Read
Acts 17:22-23, "Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: To an unknown god. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.'"
Think
"Religion is spelled 'd-o'. Christianity is spelled 'd-o-n-e'!" A long to-do list can seem daunting and exhausting. You feel like it's just one thing after another, and you can't ever seem to complete it. Mankind has created countless religions based on to-do lists. That is what sets Christianity apart. Every other world religion is a laundry list of tasks and behaviors to earn your faith. They're spelled:
D-O. They essentially teach that to get to God, you have to do the work. That's what the people in Acts 17 were doing. They were earnestly trying to do everything they could to connect with God. Then Paul introduced them to Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, all failure, shame, and death died with him. He paid the price for our mistakes and shortcomings. He did the work for us and opened the opportunity for a relationship with him. That's why Christianity is spelled:
D-O-N-E. Being a Christ-follower isn't a mile-long to-do list. It's not about being religious and hoping you can get to God; it's about being in a relationship and believing that God has done what it takes to get to you. It's about knowing Jesus, intimately and closely, like a friend, and trusting that he has already done the work!
Act
When you want to have a relationship with someone, you talk with that person and hang out with them. The same is true with God. Make a relationship plan of how and when you will spend time reading his word and talking with him through prayer each day.
Pray
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving up Jesus to die for me. Help me to not get stuck in the cycle of trying to earn my relationship with you, but trusting that you did the work. Let me continue to walk in confidence and grow my desire to know you more and more.