KEY PRINCIPLES FROM THIS MESSAGE:
We were designed to worship God only. This worship must be performed “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23); otherwise, it is wood, hay, and straw to be burned at the judgment seat (1Co 3:12-15).
The most energized people in this world are the humblest. The most exhausted ones are the most arrogant.
Worship of any other ‘god’ (money, self, idols, etc.) is utterly repugnant to God.
Love is a form of slavery. When it is for God, through God, and from God, it is righteous. Any other version of it is a perversion that results in misery.
Your habits and routines are not law. Learn to challenge the “norms & standards” in your life. Hold all things up to the scrutiny of Holy Scripture, and whatever falls short, get rid of it immediately (or find a way out of it asap).
Protecting Your Way of Life – blog 4/17/26
Humans will often fight for their right to maintain certain routines, even more than they will fight for what’s right.
The point is that we humans get so locked into our daily routines that we vigorously resist any disturbances to them. We might even become angry, defiant, and downright pugnacious towards the source of a disturbance. [e.g., we show hatred towards one of God’s chosen instruments]
Again, we must ask, “Why?”, especially in the case where a change would prove most beneficial. It seems quite strange that a person would get so stuck in their own routines, even blinded by them; yet it happens all the time. I certainly see it in the lives of my congregants, where I know they hear exactly what God the Holy Spirit is saying to them, personally, through a message and yet they choose to keep their life unaltered because that’s where they are comfortable existing. They protect their crooked way of life even when they know God’s way is the straighter, better way!
Do not protect your way of life if it does not align with God, even if the change makes you uncomfortable for a moment. Routines are often like splinters – they hurt while being plucked out, but once out there’s tremendous relief from something that was causing you persistent pain. I’ll go one step further and say that sometimes we don’t always know why we’re in pain until God works something out in us and said pain disappears. It isn’t until the “splinter” is removed (e.g., a bad relationship ends) that you are able to connect the dots. Faith is the imperative. If you trust the Lord, then walk through the doors that He opens for you, leaving your fears and so-called “losses” behind (a la Philippians 3:8).
If you’re not worshipping the God of Jesus Christ, you’re not worshipping God.