Religious People Make Me Sick

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

1 John 2:4-6 (NIV)

"The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him....Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

To really "know" someone is to have an intimate relationship with them. Not just go to church on Sundays, give a donation to charity, go on a missions trip occasionally, say a certain prayer a bunch of times, or whatever else you want to add to the checklist for God. But being intimate with God is not a checklist of "DO GOOD" works. Eph 2:8

Walking like Jesus or imitating God (Eph 5:1) would mean that you would really have to know Him in order to mimic Him.

It really saddens me that so many people think that if they confess their sins and pray about it, then they are automatically going to heaven. A follower of Christ will never dive into sin, they may stumble occasionally, but never do something intentionally knowing that it will cause them to sin.

Proverbs 20:12 says, "Ears that hear and eyes that see, both the Lord has made." Don't think for one second that the maker of the eyes and ears doesnt see your heart or hear your thoughts.

Jesus said, "...that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28) That means he knows the heart and there are many more verses to support it.

"If you were to jump out of an airplane with a parachute, would you have the straps set loosely or tight? You can't just worship God a little here and there, you must put Him on as tightly as you can."

It's not about being a religious bible thumper, telling everyone that they have to follow the specific church rules.

Read the bible, seek the wisdom for yourself.

One last thing,

Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. MAny will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord', did we not prophesy in your name (say we believe in you and followed our spiritual checklist), and in your name drive out demos and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers! (people that dive into sin knowingly and try to confess it afterwards.) Matthew 5:21

Love in Christ,

Jeff

If Jesus didn't say it, then it doesn't apply!

Friday, January 30, 2009

If Jesus didn't say it, then it doesn't apply!!!!!! Current mood: blessed Category: Religion and Philosophy

....You have 2 choices here:

    1. Tell yourself, if it's not in red letters, then Jesus didn't say it.

    2. Look again:

John 1 states: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; and without Him nothing was made that has been made."Col 1:16 states: "For by Him [Jesus] all things were created, things in heaven and on earth..."2 Tim 3:16 states: "All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness." The creator of the universe, Jesus, is the Word, and the Bible is the written Word, then Jesus the creator is the author of the whole Bible! Therefore Jesus said it all!

So when you stand before Him on the day of judgment, remember that He won't listen to this excuse.....I am praying for you!

Waited Long Enough

May 20, 2009

God bless you all! Well, now that I’ve graduated, I am finally turning in my last paper way overdue – my New Orleans Mardi Gras trip (2/18-2/25) report – to all my supporters. I am so sorry for the long wait! It was an amazing week. I learned a lot about God and the way He is working there and in my life.

I arrived on a Wednesday as part of the set-up team. Two people (Pastor Terry Shuff & Preacher William Taylor) went ahead to the French Quarter while the rest set up. They encountered Lionel, a homeless man who desired to be freed from alcohol. He also wanted to get back into a relationship with Jesus. He stayed with us for the week until they were able to get him into a one-year discipleship program at the end of our stay. After 3 days, Lionel was ministering and handing out tracts with us on Bourbon Street. God is amazing!

On Thursday night, the set-up team went to minister on Bourbon St. in the French Quarter. On my way I met a hot dog vendor named Terry, who didn’t care much for “Christians.” He said he was tired of them pushing their religion on him and his customers, often chasing his customers away, and in turn costing him many sales. This was a Divine Appointment because God opened his heart to let me speak to him. Although he believed God, he was struggling because of the evil that surrounded him. Every night I had the chance to pray and speak with Terry. My last day, he ran after me to ask me to come back once more, so he could talk with me a little bit more about questions that he still had. Terry’s eyes were welling up with tears and he couldn’t even speak. I know that God used me to plant seeds in his life, so please pray with me that God will send someone else into Terry’s life to continue to water them.

The majority of the team arrived on Friday. There were 75-100 newly added faces from all over the U.S. and Mexico; 20-30 were pastors involved in different levels of ministry, many coming for their first time and bringing others from their churches. During the mornings several of us spent time together praying for discernment, safety, our pastors, our team, and in praise of the Almighty. Most afternoons we spent fellowshipping, worshipping, and preparing ourselves for the long nights (normally 10:00PM -3:00AM) of ministry Friday through Tuesday.

One evening on the corners of Bourbon St. and St. Peters, I was asked to hold a 14’ cross on a street corner while the man who normally held it ran an errand. I am amazed at how the cross brings out people’s emotions and prompts them to come over and talk about the message it sends. Of course, many people were mockers and revelers, but there were also many who were reasonable and curious. It was these people whose hearts God opened for us to discuss what it means to love God and not fellowship with darkness. My most memorable experience was when a young man came to the foot of the cross with the “intentions of arguing and making a
mockery out of me.” To his surprise, God gave me the words to “answer a fool according to his folly.” God guided my words, and by the end of the conversation, the young man said, “Thank you, you are the most sincere person that I have met here. I had intended to have fun and make you look foolish in front of my friends, but you refused to engage me in a fight, and you answered all my questions intelligently. Not only have you done this, but you’ve made me rethink my stance of truth and who God might be. I will look more into what you said about Jesus and the Bible!”- Praise and Glory to God for his Words on my tongue that evening.

Another major part of the trip took place during the day on Saturday. We went to the Iberville Projects in the 4th Ward of downtown New Orleans, a very poor and violence-ridden area. I met a 6 yr old named Isaac whom I asked if he knew why we were there, and he said to talk about Jesus. I then asked him, “Do you know where Jesus is?”, and he responded by pointing to the all other missionaries around us, saying, “there, there, over there, there....” It reminded me that each of us show who Jesus is by who we are and what we do. We grilled food, ministered with multiple families, played games, cleaned up litter, held a raffle for the kids, had a baby shower for mothers with children under 1 yr old, gave out toiletries and clothing, and set up a stage for worshipping and engaging God.

I often forget about how skewed my view used to be about God, and how skewed others’ views are. We ministered to a lot of drunkards, homeless people, parents, children tarot card readers, homosexuals, witches, those with “inherited religion”, people who claim going to Confession will save them, feminists, college kids (relativists), vampires, fairies, pirates, and many others who are confused about absolute truth and the reality of God. I saw many miracles there, and felt God’s presence surrounding me, giving me words to speak, keeping me bold, giving me strength and keeping me safe during the different shootings that happened. “Greater is He that is in me!” I thank God for you and I thank you for your willingness to partner with me in reaching out to these “people walking in darkness.” God Bless you always!
In Christ’s Service,

Jeff Sobieralski