Religion Says Do, Jesus Says Done.

I hear the statement quite frequently, “oh, I’m not religious.” This is usually given in response to my explanation of who I am, why I’m in Portugal, etc. I’m not religious either; I have a relationship. The thing about religion is, it’s all about us trying to get to God. The thing about relationship is, it’s all about God reaching down to us. As a team we’re studying Hebrews, and we recently read through the book together. There’s a passage from Hebrews 10 that really shows this concept of religion vs. relationship.

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.” (vs.1) We can’t be good enough. We can’t follow the rules - as imperfect humans, no matter how hard we try, it never works. And we can’t “do” anything to make up for the things we do wrong. We can’t do good things to try and make up for the bad things.

“Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.”(vs.2-3) Doing things, making sacrifices to God, making deals with God, doesn’t work. If it did, we could do one really good thing, and then we wouldn’t feel guilty for our mistakes. But trying to do things, to in a sense “buy” our way out, only reminds us of how broken and flawed we really are.

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (vs.4) It is impossible for us to do or give anything that could be enough to make us right before God.

“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” (vs.11) How many people are caught in the lie of trying to be a good enough person, thinking that will make up for all the things we do wrong?

In the Old Testament, priests would make sacrifices to make up for the sins of the people. Today, we often try to do good things to make up for our sins. And yet, this passage says that that’s not good enough. It’s never been good enough, and it never will be good enough. You see, religion is all about us trying to get to God. It’s about trying to do something that will somehow make us better, and make us able go to heaven after we die, or rest in a state of peace. But the thing is, that doesn’t work. No matter what we do, we can’t do enough to make ourselves right with God. Give me a list of rules and, let’s be honest, odds are I’m not going to be able to keep all of them. Religion is about keeping all the rules, and trying to make up for it, to punish yourself or do something good in exchange, when you don't. That's not possible. That’s where the relationship comes in.

“But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time once sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”(vs.12-14) Jesus did it. He made the one sacrifice. I love the expression “Religion says do, Jesus says done.” Jesus made the one sacrifice and he said “it is finished.” (John 19:30) It’s not about religion - we’re not trying to reach up to God. He already reached down to us.

Don't Forget to Laugh

Well today marks the one week milestone of my time here in Portugal. Thus far, I can safely say, I am loving it! Getting to know Otto and Marjorie (the missionaries we will be working with) has been wonderful, and it’s been great to start getting to know people in the different churches here. I’ve been constantly encouraged by the little coincidences God has put in my path simply to encourage me and remind me that he will use who I am and the things I’m passionate about in this upcoming season.

Being a new culture has involved many wonderful little surprises. For example, when I logged on to write this blog post, I suddenly exclaimed “Oh my word! My blog is in Portuguese!” Not the actual blog posts, obviously, but all the little login buttons are no longer in English. The trial and error process that followed of attempting to figure out what was what very much resembles the rest of stepping into another culture. In so many ways, I feel like I am five years old again. I don’t know how things work, I can’t always communicate effectively, and I have a constant stream of questions running through my mind. Over the past week my team and I have been making our way through the murky waters of jetlag, braving the dangerous new world of the subway, and struggling to communicate using only the words “thank you” (obrigada) and “no problem” (no fashmal). It has been crazy and wonderful all at the same time. One of my favourite moments was on the train when someone got off after staring at us, and I turned to our language teacher and asked “are we that obviously different?” I immediately noticed the young man beside her start smirking. As our conversation continued, the smirk turned to a “look-away-and-chuckle-quietly,” to an outright chuckle, to just plain laughing at us. Before I knew it, we were all laughing at ourselves together. This is probably one of the most valuable tools we have as we try to figure out a new culture: laugh at yourself, and don’t take yourself too seriously! Remember that other people aren’t laughing at you, they’re laughing with you - just make sure you don’t forget to laugh!

We are learning about the Portuguese culture and history, which fascinates me. I love studying history, so I have felt completely in my element. We have been able to begin meeting people from a few of the different churches, and start to build relationships with the youth here. I’m looking forward to getting to know people on a deeper level over the course of the next seven and a half months.

I love new cultures. There is something about going grocery shopping, figuring out public transit, and trying to speak a new language that excites me to no end. I am excited for this upcoming season. It is going to hard and it is going to be challenging, probably more so than anything else I have experienced up to this point, but it will also be good. I eagerly anticipate what God is going to do in and through me.

Prayer Requests:

- For the ability to learn the language quickly and effectively - this will be critical for the majority of relationships we will have.
- That God will set up divine appointments for me to meet and connect with people, and that I will be mindful of those opportunities.
- That God would give me his eyes to see the people around me.
- For diligence as I continue to do school work while I’m here.

And I would also love to hear from you! Please email me anytime and let me know what’s going on in your life, and how I can be praying for you. My email is brittany.reddicopp@gmail.com. Talk to you soon!

And Away We Go . . .

This will be somewhat of a mini-post, as I am leaving tomorrow and I still need to pack. The general message of the moment is . . . I'm leaving for Portugal tomorrow! Please pray for my team and I, for God's continued guidence, for his favor on us as we travel, and for us as we adjust to the new culture. We are all so excited, and eagerly anticipating what God is going to do!

One thing God has been putting on my heart is intentionality. I want to live my life in Portugal very intentionally - where I get my coffee, my groceries, I want to be intentional about the people I interact with. I want to get to know people not only inside the church, but outside the church as well. Pray that God would put people in my life that I can be intentional with.

Time for me to hit the packing!