Building Christ-Centered Relationships To Make A Difference In A Broken World

RELATING TO GOD

Listening to God and doing His will.

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Relating to God

Relating to God

Listening to God and doing His will.

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Relating to Each Other

Relating to Each Other

Living Life Together

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Relating to Our Neighbors

Relating to Our Neighbors

Connection with people through honest relationships

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Growing Together

Growing Together

Make disciples who make disciples

How to relate to God?

Most religions are about connecting people to God. Some major religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Shintoism, are all very different.

Yet they all have one thing in common. Each has a set of rules or guidelines that a person must follow to reach spiritual fulfillment. There are things a person must do and others that they must not do if they will “make it” in these religions. Many Christians do the same thing.

But Jesus completely tossed out this idea of rule-keeping.

The most significant conflicts he had were with the religious leaders. They were the best rule keepers and didn’t like what Jesus had to say. Jesus made them so angry that they conspired to have him killed to shut him up.

What sorts of things did Jesus say that got the religious leadership so worked up? Here’s one example:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

Jesus said it was a simple two-step process.

  1. Listen
  2. Believe

That’s it. According to Jesus, that’s all it takes to be acceptable to God. There’s no special sacrifice required, no long pilgrimage, no heroic deeds or great quest, and no list of rules to follow.

A lot of people don’t like that. They want it to be hard, so they feel like they’ve accomplished something when they get there. That’s the only reason I can figure so many Christians have added such an overwhelming list of rules to the basic things Jesus said.

But the bottom line is that Jesus taught us that we don’t relate to God by keeping a list of rules. We relate to him as a person relates to another person by hanging out with him and having conversations and dialogue.

And doing that doesn’t mean that we are being disrespectful of God or reducing him to the level of an ordinary person. Just like we can converse with a King or a President and still respect and honor his position, we can relate to God personally through the person of Jesus while still honoring and respecting him.

In one way, rules are easier on our end. With a list of rules, we can measure how we are doing and determine where we stand in our relationship with God. We can feel pretty good when we are keeping to most of the rules.

Did you know that God does allow folks to relate to him based on rules? It’s true. The downside is huge, though!

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About us

The Core Values of Lifeline:

  • Relating to God
  • Relating to Each Other
  • Relating to Our Neighbors
  • Growing Together
Our mission

The Mission of Lifeline:
Building Christ-centered relationships to make a difference in a broken world.

Contact us

If you would like to speak to someone concerning any questions you might have, please visit our contact page.

Contact us: 412-453-6233
Write us: contactus@lifelinecommunity.org
About us

The Core Values of Lifeline:

  • Relating to God
  • Relating to Each Other
  • Relating to Our Neighbors
  • Growing Together
Our mission

The Mission of Lifeline:
Building Christ-centered relationships to make a difference in a broken world.

Contact us

If you would like to speak to someone concerning any questions you might have, please visit our contact page.

Contact us: 412-453-6233
Write us: contactus@lifelinecommunity.org