"If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Hebrews 6:6 KJV)
"Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me - now let me rejoice. Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me." (PSALM 51:7-11 NLT)
Most of us should know by now, if you have been walking with the Lord for any time at all, this is not about trying to be religious or holding to a set of rules and doctrine; this is about have a very special relationship with the One who saved you, Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. And, because it is about this very special relationship, there is no turning back!
Don't think for a moment that I mean to say we don't, because there are times when the very best of us will slip back into the world; maybe not into the old life of drugs and parties, but when we actually don't read our Bibles, or share Jesus with others, or neglect to pray as much as we should. It is really not a thing that we plan to do, but it is just something we slip into, because of our busy life, whatever that might be.
This is why we should never forsake fellowship and going to church! We are not individuals that come together for a religious service; we are all one body, connected together in the body of Christ. When one part of the body gets torn out, there is part of us that becomes missing, and it hurts. This is also the way Jesus feels, having a part of His body taken out; He does not allow it to happen!
Getting right down to the point of what this means, if we are in this journey for the religious experience, then we were never really a part of His Body! This incredible relationship is about love: the love of God, and the love for each other! I have heard several different points of view about making this a religious experience, most of which is to challenge ourselves to do certain things that keep us connected and doing the spiritual things we need to do.
This is about love, plain and simple...
"When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely. Three things will last forever = faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NLT)
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