It\u2019s an intriguing concept.\u00a0 It\u2019s what separates the Christian faith from all other religions.\u00a0 It\u2019s what separates faith from religion, period (including the \u2018religion\u2019 of Christianity)! You see, religion is man\u2019s way of searching for meaning.\u00a0 It\u2019s the actions of a humanity seeking its creator\u2026 reaching out to something more than what we know or comprehend.\u00a0 Religion is a set of actions by which the created attempts to please the creator. It\u2019s the songs we sing, the books we write and read, the way we pray, the style of the message we preach.\u00a0 Religion is all about us and what we do. Because of this, religion always falls short.\u00a0 We can never *prove* anything.\u00a0 We can never quite *touch* the divine.\u00a0 We can never hear the answers to our questions.\u00a0 We can never \u2018do it\u2019 just right.\u00a0 Hence thousands of religions, denominations, arguments over worship style\u2026 all thinking they have all the answers right.\u00a0 Religion [i]<\/a> creates one of two kinds of people: those fanatically devoted to a search for a higher power, and those left empty and disappointed.<\/p>\n It just kind of hangs there\u2026 especially at Christmas time.\u00a0 It\u2019s the key concept of the month of December\u2026 railed against by non-believers, cherished by those who wear His name.\u00a0 Religion doesn\u2019t need it, but faith cannot exist without it.\u00a0 Faith is different, you know.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t any blatant act on our part to please God.\u00a0 It is simply trusting what you know.\u00a0 It\u2019s believing that what has been, will be.\u00a0 It\u2019s depending on promises being kept because the One who made them has always kept them.\u00a0 Faith is quiet and still.\u00a0 It is comfort and peace in the knowledge that it isn\u2019t in our control\u2026 and that\u2019s alright.\u00a0 It is never fanatical, and never disappoints.\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 How can I say that when so many have been left empty and disappointed by \u2018the church\u2019?<\/p>\n God with us\u2026 think about that for a minute.\u00a0 When else has anyone claimed that a god chose to come and live an entire lifetime as a man\u2026 better yet, to die as a man? No glory, no grandeur\u2026 not even a home of His own?\u00a0 If you look closely, you\u2019ll find that those who have been disappointed by \u2018the church\u2019\u2026 haven\u2019t.\u00a0 They\u2019ve been disappointed by the religious people who have co-opted The Church.\u00a0 The Church isn\u2019t an institution, a dogma or a building.\u00a0 Scripture describes her as a bride<\/em>.\u00a0 She\u2019s described as having one body with many parts<\/em>.\u00a0 Scripture also says that when Christ, the bridegroom, comes to collect her, He\u2019ll barely be able to find her<\/em>\u2026[ii]<\/a> \u00a0We make a mistake when we place our trust in the church\u2026 when we place our trust in people.\u00a0 Those who are empty and disappointed ended up that way because their confidence was in the institution.\u00a0 They trusted the religion, the people.\u00a0 Religion doesn\u2019t need Immanuel.\u00a0 It\u2019s all about us\u2026 trying to reach God.\u00a0 It fails.<\/p>\n Why would He come?\u00a0 A friend in Sunday School gave this analogy\u2026 I\u2019m expanding it.\u00a0 Let\u2019s say you had an ant farm.\u00a0 You began with about five ants and grew your colony.\u00a0 You cared for the ants and became quite attached to them as the colony grew.\u00a0 Eventually it became so large that you knew you needed to release the ants. You proudly watched as your ants marched confidently into the future\u2026 then you saw the highway.\u00a0 They were headed straight for it.\u00a0 The cars zoomed by, but the ants marched confidently to their death completely unaware of the danger.\u00a0 You shouted at them, \u201cStop!\u00a0 Turn back!\u00a0 If you go that way you\u2019ll die!\u201d\u00a0 But the ants can\u2019t relate to you.\u00a0 They can\u2019t see the danger that you see.\u00a0 So they ignore you.\u00a0 So you choose to become an ant.\u00a0 It\u2019s the only way you can show them.\u00a0 You become an ant, but no ordinary ant.\u00a0 The other ants aren\u2019t real sure where you came from- your birth was exceptional.\u00a0 You can splint a broken leg so it heals and the colony no longer has to leave injured ants to die.\u00a0 You can make medicine for sick ants and they get better.\u00a0 You have knowledge and abilities that are exceptional.\u00a0 After a while, some of the ants begin to follow you.\u00a0 You tell the colony, \u201cI know things you don\u2019t know!\u00a0 Your way leads to death!\u00a0 Come, follow me!\u201d\u00a0 And some do\u2026 but many don\u2019t.\u00a0 Many insist on doing things their way.\u00a0 They continue their march\u2026 straight into the highway.<\/p>\n He came.\u00a0 He experienced dirty diapers, scraped knees, and lost teeth.\u00a0 He probably hit His thumb once or twice with the hammer while helping out His adoptive dad in the carpentry shop.\u00a0 He got hungry and thirsty.\u00a0 His muscles cramped.\u00a0 He knew how it felt to be taunted, disappointed, disbelieved. He knew life. He knew death.\u00a0 But He could see beyond it.\u00a0 And He came so that we can too.<\/p>\n Immanuel: God with us.\u00a0 He came.\u00a0 He gave us evidences to believe.\u00a0 He showed us the way.\u00a0 He invites us to follow Him.<\/p>\n [i]<\/a> James 1:27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ii]<\/a> John 3:27-30; 1 Corinthians 12; Luke 18:8; http:\/\/deepintheheart.wordpress.com\/2010\/06\/03\/finding-jesus-isnt-easy-in-the-church-part-3-would-jesus-recognize-his-church-today\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Immanuel\u2026 It\u2019s an intriguing concept.\u00a0 It\u2019s what separates the Christian faith from all other religions.\u00a0 It\u2019s what separates faith from religion, period (including the \u2018religion\u2019 of Christianity)! You see, religion is man\u2019s way of searching for meaning.\u00a0 It\u2019s the actions of a humanity seeking its creator\u2026 reaching out to something more than what we know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,107],"tags":[9,193,192],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nImmanuel\u2026<\/h1>\n
Immanuel\u2026<\/h1>\n
Immanuel\u2026<\/h1>\n
Immanuel\u2026<\/h1>\n
Annotations:<\/h1>\n
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