Traditions

It's my favorite time of year and in my family we have a couple traditions around the holidays. Traditions that I hope will continue for the rest of my life. They provide great memories and are a lot of fun. For example, we always get our family Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving. Christmas Eve is always filled with two presents from my mom, new pajama pants and an ornament that reflects a memory of something that happened over the past year. On Christmas morning, she makes her famous french toast which we only have once a year and is my favorite thing ever. I'm sure you have some traditions of your own (Please share some in the comment space below). Traditions are great and we all hate when they are broken, especially because someone forgets or thinks we are too old for them. However, there are some traditions that must be broken and may in fact be hindering your walk with God. Let's take a look at what I mean...

I've grown up and experienced all kinds of churches. All kinds of denominations, old, new, good focus, bad focus, great leadership, poor leadership, etc. Some things that some churches don't realize is that they are being led by traditions instead of being led by the Spirit. Matthew 15 explains it. In verse 6, Jesus says, "Thus you nullify the Word of God for the sake of your tradition." We find ourselves continuing to do things that don't help us grow because no one likes change or doing the same things because no one wants to see something else 'fail'. We don't seek God daily in prayer for direction and we sacrifice relationships for the sake of our traditions or because this is how we started things. We try so hard to be different that we forget to live life and enjoy people. Seek the Lord and live in obedience to Him, then be prepared to do something uncomfortable or risky...