Sublime

God, bring me closer to You during this trip, whatever it takes.…

Perhaps it’s not theology we’re missing, but rather theological integrity. Many have the knowledge but lack the courage to admit the discrepancy between what we know and how we live.

In the United States, numbers impress us. We gauge the success of an event by how many people attend or come forward. We measure churches by how many members they boast. We are wowed by big crowds. Jesus questioned the authenticity of this kind of record keeping. According to the account in Luke chapter 8, when a crowd started following Him, Jesus

People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.

We all need to prioritize our eternal relationship with our Creator above all things. Besides, until you relate properly to God, you won’t be much help to anyone else. People who aren’t living well make matters worse by living together.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (v. 45).

Satan, the great deceiver, loves it when we read Christian books and listen to sermons as ends in themselves. If we don’t actually change, we deceive ourselves.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.