We dress up and look our best to hurry and get to church each Sunday morning. We may fuss with our family all the way up to the driveway of the church. We yell and get upset with the slow drivers we encounter “making us late”. When we park the car our masks go up and we paint on that huge smile. Yes. We’ve all been there – Maybe multiple times. We. Are. Human. Surely there’s more to it then this. Surely it’s beyond two or three services a week. Surely it can’t be contained.
God is chasing YOU. “We love Him because He first loved us,” explains the apostle John (1 John:4:19)
We have shoved God in a box. We’ve allowed ourselves to become “churchy churchy”. We’ve created a “culture” of bondage. We need to break free.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:7.”
We “wear” Jesus, but do we really have Jesus. I mean we must because we post uplifting bible scriptures on Facebook, beautiful scripture pics on Instagram, have the latest worship album, drink coffee from our cross mug and have our cars decked out with “Jesus”. But do we even know him? Or do we just advertise His name. See, God wants your soul not just outwardly appearances.
I’ve learned at an early age by experiencing it first hand (not at all at the church I currently attend) that church can be about a man and not The Man. It can all be such a fad – contemporary building, coffee lounges with the latest greatest, our perfect pre service music mix, trendy outfits, our big fake smiles, over-exaggerations and so on. All pointed to a man and not the Son. Of. Man. I think it’s wonderful to have nice facilities! Why shouldn’t God’s children have an appealing place to worship?? The issue is when it stays in and never goes out. When it exalts man and not the Father.
{I’m so thankful I attend a church that believes in getting out into the community. They believe in loving on others and not just hosting little “Christian group events”. (I do believe it is very important to be connected with the body of Christ. It helps you grow and mature as a follower. The issue arises when you allow yourself to be consumed with being “inside the walls”) The church I attend believes in sending out of the “storehouse”. The Word is preached and not just the stuff that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. I believe conviction is necessary for growth.}
We are this amazing “being” while in the church but when we leave, we rip the masks off. We fuss with our families, we talk trash about the lady who looked her best at church, we fuss about the song selections, we fuss about the sermon, we harp about anything and e v e r y t h i n g we can. We become the “real us” and it’s scary.
James 1:8 “Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
I may get some negative feedback on this comment but – I believe people of double mindedness are just as much in trouble as the lost person of the world. Why? Because we have “tasted” His goodness and have chosen to live a different way. We have experienced good and choose evil. Heb 6:4-6 “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
We are all going to make mistakes over and over again. But choosing a lifestyle over a relationship with your Creator is wrong. Choosing to contaminate your mind with money and social status is wrong. Choosing to bash others and constantly fill your social media pages with negative information is wrong. We look at the “people” (who are God’s creation) in the world and judge them when we have no business doing so. Are we praying for them as much as we are talking about them? Why not highlight God’s successes instead of the world’s failures. I agree our government and society is entering and has entered a scary stage but what are we doing to change it? Blasting social media does – n o t h i n g. Speaking harshly – n o t h i n g. Praying and loving? Does e v e r y t h i n g. I’m not saying to sit back and “allow” things to go on. Yes, we need to stand up for what is right BUT in a Christian manner. At the end of the day God is God and He rules over ALL. With that said…
What would happen if we let God “out of our box”. Is it fear that reigns in our society of letting the Holy Spirit be in control? We weren’t created to control, we were created to submit.
“Psalm 37:5 Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.”
We have “limited” God. We allow Him in sections of our lives but other parts??? We want to control and we fail but our God never fails. I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of how great our God is. We sing about Him, we make posts about Him but how is it behind closed doors – when nobody is watching. That is what counts.
The Lord has been dealing with me on my personal relationship with Him and how crucial it is. It’s not optional it’s vital. We are DEAD without Him. As I was flossing my teeth last night, I wasn’t even thinking about God or really anything- just simply flossing. I had a thought put in my head that said “When you don’t floss your teeth daily, plaque builds up. It starts out as a small amount but it accumulates until it forms a cavity. You then have a “bad tooth”. You see, your relationship with me is likewise. When you skip a devotion here and skip a prayer there you create a wedge between us. It becomes easier and easier to skip Me. I become disconnected from your routine. I want to lead and guide you – each step, each day”
Wow. What a flossing session! (HAHA) I began to pray and asked my Father to take control of every area of my life. I prayed that His Spirit would reign in my life. I prayed that He would set me free from living “inside the walls” and that He would help me lead “outside the walls”. I prayed that His Spirit would direct each movement I make and every thought I have. He is no longer “visible” on Earth but His Spirit is alive and dwelling among us.
Romans 8:9 “You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.”
I believe miracles still happen, I believe the Spirit still leads, I believe His voice can still be heard. Do you? My challenge (for myself as well) is to allow the Holy Spirit to direct your life. Allow Him to flow through your lips and actions outside the church. Speak to the person who is all alone and look in need, give a jacket to the cold child walking the streets and warm a meal for the hungry. Start all of this in your own home, serving your spouse and children, speaking His words and not worldly words. Sing His presence over your home, neighborhood, city, country, nation. Allow His Spirit to move – out of the box.
xoxo,
Jess Fox
JessFox 