No other God
"Thou shall have no other God before Me." Most of us - who have any age on us at all - remember being taught this when we learned the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, nowadays, young people rarely even know any of the ten commandments. Lately, I have been pondering the reality of this commandment. I have been examining my life and finding that in spite of my desire to serve Christ, many "other" things have crept in and found a place of prominence.
Many so called "Christians" are on the broad road living like the world while carrying the banner of Jesus. We all want to think we will go to heaven when we die but we don't want to live the way Jesus instructs us to while we are here on earth. The Bible is very clear that if we really love Jesus, we will do what he tells us to. Yet, how many of us are openly living in sin daily with no shame. We flaunt our sinful lifestyles and say that God understands our situation - as if in our case, sin isn't sin. Well, wrong is wrong, no matter what label you put on it. It grieves God when we say we love him yet live like the devil. We are deceiving ourselves if we think for one minute that our situation is different and God won't really punish us for our sin. Whether we are living in a sexually immoral lifestyle or telling a "little white lie", it is still all sin and God hates it.
Satan - who is the great deceiver - has convinced us that putting ourself first is not idolatry. Yet God says that "anything" that takes precedence over Him is an idol. We live in a world that encourages us to do what makes us happy. And if it feels good to us then it's okay for us. Not true. We must be careful not to put our selfish desires before God. The Bible tells us that we must kill our fleshly desires daily in order to please God. To someone who does not know Jesus personally, this statement may seem bizarre but for me, it is pure joy. I have come to realize that because Jesus loves me so much that He gave His life for me, He also loves me enough to fill my heart with a joy that is not dependent on my circumstances. I do not always like the things that are going on around me but I am full of joy in my heart that only He can give me.
God has a good plan for my life - and for yours. But the only way we will enjoy that good life is by surrendering completely to his will. God does not compromise. Truth is truth. Sin is sin. God is in control. We may live a life that seems right to us but the end will be total destruction. Whatever temporal enjoyment we gain is not worth an eternity separated from God. Hell is hot and eternity is forever. Think about it.
Many so called "Christians" are on the broad road living like the world while carrying the banner of Jesus. We all want to think we will go to heaven when we die but we don't want to live the way Jesus instructs us to while we are here on earth. The Bible is very clear that if we really love Jesus, we will do what he tells us to. Yet, how many of us are openly living in sin daily with no shame. We flaunt our sinful lifestyles and say that God understands our situation - as if in our case, sin isn't sin. Well, wrong is wrong, no matter what label you put on it. It grieves God when we say we love him yet live like the devil. We are deceiving ourselves if we think for one minute that our situation is different and God won't really punish us for our sin. Whether we are living in a sexually immoral lifestyle or telling a "little white lie", it is still all sin and God hates it.
Satan - who is the great deceiver - has convinced us that putting ourself first is not idolatry. Yet God says that "anything" that takes precedence over Him is an idol. We live in a world that encourages us to do what makes us happy. And if it feels good to us then it's okay for us. Not true. We must be careful not to put our selfish desires before God. The Bible tells us that we must kill our fleshly desires daily in order to please God. To someone who does not know Jesus personally, this statement may seem bizarre but for me, it is pure joy. I have come to realize that because Jesus loves me so much that He gave His life for me, He also loves me enough to fill my heart with a joy that is not dependent on my circumstances. I do not always like the things that are going on around me but I am full of joy in my heart that only He can give me.
God has a good plan for my life - and for yours. But the only way we will enjoy that good life is by surrendering completely to his will. God does not compromise. Truth is truth. Sin is sin. God is in control. We may live a life that seems right to us but the end will be total destruction. Whatever temporal enjoyment we gain is not worth an eternity separated from God. Hell is hot and eternity is forever. Think about it.
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