TODAY’S PROPHETIC THOUGHT

I call you the temple of the living God. I will dwell in you and walk among you. I will be your God and you will be My people. Therefore, come out from among them and be separate. Be holy as I Am holy.

WORSHIPPING IDOLS

I’ve been to India many times and seen giant monkey statues with sixteen arms holding swords and I think, “That’s just ridiculous!” You know what? It’s real to these people. I saw a mama bring her sick baby and lay that child at the foot of that idol and weep. It absolutely broke my heart. 

While we don’t find many statues of monkey gods, Vishnu, Ra or Odin here in the United States, we tend to be idol worshippers too, especially at church. What?

When we put God into one image or one place, and say He only acts in this certain way, we’re putting him in a box. Nobody does that better than religious folks who tell us how God is going to move because the last time He moved, “It looked like this.”

Even we non-denominational folks are whack! Who else could make a religion out of not being religious? We tend to worship the way we worship, and often the place we worship, rather than worshipping Jesus. 

There was a time in my life when I was part of a fundamentalist denomination. It was pretty strict. All the men had the same haircut, sideburns and wore ties. The women didn’t wear makeup. Their hair was in “bundage” and they dressed like June Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver. We looked the same, dressed and acted the same. We were worshipping the image of what we thought godliness was.

And I’m going to get hate mail for this, but here goes. Your Bible is not God! It is God’s word and it is good, but it is not Jesus! The Bible testifies to Jesus. Oh, I just pegged a few cringe-meters! 

Let’s not carve images in stone! Let’s get back to what worship and church are really about – chasing Jesus. Being in His presence. Strengthening each other and lifting up God’s name. It’s all about Him!

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me,Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’  – Matthew 15:8-9

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO REPENT OF IDOLATRY IN YOUR WORSHIP. SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT, WEALTH, BELONGINGS, SELF – ALL ARE POOR SUBSTITUTES. BRING HEAVEN TO EARTH AND GIVE YOUR HEART ONLY TO JESUS.

From my sermon series JESUS UNVEILED