Why I Hate Religion

Religion is the cause of many wars, it has ordered more deaths than it has given life, it judges people without fully knowing who they really are, it sets impossible standards that people can’t meet and it’s the cause of many who suffer from mental health. I hate religion!!

Now before you get carried away let me clarify. I’m not saying I hate God but I’m simply saying that I hate the way people have created God to be. And just so you know, I’m not the only one that feels this way. Jesus felt the exact same way and had zero tolerance for it. The Pharisees (religious people) were all in contention with Him and He warned His disciples to stay away from their teaching. They valued the Word and theory of God rather than a real relationship. Love was never the centre but instead rules and regulations were. This is the same thing we have seen time and time again in history and in the present, but just manifests in different ways.

Here are some reasons why I hate religion:

– It requires everything from you but doesn’t give anything back
– It focuses on the outward appearance but neglects a persons heart
– You can’t do anything right
– It requires you to attain perfection by yourself
– It promotes hate over love

Jesus never promoted this sort of lifestyle but promoted love everywhere He went and gave people life. He was not focused on people’s sin and mistakes but was more concerned about bringing healing to a lost generation. His ultimate sacrifice on the cross freed us from a mindset of trying to get to God through works, but now through simply believing. Where religion makes it complicated God makes it simple!!

The Revival That Never Stops

Most revivals we know have started well and produced extraordinary fruit but for one reason or another have stopped. This became a common theme for moves of God such as Azusa Street, The Welsh Revival and the Jesus People Movement where they would have a year or two of intense breakthrough but then it would end because of failure to take proper responsibility for what was given.

Even though this was once normal for revivals to stop, it was never meant to be the norm. When God starts something it’s not meant to end but instead go on to impact generations to come. The aim is to go from glory to glory and not from glory to nothing!! Another revelatory fact about revival is that it was never meant to be something that magically turns up out of nowhere, but it was always meant to be carried and stewarded by individuals that know their identity and what is available to them because of the price Jesus paid. Bill Johnson senior Pastor at Bethel Church, Redding, Ca says that “Jesus didn’t just pay a price to get us into heaven, but He paid a price to get heaven inside of us!!” When we begin to view it this way we realise that we walk under an open heaven where anything could happen at any time if we dare to believe.

If you are currently experiencing a move of God in your life and you are afraid that it might stop, or you are experiencing tremendous favour then please note that it is not meant to stop but only increase as we are born to bear fruit until the day we die. You are unstoppable!!

A Taste Of Grace

The word Grace is probably the most misunderstood word in Christianity. In my personal life I used to think that Grace was just a word you use when someone got on your nerves. I would say things like, “we need to have grace for the person.” Apart from that I didn’t know what the word meant or how it applied to me.

It wasn’t until I began to study that I found out it wasn’t just a word but more a way of life. A way of life whereby things are now made available that previously wasn’t. I found out that it’s called favour, but not favour that can be earned. The Apostle Paul even says that because of our position in Christ we now stand in Grace. In other words it is from this place that we now live and do life from. It’s a lifestyle of unmerited favour where anything is possible at anytime. If you dare to believe!!

‘Grace’ is a controversial term because not only do we receive a lifestyle of favour but sin loses its power and we get to live a life of total freedom. It offends people that feel justified by their work and great efforts to please God. Let me note that it’s not by our efforts that we are justified, but rather our faith in His ability to justify us. The moment we start to trust in our limited abilities we level off and disqualify ourselves from experiencing the impossible. On the other hand, if we can learn to just receive the incredible privilege He has given us, then our lives become an adventure is stress free, without struggle and filled with joy.

Learn how to receive grace today and watch what happens!!

7 Reasons Why The Power Of God Is Not Active In Your Life

1. You believe it’s only for certain individuals – I use to believe that the power of God (miracles, signs and wonders) were only for certain people because that is how I was taught. I was taught that only leadership was allow to lay hands and visiting pastors or prophets. I thought I would have to fast 40 days and nights to even get close to what they are carrying. In light of this, it all changed when I found out that the Spirit of the Resurrected Christ lives in me. I realised I carried the same power so I too was able to see what they saw!!

