January 16: TRADITION FREE!

 

“Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6)

 ” . . . The phrase ‘one last shaking’ means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.” (Hebrews 12:27 – The Message)

 

1.  Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because I have declared my independence from meaningless forms, routines and traditions in my life that are contrary to my present reality, and that make the word of God ineffective for me. I am moving past archaic and passé ways of thinking about God or life or myself. The limiting, antiquated ideas and philosophies that I have accumulated over the years are being exposed for the irrelevant relics that they are. I am free to think a new way!

 2. Today I will not believe something just because someone told me to believe it. I will have the confidence to think for myself, and the courage to expose a lie that I have accepted when I recognize that it is, indeed, a lie. I will be able to maintain my love and respect for someone important to me, without feeling obligated to believe everything they say.

3. Today I will consider the word of God as the final authority on every subject.

4. Today I will honor the Lordship of Jesus as the highest priority in my life.

5. Today I will cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in my inner man.

6. Today I will reject, resist and renounce all forms of the man-made religion that exalts itself against God’s true Kingdom. I will pull down strongholds in my mind that were imparted to me from the religious system that are contrary to the knowledge of God. Religion is the enemy, and I will have no part of it and its silly fables, false doctrines, and pointless works of the flesh.

7. Today I will enjoy the good traditions from my family, my childhood, my country, my heritage. I will benefit from sage advice – the wisdom of the ages – and from lessons learned by life experience. I will restore the old landmarks, and will be a link to the next generation by passing down what is noble and worth keeping. But I will also know how to discern the difference between healthy, foundational traditions, and the ones that are holding me in the past. In that context, today, I will be tradition-free, and today I will live in the now!

Father, help me to break free of all unnecessary tradition today. In Jesus’ name, amen.