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- Apr 25, 2006
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Breaking the rules
'STREAMS OF LIVING WATER WILL FLOW FROM WITHIN' JOHN 7:38
A little boy asked his mum if he could sleep over at his friend's house. 'Why?' she asked. 'Just for fun,' he replied. 'But you slept over there last night,' she said. He thought for a minute then asked, 'Who says you can't have fun two nights in a row?' He's got a good point hasn't he! As your life progresses you might find yourself starting to question some of the boundaries that have been created around you.
The challenge is going to be working out which of the rules you are expected to follow really are for your ultimate benefit and which are just temporary guidelines that can be removed as you get more mature - a bit like stabilisers on a bike! The problem is, you won't always be in the best position to tell the difference. That's why it's great to be a follower of Jesus.
You don't have to read many pages of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to see that Jesus really didn't like rules very much. He lived in a world where people were weighed down and boxed in by all kinds of stupid laws. But Jesus didn't teach anyone to just stuff the rules and do whatever they wanted; He taught about living life by higher laws. Religious rules pressurise from the outside-in; His spirit-rhythms flow from the inside-out. Make sure you're in the flow today!
written by Bob Gass
'STREAMS OF LIVING WATER WILL FLOW FROM WITHIN' JOHN 7:38
A little boy asked his mum if he could sleep over at his friend's house. 'Why?' she asked. 'Just for fun,' he replied. 'But you slept over there last night,' she said. He thought for a minute then asked, 'Who says you can't have fun two nights in a row?' He's got a good point hasn't he! As your life progresses you might find yourself starting to question some of the boundaries that have been created around you.
The challenge is going to be working out which of the rules you are expected to follow really are for your ultimate benefit and which are just temporary guidelines that can be removed as you get more mature - a bit like stabilisers on a bike! The problem is, you won't always be in the best position to tell the difference. That's why it's great to be a follower of Jesus.
You don't have to read many pages of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) to see that Jesus really didn't like rules very much. He lived in a world where people were weighed down and boxed in by all kinds of stupid laws. But Jesus didn't teach anyone to just stuff the rules and do whatever they wanted; He taught about living life by higher laws. Religious rules pressurise from the outside-in; His spirit-rhythms flow from the inside-out. Make sure you're in the flow today!
written by Bob Gass