2. You only wait for things to happen but don’t step out to see the power of God activated – If the Holy Spirit lives in you then the next step is to look for opportunities to see Him released. Waiting for things to happen only expresses lack of understanding in what you have and the commission to give it away.

3. You pray things like ‘IF it’s Your will!!’- The word ‘if’ should never be used at the start of a prayer as far as faith is concerned. It only serves to make you double minded and unsure as whether or not God wants to do what you have requested.

4. You might of been taught that miracles were only for Bible days – Some church circles believe that miracles passed away in ancient times so now we only get to practice a Christianity that is based on moral behaviour, being good to people and getting people saved. This might sound right but was never the example of Jesus or anyone in the New Testament. In fact He commanded His disciples to go and teach the world everything He commanded them. What did He command them to do? Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy and drive out demons!!

5. You have been sucked into a culture that celebrates theories and concepts more than experience – “Bible study without bible experience is pointless.” – Bill Johnson. The point is that when we focus on just reading or listening to words without experiencing them we step into an inferior Christianity. Christianity was never meant to be known by words only, but by power. Knowing God can not be achieved by just reading and entertaining concepts. To know Him is to experience Him!!

6. You are waiting to get to a certain level of spirituality – The power of God is not based on where you are spiritually and certainly not on how good you are. It’s always based on how good GOD is!! The Spirit of God lives in you now, not later and comes fully equipped with power so start moving!!

7. The fear of something not happening holds you back – Before I started to see miracles through my own hands I was afraid to step out because I thought I would feel embarrassed if I put someones hopes up and then nothing happened. After doing this for a little while I realised that if I don’t step out and take the risk nothing will happen!! I then had to get over myself and step out regardless of whether I saw an instant result or not. It’s about the risk more then the result.

7 Ways To Deal With Disrespect

1. Set Boundaries – Boundaries are like barbed wired that protect an area of value. It shows people your value and puts them in their place. It commands respect and causes a disrespectful person to make a choice whether to be around or not.

2. Let Them Know Your Standards And Expectations – It’s my personal belief that we teach people how to respect us. If someone is being disrespectful and we just allow it to happen, we have just taught them about our worth and what we are willing to allow. If we speak up then we are setting a standard for other people to grab a hold of. It’s also important that we don’t tell other people what to do but instead we tell them what we are going to do and that’s the only person we have control of. If not, we only end up frustrated and feeling rejected.

3. Walk Away If You Have To – Sometimes it’s good to walk away from a disrespectful person until they are willing to be respectful. People have to know that every conversation that you participate in has to be respectful or you won’t participate in it. Once again this sets a standard for people to follow.

4. Anger Does Not Solve Problems, Love Does – A lot of people think that getting angry will solve disrespect and to be honest in some situations it will. However, in everyday situations with your spouse, family and friends this does not work. “Anger is actually fake power” – Danny Silk. It might make you feel better but you have just successfully taught people to only take you seriously in that moment. In every other moment they will continue to be disrespectful until you explode again. On the other hand, love breaks down the barriers people have put up & commands respect from people.

5. Don’t Be Afraid To Confront – Most people are afraid of confrontation because they are not sure if they will be rejected or no longer favoured but the truth is, confrontation brings life, peace and clarity when it is done correctly. The aim of confrontation is not to be right but instead to make a relationship stronger. It is to create standards and to take a relationship to another level. Confrontation should never be used just to air your problem or as many people say, “I tell it as it is!!”. This only causes people’s guard to go up and may increase disrespect.

6. Let Them Know How Their Actions Are Affecting Your World – People have to know how their actions affect the world around them. It is actually really helpful feedback and you will find that most people don’t know how their actions affect other people. They go about life thinking that they are the kindest person until someone is bold enough to let them know otherwise.

