2 Kings 17:38-41
I will say it again: Do not worship any god except me. I am the LORD your God, and I will rescue you from all your enemies.
But the people living in Israel ignored that command and kept on following their old customs. They did worship the LORD, but they also worshiped their own idols. Their descendants did the same thing.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
A few years ago, the nicotine patch was introduced as a way to help smokers kick the habit. And I knew several who tried it. The trouble is… some of them continued to smoke while wearing the patch. This is a big “no-no” – and they were really taking a risk, because they actually got EXTRA nicotine in their system by doing this. The results could have been incredibly harmful to them. Whether they were desperate, ignorant of how this all worked, or just indifferent to the consequences, they tried to have things both ways. I have to tell you, it didn’t work! They did not quit smoking, and they could not sustain this dual-dosing with the patch. In the end, everything fell apart.
This is just one example among thousands of how we try to “have our cake and eat it, too.” We want God to bless us… but could He please do so on our terms? We want to live in abundance and experience “Heaven on earth,” but we also want to indulge in our “guilty pleasures” and “little vices” and think about God on Sundays between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and noon.
God does not work this way! He does not allow us to worship him part of the time – or halfway. And if you feel like you have skated by with this way of living, let me assure you that a day is coming when the jig is up! If you don’t believe me, read through 1 Kings and 2 Kings and see what happened. Better yet, read the Book of Revelation!
I know I have talked about this before. But this message is repeated over and again throughout these chapters and the entire Bible, so it must be pretty important! Giving your heart to Jesus and asking Him to forgive your sins does not mean you get a free ticket to act however you please until He calls you to heaven! When you accept Jesus’ gift of Salvation, you commit to Him… and to following His teachings. You submit to God’s will for your life, and you become a disciple of Christ.
We seem to have no trouble accepting a “free gift” in exchange for trying a certain product or service. We stick to our end of the bargain… we will fill out a survey, try the product or take the tour – or whatever is asked. We are not “buying” our gift… but we are committing to give back whatever is asked by the giver. So why when God offers us salvation and eternal life with Him do we have so much trouble giving back our devotion and obedience?
I’m telling you today that “the jig IS up!” It’s time to evaluate our loyalty to God… to clean house and remove all other idols and objects of worship and devotion… and to concentrate fully on serving God and God alone! What’s in your “closets” today? Who and what are you worshipping besides God? Have you given your heart and mind a good cleaning lately? Shouldn’t you?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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