Church helped my lie look better.

1 John 1: ⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

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“What a strange place. Let me just get through this” I thought to myself. We were in church and it was on a Wednesday! There was plenty we could have been doing outside and maybe inside my young mind thought as I was trying to date.

I hadn’t been in church in a while, especially when I could be having “fun.” Okay, I’ll just go along with the program. The pastor asked me to stand, introduce myself and tell everyone about my relationship with CHRIST. “How dare this guy!” I thought to myself. I felt nervous and put on the spot! “How do I get out of here? I just wanted to impress this girl not be interrogated!”

• My methods of serving GOD can sometimes be quite pitiful.
• My thoughts of HIS people can sometimes be quite ugly.
• My actions are sometimes misguided under the guise of serving GOD.

Going to church doesn’t make me holier at all. Many times I have gone to church after being up all night hanging out and causing a ruckus. Giving money doesn’t make me holier at all. Many times in my wealth I thought I had carte blanche to sin because of the amount I had given the church. The only thing that makes me holy is GOD.

• GOD has no darkness in HIM “at all.”
• GOD is pure love and cannot live with sin.
• GOD’s SON died for me and my belief in HIM is the only thing that makes me holy.

Many times I have ignored GOD altogether. I went about my day not thanking HIM or thinking about HIM. When things went wrong or when I wanted something then I would serve or be nice until I got my way then I would drop GOD like a hot rock.

• GOD wants a relationship with me that is lasting not temporary.
• GOD wants me to serve with sincerity not with manipulation in mind.
• GOD wants me to love HIM for HIM, not what I can get from HIM.

I can pretend to love GOD or I can love GOD. Only GOD can judge my sincerity.

• Are you pretending to be good?
• What is your motive for attending church?
• Are you making any change in your life?
• Can others see GOD through your words and actions or do they see only “you?”