So as far as religion vs relationship. It seems that men who started a religion or a church were inspired by God. Then the people followed. People are easily led by an inspired individual. The need to want what someone else has seems to out weigh the need to think for oneself, like it saves time and study, so all that needs to happen is to question “does it sounds right?” My wife says that we should listen to the teachings of our pastors, but their teachings should be taken to the Lord in prayer, to better understand how the Holy Spirit wants to apply the teachings to our lives. It’s up to us to listen!

Back to religion, while people who start the religion are inspired to think and do in a certain manner, a certain set of rules, a certain set of beliefs. While a church founders’ motives may be pure, the people who follow tend to do so just to be a part, and tend to get their eyes off the intended motives and more on following the rules and beliefs of the church. We do things backwards it seems, we tend to check out a church, then buy in to the rules and beliefs of that particular church and accept it as the truth. Whereas in retrospect, we should have gained our rules and beliefs through a relationship with Christ, then go a find a group of believers or a church that has common beliefs. I know I have bought into the teachings of High Desert Church and its been a life changing experience. I’ve yet to buy into everything taught, but I keep taking things to the Lord, establishing a better relationship, so maybe its really not so backwards.

But how can this be accomplished alone with out the guidance of the church? Although I would never limit the power of God, I tried it alone, not quite, but just me and God, I tried to make sense of things on my own, without the help from a group of believers or mentors that could guide me. And what a mess that turned out to be. The Bible gives example after example of how we need to be there for each other, surely God knew that we need Christ and the brotherly love of the church or group of believers to make sense of all this. We can not do this on our own. I wonder where I belong now?