Have we made God into an image that suits us? Have we have brought Him down to our level, and made Him someone we can understand? Someone whose thoughts and ways are like our thoughts and ways?

I don’t think we aren’t seeking God, but I think we’re impatient with Him. Instead of being willing to wait for His answer or for His will to manifest, we move forward based only on our assumption that our happiness, good intentions, and/or success matter. Without waiting on Him, we step out in what feels like faith, but is more like wishful thinking. Our ways have become what we call His ways. Whatever seems right to us. We’ve become the judge, which means we have placed our seat on His throne.

Consequently, we fall into compromise. We embrace false doctrine and reject truth outright. We have to, because our lives no longer line-up with His Word. Therefore, we must reinterpret His Word. It’s a dance. We juggle the truth and play games with it. As long as we believe Jesus is Savior, we’re all set. We have given ourselves permission to be as carnal a Christian as we want. Of course, we don’t say that out loud, but our lives are the proof. How we live does not reflect a respect for God, or a fear of the consequences of disobedience.

You see, the god we have created not only receives us as we are, but never require we change. We’ve devised a religion that requires no faith, no consecration, and no death. We haven’t forgotten about righteousness, but we’ve redefined it.

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Romans 13:14)

The God of the Old Testament has not changed, and He never will. He required great things of those Saints of old, yet we expect Him to be satisfied with our measly “sacrifices” today. We give Him our “extra” time. We yawn and watch the clock. We decide how much we serve according to what we’re already doing, not according to how much there is to be done. We give more time to entertainment, than we do to knowing Him. There is more Eastern idolatry on Christian’s Facebook pages, than the Word of God. What’s that about, folks? We feast on witchcraft, violence, perversion, and anti-Christ indoctrination under the the label of entertainment. We laugh at things that should make us jump up and run out of the room. Why do we want to be a part of glorifying that which nailed our Savior to the Cross?

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
(1 Peter 2:24)

Friends, the days are getting short. Christ is coming soon. That is not an inevitability that we just wait to arrive. I hear some say, “Why think about it? Why preach about it? It’s going to happen anyway.” If that is how we think, we are missing the point. Paul described this Christian life as a race to finish (2 Timothy 4:7). What athlete enters a race unprepared to finish? He doesn’t amble around aimlessly, straying off course and unconcerned about whether or not he reaches the end. He knows that finishing isn’t inevitable, but a byproduct of running the course to its end. Well, Eternity is a deadline we are supposed to prepare for, and daily be working towards achieving. We know we’ll be with Jesus, but are we running the course He set before us? That’s a willful choice we have to make everyday. We can’t run just any race and say it counts.

So, what’s a sincere Believer to do? What we should be doing every day: repenting and asking for the Holy Spirit to help us; reading God’s Word and praying. Simple. Simple obedience. We must stay the course He set before us, and pursue righteousness as we have been called to do—picking ourselves up as many times as needed along the way, staying in fellowship with the Body of Christ, and equipping ourselves daily. An end is coming, sooner than later. Let’s meet at the Finish Line.

God bless you today.
❤