Being Religious

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion.” It sounds good, and there’s truth in it—but I’m not convinced it tells the whole story.

If we define religion simply as rituals, traditions, and practices that help us relate to God, then yes—I am a religious person. And I believe every follower of Jesus is, too.

The reality is this: we cannot relate to God in the same way we relate to friends and family. We don’t see Him physically. We don’t sit across the table from Him. Religion—our practices, rhythms, and habits—is one of the primary ways we express our love for God and stay connected to Him.

In Scripture, especially in Exodus and Leviticus, God gave Israel very specific instructions for worship. Sacrifices, festivals, priestly duties—all of it was intentional. God provided concrete practices that helped His people approach Him and reflect His holiness.

At the same time, many religious practices developed through tradition. They aren’t commanded in Scripture, but they help shape our worship and community. Celebrating Christmas, meeting in church buildings, singing certain songs—these traditions can enrich our relationship with God when they point us to Jesus.

As followers of Christ, we recognize that many of the laws given to Israel were specific to their covenant relationship with God. We don’t offer animal sacrifices anymore because Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Instead, we remember His death through the Lord’s Supper. We no longer keep the Sabbath as Israel did, yet we gather weekly for worship, rest, and renewal.

Traditions and rituals still matter because they help us remember, express, and practice our faith.

But there’s another essential purpose for religion: to help us change.

Christianity isn’t just about relating to God—it’s about becoming the person God created us to be. The danger comes when we confuse performing religious actions with spiritual transformation.

James makes this point very clearly:

“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

— James 1:26–27 (NLT)

James spends much of his opening chapter reminding us that trials, God’s wisdom, and God’s Word are all tools God uses to shape our lives. But rituals alone—going through the motions—don’t produce transformation. If our practices don’t lead us to self-control, compassion, and purity, then something is missing.

Our religion becomes worthless when it is disconnected from faith.

Faith is what gives meaning to our worship, traditions, and spiritual disciplines. Without faith:

• religion becomes empty routine
• trials feel pointless and destructive
• Scripture becomes nice advice rather than life-giving truth

Faith—our allegiance to King Jesus—is what opens our hearts to God’s transforming work. God cannot change us if we will not trust Him. We can participate in every religious activity available and still remain unchanged.

So in the end, the question isn’t, “Am I religious?”

The better question is: “Am I faithful?”

Who am I trusting?

Who am I committed to?

Who has my heart?

If the answer isn’t Jesus—and if we aren’t willing to trust Him with our lives—then our religion might be little more than hollow ritual.

But when faith and practice come together, religion becomes something beautiful. It becomes a rhythm of grace—a way of living that shapes us into the likeness of Christ.

Point to Ponder:

Religion without faith cannot transform us. Faith expressed through obedience and love is what makes our worship meaningful.

Question to Consider:

How is your faith shaping the way you practice your relationship with God this week?

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

Knowing vs. Doing: The Gap We All Face

“We all know what to do (give or take a few details); but we all manage, at least some of the time, not to do it.”

— N. T. Wright, Simply Christian, p. 6

I was flipping through Simply Christian a few days ago when this quote caught my eye. It is the story of my life. I know I should exercise more and get more sleep, but I find excuses not to do it.

Even worse are those moments when I know I should love but don’t, or when I should keep a promise but inconveniently forget. I know what I should do, but I manage not to do it.

Wright nails this common human experience. Everyone has experienced the moment of not living up to their own ideals. The pull of compromise is a reality we all face.

Why is it so hard to do what we know is right?

The Reality We All Recognize

I’m sure you’ve experienced this in your own life. You know you should forgive a coworker who took credit for your work, but it feels better, in the moment, to hold a grudge. You know you should tell your spouse the truth about how much you spent on new gear, but you don’t have the energy to argue. The issue is not a lack of knowledge but a lack of action. The reasons vary, but the result is the same: we are not doing what we should.

All of us have a sense of what we ought to do. This awareness points to an important truth: there is a moral law written on our hearts. In other words, we have a conscience. 

The apostle Paul put it this way: 

“Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.” 

— Romans 2:14-15; NLT

Paul claims that even those who did not have God’s written law had the ability to do what is right. Everyone has a sense of what is right and what is wrong—which means everyone is guilty of not living up to God’s image.

The Tension Between Knowing and Doing

Why do we miss the mark?

