Fascinating Friday

We cannot even begin to comprehend what Saul's life was like as he saught to live by the letter of the law because most of us do not have a Jewish background.  Daily rituals determined the first words out of Saul's mouth in the morning, the way he took off his nightclothes and out on his dayclothes, and how he sprinkled his hands before breakfast. He carefully avoided eating or drinking quickly and he never ate while standing. Saul pronounced numerous benedictions throughout the day. His entire day was filled with ritual, and at night he took off his shoes and garments in the prescribed order. For the sake of the heart and liver, he probably attempted to begin the night on the left side and end the night on the right. He purposely kept his turning to a minimum. Tossing and turning in the night is misery to us, but to Saul it could have been sin.

Excerpt from The Personal Reflections Series by Beth Moore. 90 Days on His Journey of Faith, Paul.

I've been thinking about legalism a lot lately. Above we can read about some of the laws that the Pharisees followed to get in good standing with God and it looks pretty ridiculous.  At least I think it does.  I understand, if you have good motives, why setting some rituals into play can be helpful in setting our minds on Christ, but come on.  Doesn't sleeping in a partcular way seem a little redundant. 


So I look at our Christian culture today and I wonder how many things we do because we think we HAVE to do them to be a "good Christians."  I wonder how many rules we try to follow and then become racked with guilt when we fall short.

I fall short all the time, and one thing that God has been telling me over and over lately is that I need to stop focusing on behavior so much.  Following Jesus isn't about getting it right all the time, it isn't about learning all the right things to say and do.  I am so thankful for this!!

What are some "laws" that you have bound yourself to?  What are some ways that you mess up and then you play that tape in your head again about how you just don't meet up??

Do you have any?

Here are some that God has exposed to me recently...

1. You MUST read your bible all the time and you really should be getting up BEFORE your little ones wake up. (and if you don't, feel guilty about it.)

2. You MUST be happy and nice. All. OF. THE. TIME.

3. You really should be doing this, this, and this with your kids.  Every day.

4. Life is all about sacrifice, you shouldn't enjoy anything(blogging, shopping, getting your hair done) and if you do, it's because you are selfish.

5.You should cook three meals a day, everyday.

6. Don't let others see you mess up or be weak.

I think we can have a tendency to take something that God intends to be GOOD for us, and then we twist it into something loveless that it was never meant to be.  OR we just make up things along the way because it's what we are hearing from our culture. Let's not do this!  One of my favorite quotes is, "Follow God and Walk in Freedom." 

It's really that simple.  Not easy, but simple.

Love,