7. Nip It In The Bud Right Away – The moment you recognise disrespect it is good to deal with right away rather then letting it fester. If it is left for a while then your power and influence over the situation will start to diminish. After this has been done it will be hard (not impossible) to get that power back.

5 Signs Of A Controlling Leader

1. Branching out is a sign of disrespect for them – A controlling leader never wants you to progress apart from themselves. They will use manipulation and sometimes lies to make sure that you stay with and under them.

2. They don’t like anyone else to get take the lime light but themselves – Most controlling leaders are insecure in some way or another so they only want one person to get the lime light – themselves!! If you do start to get the lime light it’s only ok if you are mentioning their names or promoting their agenda.

3. They use their authority to lord it over people rather than empower – Leadership is meant to empower not hold back. Leaders are suppose to create a safe place for people to flourish and feel a sense of belonging. There should never be a moment where leadership is used only to tell others what to do and to hold them back from what God really has for them.

4. Their vision is the only vision that matters!! – If you have been around a controlling leader you will soon realise that your personal vision does not matter. All that matters is making your leaders vision happen at the expense of sacrificing your own life and sometimes your family.

5. If you disagree with them you are labeled rebellious – This is very common for controlling leaders. They don’t like you to disagree with them. In fact if you disagree or go against what they say you will be labelled rebellious and out of order. This is all an attempt to make you feel bad and guilty for what you have done so you can come back and be submissive.

Condemnation Vs Conviction

Many people can’t tell the difference between condemnation and conviction even though they are very different. They can feel the same sometimes because of how it is taught or when people say, “I feel convicted.” What they are really saying is that they feel guilty and Sometimes shameful.

The biggest difference between condemnation and conviction is that conviction empowers while condemnation disempowers. Let me explain… Conviction shows you who you really are and who you are called to be and the standard that you really know you ought to live by. It almost feels like a light bulb moment and right away you feel the power to change it. Whether you have wronged somebody, participated in a sinful habit or not gone after what He has called you to. He will release power to apologise, turn from sin or go after your calling. Condemnation on the other hand pushes you into a hole and allows you to follow in self pity. It’s primary function is to cut off your awareness of the power you have and make you feel guilty and distraught. One of the reasons why this feels like conviction is because a lot of people are used to performing out of guilt or pressure to be someone. Sometimes it’s our parents, teachers, friends or bosses that have made us this way so we think that the only way we can change something is if we feel guilty enough, but God thinks differently.

Contrary to popular opinion God does not have to use guilt to get people to do stuff. His method always involves love, mercy and grace. Grace is not just unmerited favour but it’s the operational power of God. This basically means that He can empower you to do something you could not do moments before, so if you are in a situation He will use conviction filled with grace so you can get out successfully.

The next time you feel convicted pay attention, because typically grace to change will follow, to empower you to make a right decision and move forward. If you don’t feel any of these you are probably just hearing the voice of condemnation speaking!!

5 Secrets To Extraordinary Faith

1. God Loves You And is For You – Gain the understanding that God loves us more than we can comprehend and wants to give us more than we can take. He actually likes us and cares about the things we care about, even the minor details in our lives. So upon this revelation we are able to walk an extraordinary but simple life.

2. Stop Listening To People That Speak Against what You Want – If there is one thing I know that can destroy faith it would be listening to negative words from people. Sometimes when I’m believing for something I have to shut down certain voices in my life so that my faith can remain level headed. If not, my faith will start to slack and before I know it I’ve become a “doubting Thomas”.

3. Feed Yourself On Good News – Just as negative words and reports can sabotage your faith, on the contrary encouraging words, and powerful testimonies can boost your faith into another realm. When you begin to focus on what is happening rather than what has not happened, you set yourself to have extraordinary faith.  

4. Get A Word – A word acts as an anchor or something that reassures us of the victory we already have. This is important because our confidence increases when we know we have a Greater Authority and Power behind us working everything out.

