Is Your Church a God?

I spoke to someone recently who simply gushed at the mouth about his love for the church he attends, and I thought afterward of a church I once attended for a short while that sold shirts with the words “I love my church” in big, bold words stuck on the front. I have never worn a t-shirt like that, but rest assured I used to be so in love with various churches I attended that I virtually took people hostage to get them there.

As I dive deep into the Old Testament these days, I am reminded for the umpteenth time that God commands us to have no other gods before Him. Can church become a god? It did for me. I loved the people of God and the pastors and the buildings where we gathered more than I loved him.

I talked more about churches and pastors and the people than I talked about Him. And I was more interested in getting people to the churches and pastors I loved to get the “help” they needed than I spent any time sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching God’s Word, helping lead people to Jesus Christ, and encouraging and helping people to begin and develop a personal relationship with the Lord.

A woman told me recently she called herself a Christian because she used to go to church regularly and watched a pastor on television tell the world how to find happiness and prosperity. She didn’t mention Jesus Christ or the Bible. I had no idea until I asked her whether she was a believer in and follower of Jesus Christ.

I have repented for making church and God’s people a god, and today the Lord is my first love as He should have been all along. And this is evident in my thoughts, my actions, and the words I speak to others. And when I fall short in any of these areas, I repent and do my best to make the necessary changes. Today the Lord is my God.

If you are not born again by repenting and confessing Jesus as Lord and believing God  raised Him from the dead three days after He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, feel free to contact me as I would be honored to talk to you about Jesus Christ, salvation, where you will spend eternity, and how you can begin and develop an amazing personal relationship with the Lord. If you believe in Jesus but are not a fully committed follower by studying and applying the Bible to your life by being a hearer and a doer of the Word, I would be blessed to help you get started. If you are already a follower of Jesus Christ, please remember that you are responsible for going out to tell the world the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I pray that if the Lord is not your first love, that this very day you would repent and make the commitment to have no other gods before Him.

You shall have no other gods before Me. Deuteronomy 5:7 NASB 

‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.  Revelation 2:2-5

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