14 Dec 25 Intent

There is an expression: If you know, you know (IYKYK).  I have heard a lot of talk recently about church, religion and spirituality. Some people claim they are all the same.  There is a place for all three and they often overlap, but they are not the same. 

Church is often called the “Body of Christ”. It is where the community gathers to follow religion.  It exists to hold up the spiritual light of Christ to the world, growing together in love and serving specific roles as in Ephesians 4:11-12 where it says:  ¹¹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Religion is our actual system of beliefs, practices, and organized worship, as in scripture.  It is things like tithing, following the commandments and gathering to worship but it is empty without the Spirit.

Spirituality is personal, living relationship with God, characterized by faith, love, and inner transformation. You need to renew that bond all the time. In the Bible, Romans 12:2.  It says ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  You see that the will here and intent are the same thing.  What you  will is the same as what you intend to do. If you allow your faith to be led by the Spirit, as we should want it to be, it will be as in Romans 8:14 which says ¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

The bottom line is that you should follow all three to exercise your faith.  You can be religious and go to church, but if you are hampered by lacking a real spiritual connection with God, you are not following the intent of religion. You can also feel spiritual but neglect the church community and miss out on the fellowship. True biblical faith seeks to be both spiritual with an internal connection, and religious with faithful practice in the church community through the power of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the law’s intent and God’s will, not just its letter.

But all three are all based on intent.  The best example of intent is Mark 12:41-44 The Widow’s Offering.  41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Imagine someone who says prayers every day, but the out of habit and the prayers are memorized and the same every day.  Prayer is the same.  It is about intent.  If you are putting lots of “money” into your prayer but they do not have the value of two coppers, are they following the intent?  Of course not.  Jesus called us to do it with love.  You can be religious, pray every day and go to church, but without the internal spiritual connection with God, which requires the intent and feeling, you are not getting to where you want to be.  True faith, which comes by following Jesus’ Intent and seeks to have an internal spiritual connection to fulfill the intent. 

You must open and reach out with your heart. It is easy to drift into this pattern of only going through the motions without the connection.  Eventually you drift away because you are not feeling the grandeur of God’s love, grace, and peace.  You see, you are becoming distant from God.  I say it again:  God isn’t distant – you are.  You are never alone and He never leaves you. You need to reconnect.  You may know all the chapters of the Bible and the name of every Apostle, but without contact with the Spirit, you are distant from the love.  1 Corinthians 13 tells you: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. .

Likewise if I pray without love’s intent, I gain nothing. It is not: God, I need to win the Powerball over and over again.  That is a want – not a need.

Praying with intent and in the Spirit.  What is that?  Have you ever prayed and all the hair on your arms stands up?  Have you ever prayed and the dog comes over and cocks his head and looks at you because he hears the Spirit talking to you?  Have you ever been so full of joy that you get tears in your eyes?  IYKYK.  Pray until the joy comes.  This includes everyone.  Let me tell you something that you know but you forget when you do not have intent.  In ROMANS 1:16-17, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of CHRIST, for it is the power of GOD to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of GOD is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”  Pray everywhere.

You see – your faith, and exercising your faith, is following the intent.  God is never distant.  Make sure you are not becoming distant from God.  Following intent is just other words to say following will. The intent is to follow God’s Will completely and totally.  IYKYK Here is a prayer our families.  Pray it with intent:

Family Prayer

Lord, we lift up our families and marriages to You.

Strengthen the bonds between spouses, parents, sisters, brothers and children.

May our homes be filled with love, unity, and Your divine presence.

Grant us peace, wisdom, patience, and grace to navigate challenges and build strong, Godly relationships.

In Jesus Name

AMEN