There are many reasons, each failure often has its own root cause. For instance, I don’t go to the gym because I don’t want to feel foolish. I eat more than I should because I’m coping with depression. I don’t serve more because I’m fixated on my own life and needs. I know what I should do—but other things get in the way.

Paul confesses to the same sort of problem: 

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 

— Romans 7:15-16; NLT.

There is a war happening between our flesh and our spirit, and too often the flesh wins out. This means that rather than doing what we know we should do, we do the very thing we don’t want to do.

There’s a war between flesh and spirit, and too often the flesh wins. This is not merely moral weakness; it’s the human condition. We were created for union with God, our source of life, but sin severs that connection. Instead of being guided by the Spirit, we are guided by the flesh—which distorts our desires and habits.

Thankfully we bear God’s image, which means there will be times when we do the right thing, but more often than not our flesh wins out and we do what is wrong instead.

This is why Paul writes, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” (Romans 7:24; NLT).

The Hope of Transformation

Right in the next verse, Paul offers us hope: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 7:25, NLT).

In Jesus, the power of sin is broken; we receive forgiveness and new life. Alongside those gifts comes the Holy Spirit, who guides and transforms us. We are no longer left entirely to the sway of the flesh; we can gradually learn to live by the Spirit.

This doesn’t happen in an instant. It is a lifelong process of learning to be guided by the Spirit. Spiritual maturity means we are doing the right thing more and more often—and the reason we are doing the right thing is because the Spirit is guiding our lives.

We don’t have to live as “miserable” people the rest of our lives. Through Jesus, we can slowly but surely be restored as God’s image bearers.

Ponder and Practice

Take time to pause and reflect: What is one thing I know I ought to do—but haven’t?

It is worth taking time to examine our lives and commit to dealing with the sin that still lives within us. That is the only way we can become the people God created us to be.

Knowing what to do is essential. Doing it—by God’s grace—is transforming.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

What Has King Jesus Called Us to Do?

What does it mean to live as a follower of King Jesus? 

This is a question that Christians have wrestled with for two thousand years. 

In a world that measures value by productivity and achievement, it’s easy to believe that following Jesus is about how much we do for Him—how many prayers we pray, how many chapters in the Bible we read, how authentic our worship is, or how often we share the gospel.

But if we’re honest, that mindset leaves many of us weighed down with guilt. We hear a voice whispering to us, “You’re not doing enough.”  — Not praying enough. Not reading the Bible enough. Not evangelizing enough. Not loving well enough.

That voice is not the voice of King Jesus. It’s the voice of the enemy—the accuser—who delights in distorting our relationship with God into one of shame and fear.

Faithfulness, Not Frenzy

So what has King Jesus actually called us to do?

He has called us to be faithful. To represent Him in all that we say and do. What this means is that how we live each moment and how we treat others matters. 

Faithfulness looks less like a frantic checklist of spiritual tasks and more like a surrendered life. It’s not about hitting some invisible quota of good works, rather it is about giving our heart, mind, and will to the guiding and transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

When we surrender, the Spirit begins to form in us the very character of Jesus—love, goodness, kindness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). These qualities are not manufactured by trying harder; they grow as fruit from a life rooted in Jesus and flowing with the Spirit.

Living in Step with the Spirit

In other words, we don’t have to live with a constant sense of “not enough.” Instead, we walk with the Spirit day by day. We keep in step with Him. We let His presence shape how we respond to the people and situations around us.

How do we do this? How is it possible to be guided by the Spirit?

Part of my daily pray is “I surrender my heart, mind, and will to the guiding and transforming work of the Holy Spirit.” For me I need to do this every day, out loud, other wise I will continue to seek transformation by my own strength and understanding.

It also requires reading and studying the Bible, with people and on our own, which allows the Holy Spirit to use the words on the page change our hearts and minds.

We also need to understand that service is a discipline and that when we serve in ministry the Holy Spirit equips us to do the work that is in front of us.

Here is the beautiful truth: when opportunities arise, the Spirit will empower us to accomplish them. We don’t have to create our own significance. We don’t have to compare our efforts to someone else’s. We simply make the most of the moments God places before us—whether that’s encouraging a friend, showing patience with our kids, serving our neighbors, or speaking the name of Jesus when the opportunity comes our way.

Representing King Jesus

The New Testament reminds us again and again that we are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador doesn’t act on their own authority. Their role is to faithfully represent the one who sent them.

That’s our calling. Represent King Jesus in everything we say and do.

And here’s the encouragement: you don’t represent Him by doing more and more. You represent Him by surrendering to His authority and will—so that His love, His patience, His mercy, His truth are reflected through your life.

