As believers, our lives should be demonstrating to the world our desire to truly follow Christ. We should be living vessels of worship to our Lord every moment of our day whether we be at work or at play. Many of us, however, choose to "worship" God only when we are participating in our church. As we attend our services, we feel compelled to raise our hands, or lift our voices as others around us look on longing to be as we are, sometimes even commenting to us that we are so blessed to be so strong in the Lord, or that they wished they could be free to worship God as we do. Yet, many of the onlookers do not know that many of us only choose to worship God in the comfort of a church, and as we re-enter the world we go back to our secular way of living. Is it any wonder that many people decide that if Christians can do it, it must be okay? Then never seek to be in relationship with God. Never seek to believe in God or His Word. All because our actions in our daily lives do not reflect our worship to God.
"These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." Matthew 15:8-9.
Some of the religious leaders of the day approached Jesus one day with a question. They wanted to know why did His disciples follow Him instead of following what they were teaching. They were concerned that they were loosing their grip on their power over the people because of what Jesus was teaching. They loved to stand in the market places and pray as loud as they could so the people would see how godly they were. They loved to throw large amounts of coins into the offering plate so the people would hear how much they were giving. But, their hearts were far from God. They were more interested in retaining power and influence over the people by taking the Word of God and distorting it to fit their rules and regulations they had added to the people. They retained their power by fear and deception. If someone broke the traditions they had in place, they were taken before the temple leaders and judged. Sometimes, the punishment was death.
How much like these leaders have we become? We are not allowed to have prayer in our schools, but safe-sex and alternate lifestyles can be taught. We are not allowed to display the Ten Commandments in public places, but we can hand out pornographic literature in parks and stores. We are not allowed in our work places, public places, schools, governments, to do or say anything about Christ that others would determine to be offensive or rude. Why is this? The answer to this question is because of us.
As believers we are constantly being observed by the world. Do we practice what we believe? Are we maintaining a standard of holiness? Do our lives reflect our worship to God? As others watch how we go about our daily lives, our church life no longer matters to them. They might see us worship in church on Sunday, but they might also see us drunk on Wednesday. They might see us loving God and our family on Sunday, but they might see us abusing our spouses or our children on Monday. Our lives, according to Scripture, should reflect our worship! We should not be afraid to pray in work or school. We should not be afraid to witness or talk about our relationship with Jesus no matter where we might be. We should not be afraid to be un-politically correct! Instead, we should be bold in our faith! We should trust in God that no matter the consequences of our actions, as long as we are obeying Him, He would prosper and protect us.
Friends, it is not too late to change the hearts of men. Society is filled with hurting and broken lives, looking for somewhere, someone to turn to. If we would only proclaim the worship and reliance on God in public that we do in church, lives would be healed, governments would change, nations would be restored. We must examine ourselves and choose to worship God, not only in church, but everywhere regardless of the consequences. How do we know who will decide to come to Jesus because of our life if our life is not a testimony of His Lordship?
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
"These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." Matthew 15:8-9.
Some of the religious leaders of the day approached Jesus one day with a question. They wanted to know why did His disciples follow Him instead of following what they were teaching. They were concerned that they were loosing their grip on their power over the people because of what Jesus was teaching. They loved to stand in the market places and pray as loud as they could so the people would see how godly they were. They loved to throw large amounts of coins into the offering plate so the people would hear how much they were giving. But, their hearts were far from God. They were more interested in retaining power and influence over the people by taking the Word of God and distorting it to fit their rules and regulations they had added to the people. They retained their power by fear and deception. If someone broke the traditions they had in place, they were taken before the temple leaders and judged. Sometimes, the punishment was death.
How much like these leaders have we become? We are not allowed to have prayer in our schools, but safe-sex and alternate lifestyles can be taught. We are not allowed to display the Ten Commandments in public places, but we can hand out pornographic literature in parks and stores. We are not allowed in our work places, public places, schools, governments, to do or say anything about Christ that others would determine to be offensive or rude. Why is this? The answer to this question is because of us.
As believers we are constantly being observed by the world. Do we practice what we believe? Are we maintaining a standard of holiness? Do our lives reflect our worship to God? As others watch how we go about our daily lives, our church life no longer matters to them. They might see us worship in church on Sunday, but they might also see us drunk on Wednesday. They might see us loving God and our family on Sunday, but they might see us abusing our spouses or our children on Monday. Our lives, according to Scripture, should reflect our worship! We should not be afraid to pray in work or school. We should not be afraid to witness or talk about our relationship with Jesus no matter where we might be. We should not be afraid to be un-politically correct! Instead, we should be bold in our faith! We should trust in God that no matter the consequences of our actions, as long as we are obeying Him, He would prosper and protect us.
Friends, it is not too late to change the hearts of men. Society is filled with hurting and broken lives, looking for somewhere, someone to turn to. If we would only proclaim the worship and reliance on God in public that we do in church, lives would be healed, governments would change, nations would be restored. We must examine ourselves and choose to worship God, not only in church, but everywhere regardless of the consequences. How do we know who will decide to come to Jesus because of our life if our life is not a testimony of His Lordship?
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
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