Breaking Free From Spiritual BondageSample

Break Free From Religion

Religion may seem to have all the answers, but it often fails to recognize the true power of God.

One advantage of being a pastor who comes from the streets is that I can easily spot people who have an addiction, including in the church. Let’s just say my discernment muscle has been well trained. Now, I’m not talking about people addicted to heroin or cocaine. Nope. I’m talking about those who use church like a drug. These are people who go to church and scream, holler, and feel God in the moment, but are incapable or unwilling to develop a genuine relationship with Him.

Let me be clear: Relationships are complex, whether with fellow human beings or God. It’s much easier to distill religion into a rulebook or debate strategy than to really get to know God. But no matter how hard people try, they can’t transform their religious knowledge into a relationship that produces Holy Spirit power. Religion may seem to have all the answers, but it often fails to recognize the true power of God. It is not enough to go through the motions and pretend to have a relationship with God. That’s why one of the first steps in breaking free of whatever has us trapped is to let go of religion and actually connect with God. To truly connect with God, we must make a lifelong commitment to Him, much like in a marriage.

If there’s no cross, there’s no power.

The power we need to break free of the chains that have us bound is at the cross. When we put away our foolish ways, we will see the fruit of repentance. We can’t just do good things and expect goodness to follow. We can read our Bibles, pray, and fast—all good stuff—but we have nothing if we are not in relationship with God. He doesn’t just want to be first in our lives; He wants to be our everything.

We may want to walk in the power of God, but we have to get to know God to understand how He moves. This happens when we crucify our own will and desires and put Him first in our daily choices. When we release our manipulative ways and allow ourselves to be led by His Spirit into truth, we experience His power.

One day, while I was praying, I sensed the Lord saying, “Juan, you know, you guys are doing it wrong.” And I thought, “What?” Then He said, “Shout it from the rooftops: You gotta have a relationship with Jesus Christ.” I have visited churches both in the United States and abroad where Christians talked about having a relationship with Jesus everywhere they went. But the Lord told me, “Juan, My people don’t understand the word relationship.”

God kept downloading revelations to me, and another time He said, “Some who have received salvation think they have a relationship with Me. Yet they don’t, because they never had a relationship with their earthly father or haven’t seen a good example of a mother and father.”

This hit me like a ton of bricks because I had a rocky childhood relationship with my father. I knew a father provided for his kids, but my idea of a father was nowhere near the image God wanted me to have of Him. If a person has never seen a healthy father figure or has never been in a healthy relationship, how are they supposed to know how to build a deep relationship with God?

This is the problem we see in the church. Many people gravitate toward religious traditions and go to church seeking an emotional high because they don’t know how to have a personal relationship with Jesus. They don’t know how to communicate and connect with Him because they’ve never actually seen a healthy relationship.

Looking back, I realize I had no real relationship or communication with God, even though I thought I did. When I eventually began to understand what having a relationship with Christ truly meant, that’s when my heart shifted.

Our relationship with God grows as we communicate with Him. Communication draws us into a deeper connection.

To love God means actively doing what He prefers. It means embracing His will, choosing what He desires, and obeying His Word. We do not show God love when we put Him on the back end. When we say, “Oh, I messed up; I’m sorry,” but continue to do what we want, that is not love, that is manipulation. Love is designed to help you control your emotions and choose what God prefers—that’s how you mature. You develop and evolve every time you love. And here’s the crazy part: When I choose what God prefers, that choice always wins.

Many speak “Christianese” and say they’re going to “die daily,” but they never do, so nothing happens. We must live by the truth. When we reject our way and choose God’s preferred way instead, our religious knowledge is transformed into a power-packed, God-filled relationship that empowers us to connect with Him and others!