When the world sees that, they see glimpses of the King we serve.

A Gentle Challenge

So let me leave you with this challenge: Stop trying to prove yourself by doing enough. Instead, surrender your life to the Spirit’s transforming work. Let Him lead you in faithfulness today.

Ask yourself:

• Am I giving my heart to King Jesus? 
• Am I renewing my mind in His truth? 
• Am I surrendering my will to His Spirit?

When you do that, you will find yourself representing King Jesus in ways big and small. Not out of guilt. Not out of fear. But out of love.

 Following King Jesus isn’t about doing enough—it’s about surrendering enough. When we give Him our heart, mind, and will, the Spirit shapes us to represent Him in everything we say and do.

That’s what He has called us to do.

Paul’s Ponderings is a blog dedicated to reflecting on Scripture and encouraging believers to live out their faith with love and purpose.

The First Step Toward God

“The first step toward God is a step away from the lies of the world. It is a renunciation of the lies we have been told about ourselves and our neighbors and our universe.” — Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, p. 29

A World Drenched in Lies

We live in a world full of  lies. They zip through our news feeds, hum beneath casual conversations, and flash across billboards and screens. These lies are dangerous, whispering that we’re not enough—too flawed to be loved, too broken to be whole, too ordinary to make a difference. 

These lies  don’t stop at us; they bring harm to our communities, breeding suspicion and resentment among neighbors. They paint the universe as a cold, chaotic void, therefore we need to do what we can to find a little bit of joy in our lives. 

Yet, as Eugene Peterson so insightfully writes, the journey to God, and the life He created us to live, begins when we turn our backs on this chaotic noise and renounce the falsehoods we’ve swallowed whole.

Isaiah’s Unraveling Moment

Scripture offers a vivid picture of this turning point in the prophet Isaiah’s story found in chapter 6. Imagine the scene: Isaiah stands trembling before a vision of God—enthroned in splendor, His robe filling the temple, seraphim chanting “Holy, holy, holy.” The sight shatters him. “Woe is me!” he cries. “I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5, ESV). In that moment, Isaiah sees himself without a filter: a sinner, frail and unworthy, standing before infinite holiness. In spite of this new knowledge he doesn’t flee. Rather, Isaiah takes that first, courageous step toward God by confessing his sin.

Grace That Transforms

The next scene is nothing short of amazing. A seraphim (a type of heavenly being) lifts a glowing coal from the altar, presses it to Isaiah’s lips, and declares, “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7, ESV). This is the breathtaking promise of that first step: when we reject the lies and confess our need, God responds with grace—cleansing, restoring, redeeming. It’s a moment of divine work, turning shame into acceptance, despair into hope.

A Deliberate Shift

This step—away from the world’s distortions and toward God’s truth—isn’t a single, dramatic leap. It’s a slow, intentional shift, a reorientation of the heart that ripples through our lives. It demands we face hard truths: about the pride we’ve nursed, the envy we’ve harbored, the illusions we’ve built to feel secure. The lies we’ve believed—about our worth, our purpose, our neighbors—might feel like reality, helping us make sense of life. But they’re a blindfold intended to keep us living in the dark. To renounce them, as Peterson suggests, is to step into a wild, uncharted freedom—a life rooted in love, wisdom, and the gracious presence of God.

Echoes Across Scripture

Isaiah’s experience isn’t an anomaly. The Bible is filled with stories of these stories. Moses, a political fugitive, stood before a burning bush and heard God call him to lead (Exodus 3). David, a shepherd boy turned abuser and murderer, wept in Psalm 51 for a clean heart—and found it. Mary, a young woman of no status, said yes to an impossible calling (Luke 1:38). Paul, once a persecutor, met Christ on a dusty road and was remade (Acts 9). Each faced their own inadequacy, their own tangle of lies, and stepped toward God anyway. Each found Him waiting—faithful, gracious, redeeming.

The Courage to Keep Walking

This journey isn’t for the faint of heart. It takes courage to peel back the layers of deception we’ve worn like armor. It takes persistence to keep walking when the world’s noise crescendos again and again. But it’s worth it. 

As we move away from lies and toward God, we uncover a life unshackled from shame, bitterness, or isolation. We encounter a God who doesn’t just meet us once but guides us, step by step, into a reality truer and more beautiful than the world’s fleeting promises. So let’s take that first step today—however shaky, however small—and trust Him to lead us on.