5. Pray – Some people just think that prayer is a good thing to do but don’t recognise the power of it, but let me be clear!! Everything you need and want is found in this place. This includes your emotional strength, healthy thoughts, financial breakthrough, healthy friendships, jobs and the list goes on. As I said before, anything you desire to see happen first starts with prayer!!

5 Reasons Why The World Do Not Take Christians Seriously

1. We Value Words More Than Power – Jesus demonstrated everything He spoke about, and only spoke about things He could demonstrate. Whether it was morally or seeing blind eyes open, He proved everything He believed. We as children of God are called to do the same thing and according to Jesus, even greater things.

2. We Show Love With An Agenda – Love is unconditional and does not carry an agenda but simply loves. A lot of Christians love with conditions and will let go when what they hoped for didn’t go according to plan. But real love will hold on no matter what and will give, knowing that they might not get anything in return.

3. Religion Causes Us To Be Someone We Are Not – I think this has to be one of the worst ones because it is so deceiving. Religion makes you feel like you are doing good not realising that it is drawing you further away from God and makes you bound rather than free. The world recognises it and on most occasions don’t want anything to do with it.

4. Most Things Are Over Spiritualised And Deep – Have you ever been around a Christian that is over-spiritual and deep? If you have then, you would know how frustrating it can be to listen to words coming out of their mouth. I remember asking a guy in my old church if he was a regular member at the church and he responded by saying “We are the church brother!!”. Well, technically he was right but it didn’t answer my question and I could see that he was trying to impress me with his deep spiritual knowledge. Unfortunately for him I was not impressed one bit and I’ve found out that not many people are!!

5. Unbelievers Feel Treated Like A Project And Not A Human Being – This point is similar to my second point in that, Love has no agenda but gives unconditionally. Unbelievers feel like a project when some Christians are showing them love. The unconditional element was taken out and now they feel like the only reason they are being pursued is to get them to do something. That’s why, if you haven’t noticed, when you talk to certain people about faith they get their backs up immediately. This is not because they don’t want to hear about God but they feel that you are going to try and get them to do something without actually valuing them. There is nothing wrong with talking to people about God but everything should be done in real love.  

Confidence vs Arrogance

“Confidence looks like arrogance to the insecure” – Kris Vallotton. Sometimes confidence and arrogance can look very similar, however there is a BIG difference between the two.
Confident people give others permission to be bold without requiring anything from them, but those that are arrogant take away freedom and require themselves to be the centre of attention. Arrogant people don’t want anyone to be seen and only want their voice to be known. They enjoy putting others down so they can be lifted up.

As I go through life I realise this truth more and more. I’ve known people that are arrogant and those that are confident and to be honest, I never seem to want to be around those that are arrogant.

It normally becomes apparent to me that arrogant people have some sort of insecurity where they need to be seen and accepted. I find that this gets tiring because that need inside of them is never satisfied but wants more and more. On the other hand, I love being around confident people because they cause me to come up to another level and to overcome all of my fears. They are history makers and cause the world to think differently about what we thought was difficult. Here are some traits of confident and arrogant people:

Arrogance:
– They require people to bow down so they can shine
– They find it hard to celebrate other people’s achievement
– Some arrogant people don’t feel the need for preparation but feel things will just happen because of who they are
– They overemphasis their qualities so people can say good things about them
– They have no concept of serving but always want to be served
– They are afraid to admit their flaws

Confidence:
-Confident people will tell you the truth about who they are whether good or bad without stumbling over people’s opinions.
– They are not afraid to admit their mistakes or flaws
– They get a kick out of making other people feel special
– They gladly celebrate other peoples success without pulling them down behind close doors.
– Confident people understand that serving is the key greatness
– They don’t pull others down to make themselves feel better but will build people up even if they don’t feel like it
-They approach life with a ‘I can’ attitude

It is important of us to be honest with ourselves and check our hearts. We don’t want to be the person that no one wants to be around, but we want to be that person who has no problem creating an environment for people to be free to be themselves.