The Jesus Mark Wants You to Know - 28 Days to Become More Intimate With JesusSample

Day 20 - Mark 11:1-19

Religion or Relationship?

As Jesus and His disciples approached Jerusalem, He knew He was nearing the end of His mission. Even though the crowd celebrated Him as the coming King, Jesus ignored their misinterpretation of who He was and what He came to do. Instead He kept a laser focus on His mission as Messiah.

When he came to the Temple, zeal for His Father’s House was ignited as He saw the commercialism of religion. Even the cursing of the fig tree the day before, drove home the lesson of how empty, barren religion was worthless and could bear no fruit.

The authority of Jesus’ teaching about pure religion within God’s Kingdom was a constant threat to those who held onto the trappings of religiosity. It forced people to have to choose between what is required in a true relationship with God or the self-righteous rituals of a dead religion.

Am I free in my relationship with God or do I still hold on more to religious practices? Have I truly understood how the sacrifice of Jesus gave me the forgiveness and love of the Father? What can I do today to reestablish my acceptance of God’s unconditional love and reject my self-righteous religious efforts at trying to gain His approval?