flesh and Spirit, nor oil and water, can be mixed. No matter how many times they are shaken together, each will separate from the other.
When we emphasize our denomination, our building with a steeple, our man of the cloth, our programs to make ourselves feel warm and fuzzy, and our learned accounts from the leaders of the past of who and what God is, then we have stepped from what our Lord gave us to the self indulgence of idolatry. Because this behavior has been accepted by so many, and for so long, we embrace it as being Truth; but is a far-cry from that in which Jesus began building upon the foundation, the Rock of Truth.
Our relationship with the Lord is being hindered, at least in the short term, by our self-centered agendas of what the flesh of man can create. We must heed God’s Word when He said; “If my people, that are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wickedness, then I shall hear from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” This was not written for those that are not called by His name, but for those that are; us.