By Keila

Read: Leviticus 15:1-16:28, Mark 7:1-23, Psalm 40:11-17, Proverbs 10:13-14

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.
Mark 7:6-7

Relate: 

A thought that I’ve had when attending youth service is how many people are really there to worship God and not just to be there to hang out with their friends. I know someone from church who’s moved to a different one because the culture became less of actually being there to worship God which became more like an excuse to meet and have fun with friends. It is important to have people to help you grow in your spiritual walk with God, but not when they draw you and your heart away from God.

React:

Even though spending time with your friends is not a bad thing, I think that using church activities as an excuse to hang out with your friends and not having your heart into what the message and worship is that day defeats the purpose of going. I am also guilty of attending a Sunday or youth service without really having my mind or heart in it. I want to be more intentional about my worship and to really sing blessings to God. 

Something that I’m getting out of is like a spiritual slump. Where I feel like I’ve been a lukewarm Christian for a while, but after going to a church camp retreat I feel like I’ve had a personal spiritual revival. Even when that happened, I would still find myself not having my full heart into worshiping God, because I would question whether I really meant to sing the lyrics or not. However, something I’ve changed in my spiritual habits which is different from a few months ago is to read my Bible and have personal Bible reflection time more frequently instead of only reading daily verses.

Respond:

Dear God,
Please help me to have a yearning to draw closer to you in my life, and to never stop being hungry for your Word. I pray that I would be able to worship you with my whole heart, and not just that but also be able to live out the things that You speak to me through your Word. I pray that I will never stop loving you God, and that I will grow to be a woman of God.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Nearly all posts in February and March have as special guest authors the Juniors from the Christian Living class at Faith Academy.