Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Whom do you serve? Simple question, really. Not necessarily one with the simplest of answers. For those of us who have called out the Name of Jesus as Savior, it's a question that carries a lot of weight. I'd better get it right-- not for fear of punishment -- but fear that I may miss glorifying the only One Who deserves my love and devotion. 

So I ask again, "Whom are you serving?" Are you waking up in the morning with a desire to fulfill God's calling on your life? Are you ready to do whatever He asks of you at any given time and in any circumstance? Are you totally and unashamedly His?


Are you? 


Or are you someone else's? Family, kids, work, church (yes, I said church) all compete for first place in our lives. Where does Jesus fit in? 


No amount of money, no amount of fame, no amount of love, however sincere it may seem, is worth more than a right relationship with God. 


I am going to be very honest and very real for the rest of this blog. Get some coffee, some leftover Halloween candy, a tissue-- whatever you need to settle in with. (I like to think of someone holding a puppy or a kitty- that makes me happy) Here we go.


Your husband does not come before your relationship with God. 



Your children do not come before your relationship with God. 



Your pastor does not come before your relationship with God.



Your job does not come before your relationship with God. 


The altar decorations, the small group snacks, the shoe boxes, the committee position, the church council, the choir, the preschool schedule, the keys to the supply closet, the color of paint in the bathroom and the kind of soap in the dispensers, the kitchen-- yes, the KITCHEN and everything in it -- where they put the ladles, the serving platters, the leftover desserts from the last fellowship do not matter more than your relationship with the living God of the Universe. 


Nothing, nothing, NOTHING is worth more than the Savior who thought of you and me when He was being brutalized, humiliated, tortured, and nailed to a cross. 


At some point we have wandered astray and we have allowed social agendas, micro-managing leaders, and pathetic power-positions to get in our heads and go to our heads and turn us so far away from the Truth that we are willing to sacrifice not ourselves for His kingdom but His kingdom for our pleasure. We would rather debate the placement of a fake flower arrangement than speak Truth to a lost soul. We pass up opportunities to minister to our community because we may have to actually be in the community. We shy away from the difficult questions and say the words people want to hear instead of what they need to hear. 


We allow leaders to have more influence on us than Jesus Christ and His Word. I have said this before in this blog (and face-to-face with many of the people I love): No one will be standing with you when you stand before God. You choose whom you serve and you choose whom you follow. Friends, we not only need to hear what words our leaders (Bible teachers, speakers, pastors) are speaking; we must look at their actions. And if we don't see both align with Scripture, we must reject them. 


We hide behind those who say they know more than we do about Biblical doctrine because they have done their own "research" and they've talked with famous people who obviously know best. They understand words better than we do, I guess, especially when it makes people happy and doesn't exclude anyone. They treat us as though we're all unable to ask for wisdom, no matter how much James said we are.  So we shift like sand in the desert and move to whatever direction the wind is blowing. And all the time God is grieving because we have accepted everything else as gospel. And we have totally ignored Him. 


Take a minute, please. Take several, actually. Get alone and quiet with your God. Tell Him how much you love Him. Thank Him for His Son and for His Word and for the Holy Spirit. Confess your sin of allowing so many others to cut in line ahead of Him. Ask Him for forgiveness and for wisdom and discernment for your life-- ask for the power to see through the enemy's trick of making things sound so right and feel so...inclusive.  Commit to reading His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal its treasures to you. And then answer the question, "Whom do you serve?" 

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