SCRIPTURE: Jeremiah 7:1-20
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
The problem here is not just that God is mad at the Israelites for neglecting Him or His ‘religion’. The people were living cruel, immoral, selfish and shameful lives, then going to ‘church’ (the Temple) and pretending to be pious, God’s special and protected people. God has finally stopped appealing for them to repent, now He will allow them to face the consequences of their ways. Its too late, the time for punishment has come.
God looks at my heart and the fruit, the outcome of my faith. Going to church, being a minister, helping with church programs, these do not prove the sincerity of my faith. Am I humble, moral, generous, selfless outside of ‘church’? Am I allowing Jesus to change me from the inside, to be more like Him?
PRAYER:
Lord, forgive me where I am merely religious, and help me to strive to be more like You. Amen.