No Religion For Me, Thanks... God didn't give me religion. He gave me Jesus Christ... Religion is flaky - Jesus is a living breathing Savior, He is real... Religion points one to self, Jesus points us to the Father... Religion compromises. Jesus cast the compromisers from the Temple... There are many religions. There is only one Lord... All paths lead to eternity. Only one leads to Heaven... All paths lead to judgment. Only one leads to Grace with judgment... Religion has no substance, no evidence of things not seen. But, Christ in me - the hope of Glory - is the substance of my faith, the evidence of new life, born-again, the repentance of all my yesterdays, the joy of all my tomorrows and the cry of my heart to all who have ears to hear. To borrow from Max Lucado: "No wonder They Call Him Savior." Jesus is the only man on this earth that willingly paid my sin debt at the Cross. He was the only one that was willing to endure the penalties I deserved in hell. He was my substitute. No other ever loved me that much. He offered His all to me when He gave His all for me. How can I possibly accept such love under the banner of "religion?" How can you??? There are many types of religion, many outlets that will enable the human soul to satisfy itself but they are all fashioned and offered by the enemy of our souls. Satan himself is the author and finisher of deceptions and lies that ensnare our souls and dumps them into hell before we can ever learn the truth. If he can trap us with a lie, a false doctrine, a lovely ideology or a burdensome guilt we have to pay for again and again, we are following a deadly religion and not the Lord Jesus Christ. According to those that study such things, the majority of Americans claim to be Christians or to be affiliated with a Church or basic Christian beliefs. This does not mean they are redeemed. This means they are religious. One who is saved is born again, and he knows that he knows he is born again and he knows that he knows that it is not religion that sustains him but the Spirit of the Living God that is his steady companion. If a "Christian" tells you he "hopes" he is saved, you can be sure he isn't. If he is truly saved, he will know it - he will respond in the affirmative, and he will more than likely witness to you to be saved as well. A born-again, spirit-filled Christian is evangelistic by nature. They hold to the truths of God's Word only and love telling others about Jesus. When a "Christian" tells you their religion is personal and they don't want to talk about it - they are not saved, they are religious... When we are saved, there is a new life that takes up residence within us and this new life compels us to shed Jesus abroad into the hearts of all men. It is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Without Him, we can do nothing...with Him we can do all things...He is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, the strength of our faith, the power of God. The day of reckoning fell in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve hid themselves from the Lord in utter fear and shame. They had chosen the religion offered by Satan, the religion of self-exaltation, instead of the teachings of the Living God who had made them. The day of reckoning fell in a shepherd’s field when Cain slew Abel in jealousy and contempt, after God accepted Abel’s sacrifice with blood but rejected Cain’s sacrifice of crops without blood. Although their parents had been covered in the bloody skins of the first sacrifice, prepared and offered by God Himself, although he had been taught well by his father, Cain’s sacrifice was negligent and rebellious, almost arrogant and defiant. It was the heart of the man that displeased God, the heart that was lukewarm toward God and angry toward his brother. The day of reckoning fell on a hill called Calvary when the purest sacrifice of all the ages was nailed to a rugged Cross and His blood flowed till the sky turned dark and the winds came and the earth shook, and men considered, “Surely, this was the Son of God.” That blood still flows while the heavens plead with the hearing, the winds awaken the sleeping, and the earth begins to vomit out the wastes of war and the poisons of hate. All of creation groans for deliverance and still, religion will not make room in this world for the Christ that has prepared rooms for the faithful in His glorious world. We face a new day of reckoning every day. Every day is a challenge set before us by the tempter and the soothing words of men. If we do not listen to the Word of God, how can we hear God speak to us? If we do not listen to the Word of God, in its fullness, how can we be led by the Spirit of the Lord? We choose every new day to walk as a Temple of the Holy Spirit or in the graveyards of religion. One does not have to be involved in a cult to be religious. One can be religious about money, food, clothing, power or anything that we love more than we love Christ. Anything that steals our time and attention from Him becomes an idol and a false religion of self righteousness and pride… Christians who know better can even fall prey to the dangers…and often do. When this happens, the Body of Christ must rescue and forgive. We must correct and restore the fallen…we must put on Christ who said to the hypocrites: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Don’t offer me religion. Offer me fellowship with Christ, with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Offer me life, spiritually abundant in this world and glorious in the next. Offer me gifts for reaching the lost, knowledge for standing toe to toe with the killers of the truth. Offer me wisdom to offer to the oppressed and offer me joy at the day’s closing… Just don’t offer me religion… Joan Krempel
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