21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 7:21CSB
Whenever you hear a celebrity is a “devout Christian” they use examples of going to church every Sunday, praying before each meal and before bed as reasons why they are so devout. Whenever I would hear this in the past, I felt annoyed. These aren’t even the minimum requirements of God, yet somehow the have the audacity to call themselves devout. Then it hit me, I’m no better than them.
When Christ asked Peter, James, and John to pray with Him and they all feel asleep, Jesus asked “could you not watch with me one hour?” Jesus did this twice. The third time, He left them sleeping. What a terrifying thought. The bare minimum Jesus asks for is one hour watching with Him, when the average Christian, including myself, struggles to pray for 10 minutes straight without your mind wandering off or getting distracted. What a sad state of the Church.
We can’t spend 10 minutes in prayer but wonder why God isn’t moving in our lives. We can’t spend 10 minutes reading our Bible but wonder why God isn’t showing us His glory. We’ve become a selfish Church. We want God to give us rewards for the least amount of effort.
Abraham stayed up all night protecting his sacrifice. Jacob wrestled with God all night. Daniel fasted for 21 days. Moses communed with God for 40 days. All of these men who received great blessings and were used greatly by God sacrificed their time for a chance to see the glory, blessings, and fulfilled promises of God.
Time is speeding up right before our eyes. There aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done. So what are we to do? Prioritize the Kingdom and the rest so fall in place. We put our relationship with God above all else. We take a step closer to God every day. We strive to build the Temple of God, our spirit man, in order to give God more than the scraps off the table. We’ll never be able to give God all that He deserves, but it’s time we stop giving Him offerings that cost us absolutely nothing.
God already died for us and gave us everything we need for salvation, it’s now up to us to draw near to Him. He opened the door and split the curtain; now it’s time for us to run to Him.
Dear LORD, I’m sorry for all the times I put the things of this world above You. I’m sorry for not making You my main priority in life and not making You the center of my life. Kindle the flame in me that I might never take You for granted or offer You a worthless offering. Soften my heart and renew a right spirit in me, that my soul might pant for You as the deer pants for the water. Help me to crucify my flesh and build up my spirit man within me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.
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