Relationship Over Religion Testimony Over Tradition

Grace and Peace Ekklesia Family

There comes a moment in every believer’s journey when we must decide whether we only know about God… or whether we truly know Him.

Religion teaches rules.Relationship teaches love.

Tradition repeats what once worked.Testimony declares what God is doing right now.

There is nothing wrong with order, structure, or history—God uses those things. But when tradition replaces transformation, and when rituals replace relationship, something in us begins to starve. We were created for a God who speaks, moves, reveals, corrects, restores, and walks with us—not merely a memory of Him.

He is not only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.He is the God of you — right now — today.

And when we begin to see Him this way, faith turns from an idea… into oxygen.

• Jeremiah 31:33“But this is the new covenant I will make… I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

• Matthew 15:8-9“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.”

• Revelation 12:11“And they defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony…”

• Hebrews 13:8“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

Jeremiah reveals that God’s ultimate desire is intimacy—not distance. He wants His Word written in us, not just around us. Jesus later confronts the Pharisees because they mastered ritual but missed relationship; they memorized the law but never encountered the One who wrote it.

Revelation reminds us that our victory is not in empty routine, but in the living work of Christ and the living testimony of what He has done. And Hebrews seals the truth: His identity does not expire. His power does not age. His voice does not retire. His presence is not a museum piece—it is a living reality.

He is still healing.Still saving.Still speaking.Still delivering.Still restoring.Still revealing His glory.Still writing new testimonies.

Tradition tells us what He did.Testimony tells us what He’s doing.Relationship tells us who He is.

1. Move from Habit to Heart.Ask: Am I doing this because it honors God, or because it’s familiar?

2. Expect God Today.Wake up believing: God is still working in my story.

3. Share Your Story.Your testimony is not bragging—it’s spiritual evidence. Someone’s faith depends on hearing what God has done for you.

4. Let God Expand You.Don’t limit Him to the way He moved last year or last decade. A God who never changes still brings new mercies every morning.

Father, today I lay down empty religion and reach for real relationship with You.Restore my wonder.Revive my expectation.Write Your word on my heart so deeply that nothing can erase it.

Lord, remove anything I’ve built that makes You distant and not present.Replace tradition that binds with testimony that breathes.Refresh my faith to believe that You are still moving in miracles, still healing wounds, still calling Your people deeper.

I surrender my plans, my timelines, my comfort, and my control.Make my life proof that You are the God of forevermore — still saving, still loving, still good.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

If today you feel God calling you back—not to religion, but to relationship… not to tradition, but to transformation… then today is your day.

Jesus Christ wants to walk with you, speak to you, and restore what life tried to take. He is waiting—not with judgment, but with open arms.

You can receive Him today. You can restart today. You can return today.

If you’re ready, just say:

“Jesus, I say yes. Yes to You. Yes to relationship. Yes to new life.”

Peace and Blessings.

LoveUmorethanUknow.

Join us at Ekklesia Christian Life Ministries — where faith is lived, love is practiced, and testimonies are still being written.

Pastor Stephän Kirby