With tears streaming down my face, my heart breaks at how we tend to just blindly follow tradition without questioning. I, too, followed along for far too long. And there are far too many. Too many traditions that we have held to. But is it rooted in the right place? Is it rooted in The One Who created us? Is it rooted in Who He is? Is it rooted in His Word? Is it rooted in the unending boundless love He has for us? Is it rooted in the eternal Truth? Or is it rooted in fear? Our fear to challenge….challenge tradition(s) that have been present for far too long. So long that we do not even know how long. So long that we do not understand where it all began. So long that it’s just what we have always done. Maybe just rooted in complacency.

This isn’t about legalism. This is about the religious spirit that has so gripped His Church. His Body. His People. It is BINDING. The serpent has come in twisting the Truth. Twisting and strangling, God’s precious people…His Church. Without realizing it, it has been crippling. Suffocating truth. It opened a door for the enemy of our soul to come in…waltz right in. Waltz right in to our churches, our families, our lives. Waltzed right in without being challenged.

You may be asking, “how is the possible?” It is possible when we give agreement to a lie! Like Eve, in the Garden; and Adam after her. We have so many traditions rooted in lies and deception. But we dare to challenge because we continue to live in ignorance or complacency. We just go with the flow. It’s time to take a stand for The Truth. It’s time to go against the flow. It’s time to challenge those traditions. It’s time to lean in to Him and seek Him first. Lean into God, not church…..church as it has always been. Seek Him first, above church. Above relationships and community. I know this is challenging. It’s challenging for me to type. But to be honest, haven’t the last two years been challenging? Sheltering in place for two weeks to flatten a curve turned into two years of tyrannical government overstepping. Churches followed suit by closing their doors. A forced wilderness. A wilderness that was received a ‘quick fix’ with online services. A wilderness where we should have been seeking Him first. Clinging to The Word. Using the Word as the two edged sword. Wielding the Truth against the darkness. Drawing closer….drawing deeper into our personal and intimate relationship with The Only One that matters. The One that our very existence comes from. Every breath. Every heartbeat.

A wilderness that could have been a time to grow deeper roots. Roots of trust. Roots of love. A time where sick roots of could be uprooted. Uprooted by God Himself. Sick roots of lies. Sick roots of deception. Roots of tradition. Roots of religion. A wilderness that was a gift of sorts to pursue Him with the same passion He pursues us. A wilderness where we would fall in love with our Creator. Our Redeemer. Our Lord and King. Our Savior. The One who rescued us from the pit. The One who came to earth to be our offering. The One who bore the stripes so we could be healed. The One who bore our sins. The One who bore our sicknesses. Our Griefs and our sorrows. The One who stood silent while being persecuted. Spat on. Made unrecognizable for you. For me. You were the joy set before Him that He endured The Cross. To fall in love with Him! Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Beholden the Lamb that was slain for you. The One and Only that stands before the Father as an intercessor on your behalf. The One whose Blood washed you clean and makes you whole. The One who our joy and hope. Hope eternal.

For that very reason, I ask you to challenge tradition(s). In this season, these weeks preceding Passover and Resurrection Sunday. I challenge you to dig in and dig deep. I challenge you to do your own study. Study the word ‘easter.’ Is it worthy to be used to describe The Day? The Day our Savior rose from the dead. The day our Lord triumphed over death. The Day He brought back the keys to the Kingdom. That Victorious Day!

Or does that word hold a lie that has deceived The Church for generations? A lie that holds traditions beyond the word itself that entangle and bind His precious people. Binding us and keeping us from all that He has for us. His promises are all ‘yes and Amen’, but we need to participate in laying hold of those promises. Do so may mean letting go of traditions that have so easily kept us bound.

Jesus is coming back again. He is coming back for a spotless Bride. Lies and deceptions are spots. Spots we need to participate in removing.

Come, come and taste the goodness of the Lord. Come to Him. Come lay down the traditions and religion that He wants to blot out.