“These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13

There’s nothing like being in church on Sunday to fellowship with other believers and hear the Word of God.

But sometimes we can get lost in the sauce without even realizing it.

When we’re there, we follow all the socially acceptable rules that we’ve made up:

• We put on our Sunday best
• We stand when we’re told to stand.
• We sit when we’re told to sit.
• We greet each other when we’re told to greet each other.
• We give our tithes and offerings.

But without a serious examination of ourselves and a personal desire to study God’s Word outside of the four walls, we could easily miss the point altogether and never come close to embodying the Spirit of Christ.

Hosea 6: 6-7 says “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”

So while the church is a wonderful and spiritually nourishing place, we don’t get brownie points from God just for physically showing up and occupying a space in the building.

We have to be in complete submission to Him, asking Him to increase our understanding of His Word and His way.

We have to ask Him to use us and direct our steps daily so that others we encounter will see the Spirit shining through us and ask us about the God we serve.

We have to commit ourselves to be ambassadors for Him everywhere we go.

God doesn’t care so much about the customs we’ve established inside the church building. What He cares about is the love we carry inside of our hearts from day to day.

So we have to stop and ask ourselves:

• Are we judging others or are we interceding for them?
• Are we criticizing unbelievers or are we asking God to teach us how to effectively minister to them?
• Do we really know God or do we just know how to do church and follow all of the rules we’ve created?

If we’ve faltered on any of the above questions, it’s ok. Our God is merciful and ever-loving to guide us when we ask for direction.

He will never stop chasing after our hearts because He loves us, and He wants us to know Him more than anything.

We should just try to avoid making Him chase us for too long!

Be blessed,

Alexia

Prayer: God, thank you for your never-ending grace and mercy. Right now, I ask that you draw me in closer to you. Teach me what it means to truly have the love of Christ inside of my heart. I genuinely want to know you, so guide me with your Holy Spirit and show me how to honor you every day of my life. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.